Microbes
- Animals
Ten real-life Halloween horrors in the natural world
Vampires and witches are nothing compared to mind-controlling parasites, nose ticks and antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
- Microbes
Frozen caribou feces offers look at virus evolution
Genetic material extracted from caribou poop gives hints about how viruses evolve.
- Health & Medicine
Feedback
Readers discuss methods to prevent sepsis and whether genes are thrifty, while Tina Saey clears up some confusion regarding Ebola's airborne status.
- Microbes
Microbes can redeem themselves to fight disease
With some genetic engineering, bacteria can morph from bad to good and help attack invading cancer cells.
- Microbes
Gut bacteria protein linked to anorexia and bulimia
Gut bacteria may play a role in eating disorders, a new study suggests.
- Agriculture
Drug-resistant staph can cling to farm workers for days
Agricultural exposure to staph bacteria could threaten the health of laborers and people who live near farms, a study of pig farm workers suggests.
- Microbes
Vaccines and gut microbes join forces to fight flu
Losing gut microbes weakens the protective ability of the flu vaccine in mice.
- Microbes
Speedy test could improve treatment of urinary tract infections
A new test for drug-resistant bacteria may speed the diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract infections.
- Microbes
Magnets diagnose malaria in minutes
A small magnet-based device provides faster, more-sensitive malaria diagnosis in mice.
- Chemistry
Liquid salts break through armored bacteria on skin
Compounds called ionic liquids can penetrate bacterial biofilms on skin to deliver antibiotics to potentially life-threatening infections.
- Oceans
Viruses might tame some algal blooms
The rapid demise of a giant, carbon-spewing algal bloom points to the influence of viral wranglers.
- Ecosystems
Lake under Antarctic ice bursts with life
Abundant microbes thrive in subglacial lakes deep under the Antarctic ice sheet.
