5,519 results
- Environment
No water contamination found in Ohio’s fracking epicenter
Methane in Ohio groundwater comes from biological sources, such as bacteria, not fossil fuel exploration.
- Physics
Tiny particles propel themselves upstream
Light-activated, human-made particles can align themselves with the flow of a fluid and swim upstream.
- Health & Medicine
Carbs and gut microbes fuel colon cancer
Western nations experience high levels of colon cancer, and carbo-loading gut microbes might explain why, says a new study in mice.
- Health & Medicine
Urine is not sterile, and neither is the rest of you
Despite what the Internet says, urine does contain bacteria, a new study finds. And so does your brain, the womb, and pretty much everywhere else.
- Life
Ocean microbes orchestrate gene activity
The bacteria’s daily cycles aren’t just for photosynthesis, a new study suggests.
- Environment
Legionnaires’ disease bacteria lurk in tap water
Found in nearly half of faucets, contamination could explain sporadic cases of disease.
- Microbes
Viruses buoy life at hydrothermal vents
Using hijacked genes, deep-sea viruses help sulfur-eating bacteria generate power in the plumes of hydrothermal vents.
- Health & Medicine
Ulcer microbe changes quickly to avoid immune attack
During the initial weeks of infection, Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium that causes stomach ulcers, mutates at a high rate, apparently to evade the body’s defenses.
- Microbes
Gut bacteria respect diets, not borders
Malawian and Guahibo gut microbiomes resembled those of herbivorous mammals, while American guts were more similar to carnivores’.
- Genetics
Bacteria can be genetically tricked into self-destructing
Manipulating microbes’ defenses could lead to targeted antibiotics.
- Humans
Antibiotics in infancy may cause obesity in adults
By altering the microbiome of infant mice, drugs predisposed the animals to gain fat as adults.
- Climate
Ocean bacteria may have shut off ancient global warming
Ocean-dwelling bacteria may have helped end global warming 56 million years ago by gobbling up carbon from the CO2-laden atmosphere.
