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microbes

Latest Articles

Colored micrograph of the new Loki Asgard archaeon that was reported in December 2022.
microbes

Primitive Asgard Cells Show Life on the Brink of Complexity

By Joshua Sokol
April 11, 2023
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As researchers race to cultivate more of the intriguing cells from the deep seafloor, the few cells now growing in labs are giving us our best glimpses of the forerunners of all complex life.

microbiome

Global Microbiome Study Gives New View of Shared Health Risks

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
March 14, 2023
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The most comprehensive survey of how we share our microbiomes suggests a new way of thinking about the risks of developing some diseases that aren’t usually considered contagious.

An illustration of a plate of spaghetti with big virus particles instead of meatballs.
microbiology

With Nothing to Eat Except Viruses, Some Microbes Thrive

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
February 21, 2023
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“Virovores” — organisms that survive and multiply by eating viruses — might influence the flow of energy through ecosystems.

Holly Moeller walks along Campus Point Beach.
Q&A

She Finds Keys to Ecology in Cells That Steal From Others

By Veronique Greenwood
December 19, 2022
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The ecologist Holly Moeller studies microorganisms that expand their range by absorbing organelles and gaining new metabolic talents from their prey.

Artist’s illustration representing the immune system standing guard against a world of pathogens.
The Joy of Why

Why Is Inflammation a Dangerous Necessity?

By Steven Strogatz
April 20, 2022
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The immune system protects us from a full spectrum of pathogens, but without balance, it can end up hurting us over time, too. The immunologist Shruti Naik explains how our defenses can turn on us.

Micrograph of archaeal cells.
genomics

Plasmid, Virus or Other? DNA ‘Borgs’ Blur Boundaries.

By Jordana Cepelewicz +1 authors
Allison Whitten
July 21, 2021
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Scientists have reported large DNA structures in some archaea that defy easy categorization.

Video of a swimming Paramecium bursaria, with its Chlorella endosymbionts.
molecular biology

RNA Brakes May Stabilize a Cellular Symbiosis

By Max Kozlov
June 2, 2021
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In some symbiotic partnerships, an RNA-based mechanism may sabotage the growth of greedy hosts.

2020 in Review

The Year in Biology

By John Rennie
December 23, 2020
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While the study of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was the most urgent priority, biologists also learned more about how brains process information, how to define individuality and why sleep deprivation kills.

ecology

A Physicist’s Approach to Biology Brings Ecological Insights

By Gabriel Popkin
October 13, 2020
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The physicist Jeff Gore tests theories about microbe communities experimentally and finds new rules governing ecological stability.


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