Microbes

  1. Health & Medicine

    Urine is not sterile, and neither is the rest of you

    Despite what the Internet says, urine does contain bacteria, a new study finds. And so does your brain, the womb, and pretty much everywhere else.

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  2. Life

    ‘The Amoeba in the Room’ uncloaks a hidden realm of tiny life

    Mycologist Nicholas Money reveals the secret (and dramatic) lives of amoebas, bacteria, fungi and other often-overlooked microbes in The Amoeba in the Room: Lives of the Microbes.

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  3. Oceans

    Deepwater Horizon methane lingered longer than thought

    Microbes may not have consumed methane from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill as fast as previously thought.

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  4. Microbes

    Viruses buoy life at hydrothermal vents

    Using hijacked genes, deep-sea viruses help sulfur-eating bacteria generate power in the plumes of hydrothermal vents.

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  5. Genetics

    E. coli’s mutation rate linked to cells’ crosstalk

    When E. coli cells are in smaller crowds, their genes mutate at an increased rate.

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  6. Climate

    Glacial microbes gobble methane

    While some bacteria produce methane in Greenland’s melting ice sheet, others may consume the greenhouse gas as it escapes.

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  7. Animals

    Scent of a fruit fly larva comes from its gut microbes

    Microbes in the guts of fly larvae produce smells that attract fruit flies.

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  8. Microbes

    One giant leap for zit-causing microbes

    A bacterium that lives on humans and causes acne also hopped to domesticated grapevines and relies on the plant for crucial DNA repairs.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Triclosan aids nasal invasions by staph

    The antimicrobial compound triclosan, commonly found in soaps and toothpaste, may help Staphylococcus aureus stick around.

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  10. Climate

    Ocean bacteria may have shut off ancient global warming

    Ocean-dwelling bacteria may have helped end global warming 56 million years ago by gobbling up carbon from the CO2-laden atmosphere.

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  11. Life

    Amoebas’ munching may cause diarrheal disease

    Amoebas biting and swallowing pieces of human cells may be what causes amebic dysentery, a potentially fatal diarrheal disease in the developing world.

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  12. Genetics

    Feedback

    Readers ask about Neandertal genes and electricity-generating spores and react to a fusion milestone.

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