Treating Autism Spectrum Disorders with… Feces? People with autism spectrum disorders were treated with microbiota transfer therapy, and a follow-up study after 2 years showed improvement in autism-related symptoms.

Justina Žvirblytė

People with autism spectrum disorders were treated with microbiota transfer therapy, and a follow-up study after 2 years showed significant persistent improvement on autism-related symptoms.

DNA evidence allowed biologists to identify a new type of bacteria Taxonomy is the system biologists use to name living things. DNA evidence allows us to see how related living things are to one another, verifying (or changing!) the naming system.

Barbara Park Poage

Based on new DNA results, the researchers were able to provide better classification of cyanobacteria.

Microbe lasagna tells us about what life was like billions of years ago Layers of bacteria and rock leave their fingerprints behind by changing the kinds of carbon atoms we might find in the environment.

Zoe Havlena

Sort of like a fossilized microbial lasagna, fossils called “stromatolites” are formed when layered communities of different types of bacteria trap sand, dirt, and debris in their structure over time. Stromatolites are found in rocks as old as 3.5 billion years, and containing the planet’s earliest life forms.

Bacteria from the Black Sea Have an Unusual Diet A new species of bacterium was discovered that lives off manganese and sulfur instead of oxygen or carbon dioxide

Alex Duff

Many organisms live by breathing in oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide, and those that don’t often live by taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. However, did you know that these aren’t the only ways life can survive? Researchers recently discovered Sulfurimonas marinigri, a species of bacteria that survives by taking in sulfur and manganese instead of oxygen and carbon. This method of survival has long been theorized, but could never be proven until now.

Contaminants in groundwater can take over 20 years to break down But scientists have a method for removing the contaminants more quickly, using a underground barrier.

Kristen Amodeo

Have you ever driven past an old factory building and wondered what ever happened to the harsh chemicals that were used there? If you guessed that a lot of the chemicals ended up in the environment, you would be right. READ MORE

We can learn about life on other planets by studying viruses These scientists suggest that perhaps viruses were the first "life form" on Earth, a provocative idea!

Justin Dingman

Scientists from the University of Zurich and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, as well as the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have come together to summarize recent evidence has challenged our working theory on the origin READ MORE

A Special Kind of Bacteria Lets Cement Fix Itself Mineral-forming bacteria that grow best in fast-flowing liquid may be the glue that researchers need to close cracks in underground cement.

Samantha Peterson

Cement is one of those common building materials that you can find just about anywhere. When the cement starts to get cracked, fixing it is generally an easy task that involves widening the crack slightly before filling it with more READ MORE

Mining with acid-generating bacteria Sulfuric acid production by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria may be a solution to a long standing mining problem.

Mackenzie Best

Sulfuric acid production by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria may be a solution to a long standing mining problem.

Dying Coral Reefs are Springing Forward with New Life Researchers look at the mix of bacteria that established themselves within damaged coral reefs.

Sarah Watson

Our coral reef ecosystems, often called “underwater rainforests,” are quickly changing. Coral reefs are elaborate and complex ecosystems and even though they make up only a small fraction of the ocean, they contain 25% of all marine life. Reefs are READ MORE