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Microbiology

Your Cells Are Dying. All The Time.

Some go gently into the night. Others die in freak accidents or deadly invasions, or after a showy display.

October 2, 2024

The Bacteria That Revolutionized the World

How cyanobacteria killed one climate and created our habitable Earth.

April 8, 2024

The Speediest Creatures on Earth

How tiny one-celled protists pull off their strange and marvelous feats.

March 14, 2024

How Did Life Begin?

By imitating early conditions of Earth in the lab, scientists gain new insight into the origin of life.

February 2, 2024

Cells Across the Body Talk to Each Other About Aging

When mitochondria stop communicating, the biological clock starts winding down.

January 17, 2024

The Superbug That Devours Ocean Plastic

How genetically engineered bacteria could shrink the growing garbage patches in our oceans.

October 9, 2023

Mirror-Image Life

This biochemist is determined to create a new life form by reversing the shape of molecules.

October 9, 2023

A New Way to Make Cells from Scratch

How scientists are engineering synthetic cells to be more life-like.

September 25, 2023

Can We Stop Time in the Body?

Inside the “out there” quest for a drug that would help doctors save lives before it’s too late.

September 8, 2023

Pick Up Your Dog’s Poop or Else!

Science is coming after people who don’t give a @#$% about sidewalks.

September 7, 2023

The Invisible Impacts of Calamities

Why we need to study the microbiology of disasters.

August 30, 2023

Underground Cells Make “Dark Oxygen” Without Light

In some deep aquifers, cells have a chemical trick that could sustain whole underground ecosystems.

August 4, 2023