With a few genetic tweaks, a type of soil bacteria with an appetite for hydrocarbons shows promise as a biological factory for converting a renewable—but frustratingly untapped—bounty into a replacement for ubiquitous ...
Materials Science
Mar 7, 2019
0
174
The sun has just set on a quiet mudflat in Australia's Northern Territory; it'll set again in another 19 hours. A young moon looms large over the desolate landscape. No animals scurry in the waning light. No leaves rustle ...
Evolution
Jan 11, 2024
1
157
Nearly a third of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere annually can be traced back to bacteria living in the soil, where they break down plant and animal matter for energy.
Environment
Nov 24, 2017
3
322
We may be capable of finding microbes in space—but if we did, could we tell what they were, and that they were alive?
Astronomy
Jul 21, 2017
0
211
A new scientific study has revealed unique life strategies of two major groups of microbes that live below Earth's surface. A publication in Frontiers in Microbiology reports that these groups, originally thought to rely ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 25, 2020
2
180
This spring, the world learned of a newly discovered missing link between microbes and humans called Lokiarchaeota. The actual story is that the microbe Lokiarchaeota, discovered on the deep sea floor by a hydrothermal vent ...
Evolution
Sep 16, 2015
0
19
An analysis of data on stomach acidity and diet in birds and mammals suggests that high levels of stomach acidity developed not to help animals break down food, but to defend animals against food poisoning. The work raises ...
Evolution
Jul 29, 2015
1
23
(PhysOrg.com) -- A bacterium whose name was inspired by the Star Wars films has provided new clues into the evolution of our own cells and how they came to possess the vital energy-producing units called mitochondria.
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 9, 2011
10
2
Over the past decade, teams of engineers, chemists and biologists have analyzed the physical and chemical properties of cicada wings, hoping to unlock the secret of their ability to kill microbes on contact. If this function ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 18, 2023
0
1372
Studies of the gut microbiome have gone to the dogs—and pets around the world could benefit as a result. In a paper published this week in mBio, researchers from Nestle Purina PetCare Company report that the ratio of proteins ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 24, 2017
0
509
