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Countless bats swarming in the evening dusk
Bat Coronaviruses May Infect Tens of Thousands of People Yearly
Parts of Southeast Asia where human and bat population densities are highest could be infection hotspots, a study finds.
Bat Coronaviruses May Infect Tens of Thousands of People Yearly
Bat Coronaviruses May Infect Tens of Thousands of People Yearly

Parts of Southeast Asia where human and bat population densities are highest could be infection hotspots, a study finds.

Parts of Southeast Asia where human and bat population densities are highest could be infection hotspots, a study finds.

ecology, microbiology

Calm lake reflecting sky with boat in foreground
Plastic Pollution Boosts Bacterial Growth in Lake Water
Patience Asanga | Jul 26, 2022 | 3 min read
A study finds that not only did aquatic bacteria thrive when chemicals washed from degrading plastic were introduced into lake water, they also broke down organic matter more efficiently.
Photo of Romaine River in Quebec
Microbial Analysis of River Reveals Considerable Diversity
Annie Melchor | Mar 1, 2022 | 4 min read
Scientists in Canada trace how aquatic communities change as Quebec’s Romaine River flows into the sea.
Colorized satellite image of milky sea
Milky Seas Can Be Spotted from Space
Connor Lynch | Nov 1, 2021 | 5 min read
Analysis of data from a new satellite sensor helps researchers detect large patches of bioluminescence in the oceans faster than ever before.
man in motorboat by a pier with the sea surface covered in marine mucilage
Why Turkey’s Sea of Marmara Is Full of Marine Snot
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Jun 11, 2021 | 3 min read
Turkish officials are scrambling to clean up a massive, gooey plankton bloom that’s sliming the country’s ports and could suffocate the area’s marine ecosystems.
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A micrograph with a grey background shows both purple bacteria and green algae within a ciliated microorganism
A Protist Hosts Both Green Algae and Purple Bacteria Symbionts
Abby Olena, PhD | Jun 11, 2021 | 3 min read
Having two different endosymbionts may allow the ciliate Pseudoblepharisma tenue to live in both oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor zones of the muddy bogs of southern Germany.
Amanda Tokash-Peters Links the Microbiome to Ecology
Shawna Williams | May 1, 2021 | 3 min read
The Centenary University professor studies the far-reaching effects of changes in the gut bacteria of mosquitos and other species.
Borrelia burgdorferi Ixodes pacificus chaparral coastal shrubland woodland forest california tick lyme disease
Lyme Disease Pathogen Present in Ticks Near the Coast
Kerry Grens | Apr 26, 2021 | 2 min read
In Northern California, the proportion of ticks infected with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi was the same in shrubland along beaches as in woodland habitats.
Bald Eagle Killer Identified
Abby Olena, PhD | Mar 25, 2021 | 5 min read
After a nearly 30-year hunt, researchers have shown that a neurotoxin generated by cyanobacteria on invasive plants is responsible for eagle and waterbird deaths from vacuolar myelinopathy.
mcmurdo station antarctica nsf national science foundation research coronavirus pandemic covid-19 british antartic survey
Coronavirus Precautions Stall Antarctic Field Research
Amanda Heidt | Jun 15, 2020 | 2 min read
The upcoming summer research season has been suspended amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
a person with a basket strapped to her back walks past terraced rice fields
NIH Cancels Funding for Bat Coronavirus Research Project
Shawna Williams | Apr 28, 2020 | 3 min read
The abrupt termination comes after the research drew President Trump’s attention for its ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Ants Produce Antibiotics that May Protect Plants
Emily Makowski | Mar 1, 2020 | 2 min read
The antimicrobial compounds ants excrete to defend themselves from pathogens may protect plants as well.
Blue-Green Algae Produce Methane
Ruth Williams | Jan 15, 2020 | 3 min read
Biological production of this greenhouse gas, once thought to be the reserve of anaerobic microbes, occurs in these widespread, photosynthesizing cyanobacteria.
Image of the Day: Cryo Corals
Ashley Yeager | Oct 26, 2018 | 1 min read
With the help of gold nanorods and a cryoprotectant, coral larvae are brought back to life after cryopreservation.
Infographic: Gassy Genes
Ruth Williams | May 31, 2018 | 1 min read

Soil scientists get bacteria to report on what their neighbors are up to.

Researchers Catalog Earth’s Microbiome
Katarina Zimmer | Feb 1, 2018 | 5 min read
The new database includes data from 27,000 samples collected at sites ranging from Alaskan permafrost to the ocean floor.
How Plant-Soil Feedback Affects Ecological Diversity
Ashley P. Taylor | Jan 12, 2017 | 4 min read
Researchers examine how underground microbes and nutrients affect plant populations.
Deep-Sea Viruses Destroy Archaea
Ruth Williams | Oct 12, 2016 | 3 min read
Viruses are responsible for the majority of archaea deaths on the deep ocean floors, scientists show.
Classic Example of Symbiosis Revised
Kerry Grens | Jul 25, 2016 | 1 min read
The partnering of an alga and a fungus to make lichen may be only two-thirds of the equation.
Hot Off the Presses
Bob Grant | Jul 1, 2016 | 3 min read
The Scientist reviews Serendipity, Complexity, The Human Superorgasism, and Love and Ruin
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