Two agar plates superimposed on each other. One is empty while the other is growing multiple different cultured organisms, colored white, beige, and green.
| 8 min read
The Scientist spoke with microbiologist William Whitman about a new system of nomenclature for prokaryotic organisms that can’t be cultured.

taxonomy

A notecard with outdated names of prokaryotic phyla crossed out and replaced with the newer names.

Newly Renamed Prokaryote Phyla Cause Uproar

The man-of-war fish (Nomeus gronovii), a species of medusafish, near the tentacles of a siphonophore.

Medusafishes Are Grouped by Shared, Odd Traits: Study

Newly named jellyfish Tima nigroannulata swimming in Japan’s Kamo Aquarium.

Aquarium Jellyfish Turns Out to Be Undescribed Species

Sponge Names for Sale, Proceeds to go to Conservation Efforts

Astragalus nitidiflorus inaturalist extinct plant conservation taxonomy

Seventeen “Extinct” European Plant Species Found Alive

Researchers Propose Automating the Naming of Novel Microbes

Why Fish Don’t Exist TS Book Club Discussion

Contributors

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Biologist Lynika Strozier Dies

The Hidden World of Millipede Sex

john jack randall fish ichthyologist marine taxonomist obituary

Ichthyologist Jack Randall Dies

two pages of the En Tibi herbarium, showing two dried plants

A Smiling Garden, 1558

Opinion: Crafting a Cure for Plant Blindness

Proposed Deep-Sea Mining Zone Harbors Previously Unknown Species

Electrophorus voltai electric eel amazon fish electrogenesis

Newly Described Electric Eel Has Strongest Voltage Yet Measured

What Was Lost in the Fire that Destroyed Brazil’s Largest Museum

President of SUNY’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry Resigns

Love in the Scientific Literature

Image of the Day: Mustachioed Monkey

The New Species of 2017

Trending

An illustration of red-colored meat products against a peach background.

The Alpha-Gal Syndrome Story: How Researchers Traced a Red-Meat Allergy to Ticks

An obese mouse on the left compared with normal control on right.

How Cysteine Depletion Drives Cells to Burn Fat 

Many spiral-shaped orange Borrelia bacteria.

Fragments of Lyme Disease Bacteria Linked to Liver Dysfunction

Photo of John Calhoun crouches within his rodent utopia-turned-dystopia

Universe 25 Experiment

Multimedia

Screening 3D Brain Cell Cultures for Drug Discovery

Screening 3D Brain Cell Cultures for Drug Discovery

A large number of stylized antibodies

The Holy Grail Hunt in De Novo Antibody Design

Twist Bio 
July Digest 2025
July 2025, Issue 1

What Causes an Earworm?

Memory-enhancing neural networks may also drive involuntary musical loops in the brain.

View this Issue
Screening 3D Brain Cell Cultures for Drug Discovery

Screening 3D Brain Cell Cultures for Drug Discovery

Explore synthetic DNA’s many applications in cancer research

Weaving the Fabric of Cancer Research with Synthetic DNA

Twist Bio 
Illustrated plasmids in bright fluorescent colors

Enhancing Elution of Plasmid DNA

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An illustration of green lentiviral particles.

Maximizing Lentivirus Recovery

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Products

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Sino Biological Sets New Industry Standard with ProPure Endotoxin-Free Proteins made in the USA

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Introducing the iQue 5 HTS Platform: Empowering Scientists  with Unbeatable Speed and Flexibility for High Throughput Screening by Cytometry

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Vanderbilt Selects Parse Biosciences GigaLab to Generate Atlas of Early Neutralizing Antibodies to Measles, Mumps, and Rubella

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Shift Bioscience proposes improved ranking system for virtual cell models to accelerate gene target discovery