Microbes

Environment

Gulf oil spills could destroy shipwrecks faster

In the Gulf of Mexico, leftover crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill may be speeding the corrosion of old shipwrecks.

Microbes

Powered by poop and pee?

Scientists are developing methods to not only remove human waste from wastewater, but also to harness the energy hidden within it.

Health & Medicine

Zika virus raises alarm as it spreads in the Americas

Zika virus has been in Africa and Asia for decades. But is has now spread to the Americas. And it may cause a devastating birth defect.

Life

Cell recount: People host far fewer germs

Since the 1970s, microbiologists have been saying bacteria outnumber human cells in our bodies by about 10-to-1. A new analysis says that old number was a “fake” fact — and gross exaggeration.

Health & Medicine

Explainer: What is skin?

The body’s soft, outer armor contains three layers, each with its own important role to play.

Health & Medicine

The truth about zits

A common bacterium called P. acnes usually helps keep the skin healthy. But under some conditions, and especially during puberty, it can trigger painful, embarrassing outbreaks of unsightly pimples.

Earth

Bubbles may have sheltered Earth’s early life

For Earth’s earliest inhabitants, a bubble on the beach would have been the next best thing to a safety blanket.

Microbes

Fossils show sign of ancient vampire microbes

Scientists have found 750-million-year-old fossils of cells with puncture wounds. This appears to offer evidence that vampirelike creatures sucked them dry.

Microbes

Slime cities

Biofilms are like tiny cities of bacteria — some harmless, others destructive. Scientists are learning how to keep these microscopic metropolises under control.

Genetics

The earliest evidence of plague

Plague is best known as the killer disease that wiped out nearly half of Europe during the 1300s. But the germ infected people up to 3,000 years earlier than that, DNA from ancient teeth now show.

Environment

Mealworms chow down on plastic

Gut bacteria in mealworms break down polystyrene. Feeding plastic to the worms, or the germs they carry, could be a way to get rid of these wastes.

Earth

The dirt on soil

More than just dirt, soils teem with microbes essential for growing crops. Soils also help prevent floods and even play a role in climate change.