In ancient Earth’s atmosphere, microbes called acetogens were able to recycle carbon dioxide using chemical energy sources such as hydrogen.
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Articles on Microbes
Displaying 41 - 60 of 171 articles
Air-ventilation upgrades have been badly needed in U.S. classrooms since long before the pandemic. Low-tech filtration systems that cost about the same as a textbook per student can make a big difference.
We can fine-tune bacteria using algorithms to help them produce the things we need, from antibiotics to methane.
A fear of microbes, like germs, could be harming human health.
Solutions to some of the globe’s most daunting environmental challenges may be closer than you think. Scientists are harnessing nature to clean up toxic chemicals and mining waste.
With an average shelf life of nine years, the coming tsunami of waste EV batteries needs action now.
Glaciers aren’t sterile wastelands – they’re chock-full of microscopic life.
Invisible to the eye, the microbial life in the air around us can vary depending on our environment.
Some face masks now come with a coating of graphene, a substance that can kill microbes. Is it safe to breathe it in?
Scientists are starting to use genetic information from bacteria to measure the health of vast areas of the ocean.
A stable ecosystem of organic matter is the key to improving agricultural yields in the surrounding farmland and fighting climate change.
Van Leeuwenhoek, who discovered bacteria, is one of the most important figures in the history of medicine, laying the groundwork for today’s understanding of infectious disease.
Sauerkraut, sourdough, beer…and chocolate? They’re all fermented foods that rely on microbes of various types to transform the flavor of their raw ingredients into something totally different.
Microbes can alter the minds of mouse mothers and disrupt their natural instinct to nurture their young.
Whether or not you respond to a certain medicine or therapy doesn’t just depend on you. The microbes in your gut play a role in the success or failure of various drugs, including cancer therapies.
There are more viruses in the ocean than stars in the Milky Way – and they’re fundamental to Earth’s biodiversity.
The microbes in your gut influence how your immune system reacts to bacteria and viruses. A severe immune reaction is deadly; a small one lets the virus win. The right balance may depend on your diet.
Peat beds around the world hold huge quantities of carbon and keep it from warming the planet. But rising temperatures and over-use could turn them from a brake on climate change into an accelerant.
If so, then the possibility of planetary super-heating in future has just become much more real.
Nutrients and energy contained within dead animals are repurposed and repackaged into living, breathing insects.
Top contributors
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Professor of Planetary Geosciences, The Open University
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Doctoral Candidate in Microbiology, University of Oregon
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Senior Lecturer in Geology, University of Aberdeen
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Senior Lecturer in Biology, Brunel University London
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Professor emeritus, Colorado State University
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Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology; African-American Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Professor of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University
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Senior Lecturer in Clinical Microbiology, University of Leicester
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Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University
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Senior Lecturer in Earth System Science, Northumbria University, Newcastle
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Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Sciences, RMIT University
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Professor of microbiology, Manchester Metropolitan University
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Australian Research Council Future Fellow, The University of Western Australia
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Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Washington State University
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Assistant Professor of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Maine
