5,519 results
- Ecosystems
No ‘dead zone’ from BP oil
As aquatic microbes dine, they consume oxygen. When too many congregate at some temporary smorgasbord of goodies, they can use up so much oxygen that a so-called dead zone develops — water with too little oxygen to sustain fish, mammals or shellfish. On Sept. 7, federal scientists reported that despite the massive release of oil from the damaged BP well in the Gulf of Mexico, no such dead zone developed.
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An engineer teaches her colleagues to share their toys
In her synthetic biology lab at Stanford, Christina Smolke designs circuits and switches using biological components, work that may lead to yeast that crank out medicines or ways to reprogram the immune system. Winner of the 2009 World Technology Award in biotechnology for doing work of “the greatest likely long-term significance” in her field, Smolke […]
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- Life
MRSA bacterial strain mutates quickly as it spreads
Antibiotic-resistant microbe's detailed family tree reveals roots of the global infection.
- Earth
‘Bug traps’ in Gulf to use BP oil as bait
To assay how appetizing polluting oil is to native Gulf micobes — and how rapidly they degrade it — researchers plan to set 150 “bug traps” on August 26.. Their bait: the same oil that had been spewed for months by BP’s damaged Deepwater Horizon well.
- Animals
A little climate change goes a long way in the tropics
In hot places, even minor warming could rev up metabolism in animals that don’t generate their own heat, a new analysis suggests.
- Chemistry
Deep-sea plumes: A rush to judgment?
A new report suggests a deep-sea plume of oil in the Gulf of Mexico has been gobbled up by microbes. But the scientist who described the incident doesn't "know" that. He can't — yet.
- Life
How salmonella helps kill cancer cells
A bacterial foe gives the immune system a boost to seek and destroy melanoma. The findings may point to a vaccine for melanoma and other malignancies.
- Animals
Classic view of leaf-cutter ants overlooked nitrogen-fixing partner
A fresh look at a fungus-insect partnership that biologists have studied for more than a century uncovers a role for bacteria.
- Health & Medicine
The Power of D
Sunshine vitamin’s potential health benefits stir up, split scientists.
- Humans
New genes give gut bacteria antibiotic resistance
Scientists find new genes for antibiotic resistance in common bacteria in the human gut.
- Life
Genome from a bottle
Cells switch species when given synthetic DNA, an advance that could lead to designer organisms.
