1,375 results
- Life
Microbes’ role in truffle scents not trifling
Truffles make their prized aroma with a little help from their microbes, chemists suggest.
- Animals
Rabbits leave a mark on soil long after they are gone
Twenty years after rabbits were removed from a sub-Antarctic island, soil fungus has yet to return to normal, a study finds.
- Plants
Defense hormones guide plant roots’ mix of microbes
Plants use salicylic acid to attract some bacteria to roots and repel others.
- Life
A vineyard’s soil influences the microbiome of a grapevine
Vineyard soil microbes end up on grapes, leaves and flowers, study finds.
- Life
A downy killer wages chemical warfare
The common fungus Beauveria bassiana makes white downy corpses of its victims.
- Animals
Neandertal of ant farmers grows modern food
The most old-fashioned fungus-growing ant yet discovered grows a startlingly new-fangled crop.
- Chemistry
Biology may provide just the right chemistry for new drugs
Using enzymes and microbes to make new drugs may help revive the pharmaceutical industry.
- Animals
Organisms age in myriad ways — and some might not even bother
There is great variety in how animals and plants deteriorate (or don’t) over time.
- Life
The tree of life gets a makeover
Biology’s tree of life has morphed from the familiar classroom version emphasizing kingdoms into a complex depiction of supergroups, in which animals are aligned with a slew of single-celled cousins.
- Life
When bacteria-killing viruses take over, it’s bad news for the gut
A rise in some bacteria-killing viruses in the intestines may deplete good bacteria and trigger inflammatory bowel diseases.
- Animals
Fungi threaten sea turtle nests
The pathogens can kill up to 90 percent of eggs in a single nest.
- Chemistry
Wanted: Crime-solving bacteria and body odor
Forensic investigators are moving past old-school sleuthing to analyze microbes and odors that tell a more complete story, while pursuing ways to enhance traditional tools as well.
