Microbes

Health & Medicine

Explainer: The body’s immune system

An army of cells — and their protein arsenal — work to keep us safe. Several squads of special forces possess unique superpowers to disable or kill intruders.

Environment

Recycling a climate-warming gas could make ‘greener’ farmed fish

Instead of warming the climate, methane gas can be collected to help farmers. Along the way, it may also save some fish.

Microbes

Scientists Say: Bacteria

Bacteria get a bad rap for making people sick, but only a tiny portion of these single-celled creatures cause disease.

Materials Science

Analyze This: This material for 3-D printing is made by microbes

Bacteria with tweaked genes pump out proteins that can be used in a 3-D printer. With microbes in the mix, the living ink can make drugs or suck up chemicals.

Microbes

Genes point to how some bacteria can gobble up electricity

A new study shows how some microbes absorb and release electrons — a trait that may point to new fuels or ways to store energy.

Animals

Meat-eating bees have something in common with vultures

Flesh-eating bees have acid-producing gut bacteria, much as vultures do. It lets them safely snack on rotting meat.

Materials Science

Bacteria make ‘spider silk’ that’s stronger than steel

Part spider silk, the material is better than what some spiders make. Researchers think it might make the basis for surgical threads or unusually strong fabrics.

Animals

What biologists call a species is becoming more than just a name

The tree of life — evolution — has been reshaping how scientists name and classify organisms. Some want naming to reflect evolutionary groups even more.

Animals

Tiny animals survive 24,000 years in suspended animation

Tiny bdelloid rotifers awake from a 24,000-year slumber when freed from the Arctic permafrost.

Environment

Wildfire smoke seeds the air with potentially dangerous microbes

Studies now show that most wildfires don’t kill microbes. That’s fueling worries about what risks these smoke hitchhikers might pose to people.

Microbes

Explainer: Virus variants and strains

When viruses become more infectious or better able to survive the body’s immune system, they become a type of variant known as a strain.

Microbes

Let’s learn about microbes

There may be a billion species of microorganisms on Earth — but scientists have only discovered a small fraction of them.