Microbes
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MicrobesPig farm workers at greater risk for drug-resistant staph
Pig farm workers are six times as likely to carry multidrug-resistant staph than workers who have no contact with pigs.
By Beth Mole -
ChemistryBacteria staining method has long been misexplained
New research upends what scientists know about a classic lab technique, called gram staining, used for more than a century to characterized and classify bacteria.
By Beth Mole -
MicrobesPossible nearest living relatives to complex life found in seafloor mud
New phylum of sea-bottom archaea microbes could be closest living relatives yet found to the eukaryote domain of complex life that includes people.
By Susan Milius -
EarthHidden water found deep beneath Antarctica desert valley
New imaging reveals liquid water network beneath Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys that could support microbial life.
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MicrobesCity- and country-dwelling microbes aren’t so different
A new study reveals the microbial communities in our nation’s dust.
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MicrobesSome superbugs lurk in Britain’s surf
In Great Britain’s coastal waters, surfers and swimmers are exposed to low levels of drug-resistant E. coli, a new study finds.
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Science & SocietyWhite House unveils strategy against antibiotic resistance
The Obama Administration has launched a long-term plan to curb antibiotic resistance, unveiling incentives and requirements designed to boost surveillance and diagnosis of resistant microbes.
By Nathan Seppa -
AnimalsWasps may turn ladybugs into zombies with viral weapons
Parasitic wasps may use a neurological virus to make ladybugs their minions, a study posits.
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Health & MedicineNew antibiotic candidate shows promise
Tests in lab dishes and mice suggest an experimental compound called teixobactin can kill staph, TB microbes and other bacteria.
By Nathan Seppa -
EcosystemsCities are brimming with wildlife worth studying
Urban ecologists are getting a handle on the varieties of wildlife — including fungi, ants, bats and coyotes — that share sidewalks, parks and alleyways with a city’s human residents.
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MicrobesThe year in microbiomes
This year, scientists pegged microbes as important players in several aspects of human health, including obesity and cancer.
By Meghan Rosen -
MicrobesYear in review: Science faces Ebola epidemic
West Africa’s 2014 Ebola epidemic showed what can happen when a contagious virus emerges where cultural practices, public fears and porous borders fuel the spread of disease.
By Nathan Seppa