Sunday, 26 May, 2013

Bacteria: you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all? Not. There’s a chemical war going on in that Petri dish, and a new study identifies specialist “super-killers” can kill off a broad range of competitors. Could “bacterial soldiers” help us fight resistance to antibiotics?

Found: The smallest farmers in the world! If you’re hungry, and moving to a land without food, the smart money says, “Take some seeds.” And that’s exactly what a common soil amoeba does: It totes along bacteria so it can eat them in its new home.

All life requires oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, carbon, hydrogen and phosphorus. Until now. Bacteria in a toxic California lake that have replaced phosphorus with arsenic are quite healthy, thank you very much. Tune in for our scientific remake of the boffo comedy: “Arsenic in Old Lake!”

Cholera can kill with record speed. The bacterium is easy to control — if wastewater and drinking water are treated. Haiti — chronically corrupt, painfully poor, and wasted by the January quake, is paradise for the cholera bug. How is cholera prevented, and what are the enduring gifts of this deadly bug?

4B years ago, the “late heavy bombardment” burned out all life — or not… High-temp bacteria could have survived in deep rocks.

New snowflake generator reveals nature’s design principles; anti-reflective coating is nearly perfect, and so is mother-of-pearl inside an abalone. Dive into the nitty gritty of the itty bitty!

Without trillions of bacteria in our guts, we die. But how do these bacteria colonize the bug-free human infant just after birth? New study details bacterial balancing act.

Computer graphics and microbiology unite as scientists build complex digital models of cellular machinery to view a microscopic world in powerful new ways.

Surprise: Crabs prefer fish fresh, just like you and me! Study shows that odor of rotten fish repels stone crabs; shows evolutionary reason why decay organisms make foul stench.

Want to make alternative fuel? Need to get electricity directly from organic slop? Bacteria may have the perfect answer.

Anthrax scares lead to overuse of antibiotics. Resistance is feared. Could we be returning to the bad old days of medicine?

Anthrax receptor found, could lead to new, non-antibiotic treatment.

Evolution is going on all around us. Evolution and everyday life.

New report says we don’t get genes directly from bacteria.

Fungus that caused Irish potato famine is back, threatening potato crops around the world. How did the blight change world history, and what is being done to prevent another blight?