Wheat straw, the dried stalks left over from grain production, is a potential source of biofuels and commodity chemicals. But before straw can be converted to useful products by biorefineries, the polymers that make it up ...
Materials Science
Feb 17, 2021
2
1106
The presence of high salt and nitrogen concentrations in high-tunnel soils may make it more challenging to rebuild a healthy soil microbiome following a soil-clearing event, according to microbial ecologists in Penn State's ...
Environment
Feb 11, 2021
0
76
Michelle O'Malley has long been inspired by gut microbes. Since she began studying the herbivore digestive tract, the UC Santa Barbara chemical engineering professor has guided several students to their doctoral degrees, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 1, 2021
1
43
Good news: The bacteria living on your toothbrush reflect your mouth—not your toilet.
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 1, 2021
1
20
There's a better end for used food than taking up space in landfills and contributing to global warming.
Environment
Jan 28, 2021
2
122
In a study of 500 sourdough starters spanning four continents, scientists have garnered new insights into the environmental factors that contribute to each sourdough starter's microbial ecosystem, and how different types ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 26, 2021
2
712
Tomato plants are especially vulnerable to foliar diseases that can kill them or impact yield. These problems require a number of pesticides in conventional crops and make organic production especially difficult.
Plants & Animals
Jan 14, 2021
1
999
When Michigan State University's Gemma Reguera first proposed her new research project to the National Science Foundation, one grant reviewer responded that the idea was not "environmentally relevant."
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 8, 2021
0
2238
Bacteria often show very strong biogeography—some bacteria are abundant in specific locations while absent from others—leading to major questions when applying microbiology to therapeutics or probiotics: how did the bacteria ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 19, 2020
0
141
Wildfire smoke contains microbes, a fact that's often ignored, but one that may have important health repercussions.
Environment
Dec 18, 2020
4
190
