microbiology
What happens when two different respiratory viruses infect the same cell?
A new study looks at what happens when you get infected with two viruses at the same time.
Infectious disease and the bitter Koch-Pasteur vaccine rivalry
The following is an excerpt from Viruses, Pandemics, and Immunity by Arup K. Chakraborty and Andrey S. Shaw. Reprinted with Permission from The MIT PRESS. Copyright 2021. Koch’s Postulates, Anthrax, […]
Marine biologists discover 4 new types of photoreceptor
How do these little beasties detect light anyway?
4 microbes may lead to new type 2 diabetes probiotics
A new study suggests that maintaining gut health to avoid diabetes may be little simpler than previously believed.
Finding aliens: Is there a ‘theory of everything’ for life?
The search for alien life is far too human-centric. Our flawed understanding of what life really is may be holding us back from important discoveries about the universe and ourselves.
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New tardigrade species withstands lethal UV radiation thanks to fluorescent ‘shield’
Another amazing tardigrade survival skill is discovered.
Earth’s first lifeforms breathed arsenic, not oxygen
The microbes that eventually produced the planet's oxygen had to breathe something, after all.
Meet antivitamins. They may replace your antibiotics one day
German researchers have just solved the mystery of how these substances work.
Man whose gut brewed beer is cured—by a poop transplant
The human body is endlessly fascinating.
Ask a Chemist: How does handwashing kill coronavirus?
The physical action of handwashing plus the properties of soap is a one-two punch for the virus.
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Kate the Chemist: Water is a freak substance. Here’s why.
Dr. Kate Biberdorf explains why boiling water makes it safer and how water molecules are unusual and cool.
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Why does coronavirus kill more men than women? Researchers may have found an important clue.
Men take longer to clear COVID-19 from their systems; a male-only coronavirus repository may be why.
Stanford scientists engineer a ‘smart toilet’ that checks your health
The smart toilet can analyze urine and stool samples for disease markers and can even recognize an individual user's "analprint".
The growth of an organism rides on a pattern of waves
Study shows ripples across a newly fertilized egg are similar to ocean and atmospheric circulations.
Can synthetic biology protect us from coronavirus? And the next one?
The National Institutes of Health hopes synthetic biology can engineer vaccines that outperform nature.
Mystery virus found with mostly unknown DNA
The origin and phylogeny of the Yaravirus are not yet clear.
Could heart disease actually be contagious?
A new hypothesis suggests that you can "catch" noncommunicable diseases from other people via the microbiome.
First Mars samples are headed to Earth. What are the risks?
A Mars Space Flight team member warns that people need to be prepared for what's coming.
What the third Star Wars trilogy was supposed to be about
Spoiler: Microbiomes in space!
Is NASA ignoring proof of Martian life from the 1970s?
One of the scientists with the Viking missions says yes.
Hypoxia researchers win 2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine
Three scientist friends, working separately, share the prestigious prize.
Could Earth have a ‘shadow’ biosphere?
Some scientists think there may be a hidden, second form of life living right under our noses.
Will the livestock industry collapse?
A new report sees a major disruption in where we get our food.
Moon landing astronauts reveal they possibly infected Earth with space germs
Two Apollo 11 astronauts question NASA's planetary safety procedures.
This bacteria can withstand 1,000x as much radiation as would kill a human
Meet Deinococcus radioduranst, the world's toughest bacteria.
Evolution just got turned upside down. Sorry sponges.
Stems cells have always been pretty amazing.
What makes prions the ‘zombie protein’?
How can a misfolded protein be behind some of the strangest and deadliest diseases out there?
Researchers announce molecular surgery — no cutting, no scarring
Doctors may be able to painlessly reshape cartilage with the technique.
Brazilian scientists produce mini-brains with eyes
Using a new process, a mini-brain develops retinal cells.
The “Düsseldorf patient”: A third person may also be in HIV remission
Recently, "the London patient" became the second person in history to be cured of HIV. Now, "the Düsseldorf patient" appears to be the third, with the possibility of more on the way.