Fossil evidence of how the earliest life on Earth came to be is hard to come by. But scientists have come up with a few theories based on the microbes, viruses and prions existing today.
Turns out it is a sterile environment after all.
Rawpixel/Shutterstock
Microbes are so tiny humans can’t see them without special equipment. But the discovery of 20 new species will help scientists map the evolutionary tree of life.
As a material, bacteria’s ability to rapidly multiply and adapt to different conditions is an asset.
Gschmeissner/Science Photo Library via Getty Images
The walls of your house could someday be built with living bacteria. Synthetic biologists are engineering microbes into living materials that are cheap and sustainable.
The pumpkin on the right has a fungal disease known as black rot.
Matt Kasson
The types of microbes residing in your gut can affect your mental and physical health. Home microbiome tests promise to help consumers improve the composition of their gut microbes.
Without obvious signs of contamination like the mold in this jam, consumers use expiration dates to decide whether to keep or throw away food.
Ralf Geithe via iStock/Getty Images
Current expiration date system leads to confused consumers and wasted food.
Plastic trash accumulates in trees and shrubs along the Los Angeles River.
Citizen of the Planet/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Plastic is made from oil and natural gas, which started out as fossilized plant and animal material. But buried deep underground for millions of years, those materials changed in important ways.
Toe jam was mentioned in a song by The Beatles. Maybe they knew a thing or two about foot hygiene.
Permafrost and ice wedges have built up over millennia in the Arctic. When they thaw, they destabilize the surrounding landscape.
Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Mark J. Lara, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ground is collapsing and massive lakes are draining in a matter of days. Thawing permafrost is having profound effects on the region and its infrastructure.
Fungi that live on plant roots can help with the uptake of nutrients.
(Shutterstock)
Plants communicate with the fungi on their roots, but the effects on the ecosystem of deliberately adding fungi as a fertilizer are unknown — and might be harmful.
In ancient Earth’s atmosphere, microbes called acetogens were able to recycle carbon dioxide using chemical energy sources such as hydrogen.
Low-cost air-ventilation systems have been installed in many classrooms across the U.S. to help reduce COVID-19 transmission.
Halfpoint Images/Moment via Getty Images
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.