Microbes
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Microbes
Airplane sewage may be helping antibiotic-resistant microbes spread
Along with drug-resistant E. coli, airplane sewage contains a diverse set of genes that let bacteria evade antibiotics.
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Archaeology
DNA from 5,700-year-old ‘gum’ shows what one ancient woman may have looked like
From chewed birch pitch, scientists recovered DNA from an ancient woman and her mouth microbes and hazelnut and duck DNA from a meal she’d consumed.
By Sofie Bates -
Ecosystems
A newly found Atacama Desert soil community survives on sips of fog
Lichens and other fungi and algae unite to form “grit-crust” on the dry soil of Chile’s Atacama Desert and survive on moisture from coastal fog.
By Jack J. Lee -
Life
A single-celled protist reacts to threats in surprisingly complex ways
New research validates a century-old experiment that shows single-celled organisms are capable of complex “decision making.”
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Life
Acrobatic choanoflagellates could help explain how multicellularity evolved
A newfound single-celled microbe species forms groups of multiple individual organisms that change shape in response to light.
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Humans
Personalized diets may be the future of nutrition. But the science isn’t all there yet
How a person responds to food depends on more than the food itself. But what exactly is still a confusing mix of genes, microbes and other factors.
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Health & Medicine
50 years ago, polio was still circulating in the United States
The world has never been closer to eradicating polio, but the disease could come roaring back where vaccination is spotty.
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Life
Fecal transplants might help make koalas less picky eaters
Poop-transplant pills changed the microbial makeup of koalas’ guts. That could allow the animals to adapt when a favorite type of eucalyptus runs low.
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Life
How a newly identified bacterium saps corals of their energy
A parasitic bacterium that preys on corals quickly reproduces when it senses more nutrients in its host.
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Life
This is the first fungus known to host complex algae inside its cells
In the lab, an alga and a fungus teamed up to exchange food, similar to lichens. But instead of staying outside, the alga moved into the fungal cells.
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Plants
‘Slime’ shows how algae have shaped our climate, evolution and daily lives
The new book ‘Slime’ makes the case that algae deserve to be celebrated.
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Microbes
Gut microbes might help elite athletes boost their physical performance
Veillonella bacteria increased in some runners’ guts after a marathon, and may make a compound that might boost endurance, a mouse study suggests.