Microfluidic systems redefined biology by providing platforms that handle small fluid volumes, catalyzing advancements in cellular and molecular studies.

Scientists have genetically modified isolated microbes for decades. Now, using CRISPR, they intend to target entire microbiomes.

Viruses abound in the world’s oceans, yet researchers are only beginning to understand how they affect life and chemistry from the water’s surface to the sea floor.

As the necessity of cleaning up the environment moves to the forefront of the public's consciousness, researchers in increasing numbers have been enlisting some of the earth's tiniest creatures to help clean up highly polluted sites and reclaim soils and groundwater systems. Stimulated by advances in microbiology and biotechnology, the booming multidisciplinary field of environmental biotechnology focuses on the use of microorganisms to treat or degrade hazardous waste, encompassing the techniq

What we can know about biology before the last universal common ancestor is limited—and we should be circumspect in filling in the gaps.

Meet some of the people featured in the September 2020 issue of The Scientist.

Bacteria that live in the digestive tracts of animals may influence the adaptive trajectories of their hosts.

Several labs have reported the formation of bacterial nanotubes under different, often contrasting conditions. What are these structures and why are they so hard to reproduce?

Meet some of the people featured in the June 2020 issue of The Scientist.

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE Modern Biotechnology S B Penrose. Blackwell Scientific: September, 200 pp, $24.95. Provides detailed information on recombinant DNA technology, industrial microbiology, monoclonal antibodies, and plant and animal cell culture; includes a discussion of the legal, social and ethical issues surrounding biotechnology. EARTH SCIENCE Deformation of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks (No. 28). M.E. Jones and R.M.F. Preston, eds. Blackwell Scientific: September, 360 pp, $90. Reports