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A yellow, hairy caterpillar is sitting on a green leaf off a thin plant stem.
Deciphering Plants’ Biochemical Messages
Esther Ngumbi believes that chemical signals between plants, microbes, and insects hold the key to secure and sustainable food production.
Deciphering Plants’ Biochemical Messages
Deciphering Plants’ Biochemical Messages

Esther Ngumbi believes that chemical signals between plants, microbes, and insects hold the key to secure and sustainable food production.

Esther Ngumbi believes that chemical signals between plants, microbes, and insects hold the key to secure and sustainable food production.

microbes

Microscopic image of a torn piece of gray plastic on a white background.
Alpine and Arctic Microbes Break Down Plastics
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Jul 7, 2023 | 2 min read
Researchers identified cold-adapted microbes that degrade certain plastics at low temperatures, potentially saving energy in industrial recycling.
Image of yeast cells
Yeast Cells Reconfigure Their Metabolomes to Live Longer
Danielle Gerhard, PhD | Jul 5, 2023 | 2 min read
Yeast cells share metabolites through extracellular space to extend the lifespan of the entire community.
A Connected Community: The Rise of Microbiome Research
The Scientist | 1 min read
Explore how microbes shape health, disease, and the world beyond
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa
Cooperation and Cheating
Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga, PhD | Jun 1, 2023 | 6 min read
Bacteria cooperate to benefit the collective, but cheaters can rig the system. How is the balance maintained?
Infographic showing strategies used by cooperators to curb the cheater population in a bacterial community
Infographic: Curbing the Cheaters 
Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga, PhD | Jun 1, 2023 | 1 min read
From spatial structuring to policing, cooperative bacteria have a wide toolkit to contain the spread of cheaters.
Virus Hunters: Searching for Therapeutic Phages in a Drug Resistant World
The Scientist | 1 min read
Researchers Jason Gill and Paul Turner will discuss their work on bacteriophage therapy to treat drug resistant bacterial infections.
T regulatory cell in red sandwiching an antigen presenting cell in blue
Gut Bacteria Help T Cells Heal Muscle: Study
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Mar 14, 2023 | 4 min read
Regulatory T cells in the colon travel to muscles to promote wound healing in mice, raising questions about how antibiotics may impact injury recovery.
A cluster of spiral-shaped Treponema pallidum bacteria, the causative agent of syphilis.
Science Falls Behind as Syphilis Stages Another Comeback
Bhargavi Duvvuri, Undark | Feb 21, 2023 | 6 min read
Syphilis is among the oldest known sexually-transmitted infections. Scientists still struggle to detect and treat it.
A Little Help From My Friends: Lessons Learned From Microbiome Metagenomics
The Scientist | 1 min read
Heather Jordan and Jennifer Wargo will discuss how metagenomics studies help uncover new and medically relevant functions of the human microbiome.
Alma Dal Co wears a blue shirt and red necklace and uses a pointer to examine a component of a laboratory machine. 
Microbial Ecologist Alma Dal Co Dies in Diving Accident
Katherine Irving | Nov 21, 2022 | 3 min read
At 33, Dal Co had already founded her own microbial ecology lab at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.
illustration of liver with veins in blue and arteries in red.
Ethanol-Making Microbe Tied to Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Oct 19, 2022 | 4 min read
A study adds to evidence linking gut bacteria to liver conditions in people who don’t drink excessive amounts of alcohol. 
The Scientist Speaks Podcast – Episode 4
The Scientist | 1 min read
Hidden Hitchhikers: Lessons Learned from The Human Microbiome Project
Illustration showing the path result of Eukaryogenesis
Infographic: Evolutionary Leaps Leading to Modern Eukaryotes
Amanda Heidt | Oct 17, 2022 | 2 min read
A lot happened in the hundreds of millions years separating the first and last eukaryotic common ancestors, but when and how most features arose remains a mystery.
Hawaiian Bobtail squid
Symbiotic Organs: Extreme Intimacy with the Microbial World
Catherine Offord | Oct 3, 2022 | 10+ min read
All multicellular creatures interact with bacteria, but some have taken the relationship to another level with highly specialized structures that house, feed, and exploit the tiny organisms.
Illustration of a Hawaiian Bobtail squid
Infographic: Symbiotic Organs Bring Hosts and Microbes Closer
Catherine Offord | Oct 3, 2022 | 2 min read
Specialized structures in plants and animals help attract and mediate communication with bacterial symbionts.
A premature infant drinking from a bottle
In Search of the Best Milk Recipe for Preemies’ Gut Bacteria
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Aug 22, 2022 | 5 min read
Milk fortifiers of human origin show no evident advantage in the development of the gut microbiota of premature infants over fortifiers derived from cows, while the intake of the mother’s own milk does, two studies suggest.
A jar full of artificial sweetener packets.
Artificial Sweeteners Alter Gut Bacteria in Humans
Shafaq Zia | Aug 19, 2022 | 4 min read
When consumed for as little as two weeks, common alternatives to sugar affect intestinal bacterial communities, with some reducing the body’s ability to regulate blood glucose levels, a study finds.
Mosquitos flying at sunset
Climate Change Worsens Most Infectious Diseases
Andy Carstens | Aug 8, 2022 | 2 min read
Of the pathogens known to have infected humans, more than half may cause more widespread disease as a result of rising temperatures, precipitation changes, or other climate-related factors, a study finds.
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.
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