Microbiology
85 articles-
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.
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Pick Up Your Dog’s Poop or Else!
Science is coming after people who don’t give a @#$% about sidewalks.
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The Invisible Impacts of Calamities
Why we need to study the microbiology of disasters.
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Underground Cells Make “Dark Oxygen” Without Light
In some deep aquifers, cells have a chemical trick that could sustain whole underground ecosystems.
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The Biologist Blowing Our Minds
Michael Levin is uncovering the incredible, latent abilities of living things.
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Through the Microscope, Bacterial Colonies Look Like Bustling Cities
They come and go from diverse neighborhoods, build towers, and cooperate.
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The Longevity Skeptic
This biochemist calls BS on extending human lifespan. Is he right?
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The World Is Full of Sleeping Beauties
Success in nature and culture depends just as much on timing as it does on brilliance.
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The Secret Life of the North Pole
A universe of microbes is melting with Arctic ice—with consequences for us all.
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The Body Electric
We are formed by more than DNA. Meet the bioelectric code.
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Will CRISPR Cure Cancer?
One question for Brad Ringeisen, a chemist and executive director of the Innovative Genomics Institute.
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Mobile Genes From the Mother Shape the Baby’s Microbiome
Tiny genetic sequences in a mother’s bacteria seem to hop into the infant’s bacteria, perhaps ensuring a healthy microbiome later in life.
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What We Really Are Is an Agglomeration of Cells
Siddhartha Mukherjee sings the praises of the cell to offer us a holistic portrait of life.
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What Lurks in a Drowned Forest in Alabama?
The next miracle drug might be hiding in a primeval undersea forest.
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The Little Miracles in the Invisible World of Plankton
Jan van IJken’s short film reveals “an unknown universe inhabited by alien-like creatures.”
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Torn Muscle? Hold the Drugs or Surgery—Massage May Be the Best Medicine
If you’re an athlete—even a very occasional one—odds are you’ve dealt with a muscle injury at some point. After all, muscle injuries account for 10 to 55 percent of sports traumas. Often they’re just a nuisance—say, a minor strain that takes you a couple days to get back on your feet. But severely injured muscles, […]
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The Arcane Research That Prepared Us for COVID-19
Decades of basic science research on an obscure virus helped fast-track COVID-19 vaccines.
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Carbon, It’s Elementary, Dear Reader
A selection of illustrations from the new book Carbon, One Atom’s Odyssey.
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The Vast Viral World: What We Know (and Don’t Know)
Exploring the minuscule and mysterious world of viruses.
