Triclosan is found in thousands of personal care products from toothpaste to soap. New research links it to inflammation and cancer in the gut in mice, by disrupting their microbiome.
In the largest citizen science experiment to date, 11,336 people sent poop samples to this San Diego lab so that microbiologists could figure out how the microbes in our guts make us healthy or sick.
Where do plague bacteria go between outbreaks? Research demonstrates that they can survive and replicate inside amoebae that are widely present in soil and water worldwide.
The recent E. coli outbreak in North America was linked to romaine lettuce. Many such outbreaks are often linked to fresh produce. Here’s what you need to know to keep your family safe.
With holiday travel in full swing and people packed together in small spaces, it’s important to try to stop the spread of germs. But can we really get our hands clean with a few seconds of cold water?
Antonio Lazcano, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
Lynn Margulis (1938-2011) was a courageous scholar whose remarkable work on the role of symbiosis in evolution stands as a magisterial contribution of science.
Humans - the very “carriers” who can spread dangerous microbes unthinkingly from their equipment and shoes - can instead become the first line of defence against a possible microscopic invasion.
When jetting off on holiday, we rarely give a second thought to what microbes we might be taking with us. But humans spread trillions of bacteria around the globe, potentially harming ecosystems’ balance.
Healthy soil teems with bacteria, fungi, viruses and other microorganisms that help store carbon and fend off plant diseases. To restore soil, scientists are finding ways to foster its microbiome.
Humans play host to many little passengers. Right now, you’re incubating, shedding or have already been colonised by viral, bacterial, parasitic or fungal microorganisms - perhaps even all of them.