Early Martian life may have used sulfur as an energy source
Using an environment on Earth that simulates early Mars conditions, researchers found an abundance of bacteria that get their energy from…
Category: Microbiology
Disease-causing bacteria can grow on hydroponic microgreen mats
Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes are two diarrhea-causing bacteria that can make you sick when eating contaminated produce. It…
A new way to look for signs of ancient life on Earth and Mars
The Mars 2020 mission involves sending a rover, named Perseverance, to Mars to look for evidence of past life on that planet. Perseverance…
Can cigarette butts on the beach influence the local environment?
A study of burned and unburned cigarettes found that water chemistry and microbes living in Mediterranean beach sediments changed after 4…
Strange microbes found living in caves of sulfuric acid
Researchers studying a sulfuric acid cave in Italy are among the first to describe organisms found living in gypsum, an acidic mineral…
Antibody testing for coronavirus: what does the science say?
Are there better ways to detect the coronavirus in our body? A small study from China suggests antibody testing as a potentially more…
What can microbes teach us about life in extreme environments?
Microbes on Earth have adapted to survive in some pretty extreme locations. The extreme dryness of deserts, high salinity in salt deposits,…
Fungi influence the recovery of pollutants in the environment
Researchers found a hidden selenium cycle tied to manganese oxide minerals made by common soil fungi.
How genes taught us about the origin of novel coronavirus
A group of scientists collected samples from some of the initially infected COVID-19 patients to show its similarities to other coronavirus…
What is COVID-19 and what we can do to prevent its spread?
Since December, 2019 a virus which causes the COVID-19 disease has been spreading, resulting in a global pandemic. While some questions…