Small Things Considered

What Microbiological Discovery in 2008 Did You Find Especially Interesting?

Here are the answers by Mark Martin, Ferric Fang, Mercè Piqueras, and Manuel Sánchez to our query. We invite you to send us yours to add to this post. Read more →

Giardia: "I Did It My Way"

by Merry Youle | Even if Giardia lamblia weren't one of the most common human parasites, it would still garner its share of attention. It is one of the earliest diverging eukaryotes, and it has its own way of doing things. For starters, it has two apparently equivalent diploid nuclei, both of which are transcriptionally active. Why does this matter? Read more →

Fine Reading: The Hybrid Two-Engine System of Myxobacteria

by Merry Youle | Microbiologists have been fascinated by the social swarming of the myxobacteria since they were first isolated by Roland Thaxter in 1892. Traveling in "wolf packs," these bacteria glide along solid surfaces, such as agar. En masse they secrete enough extracellular enzymes to lyse and digest bacteria... Read more →

Preventing Infections by Dispelling Sphignorance

by Norm Radin | Although sphingolipids have been known for more than 100 years, this class of body components is known by relatively few biological researchers. The lonely double bond between carbons C-4 and C-5 is very important to living beings... Read more →

Talmudic Question #43

by Mark Martin
How might the botulism bacillus, Clostridium botulinum, benefit from making botulinum toxin? (This question can be extended to the tetanus bacillus and its toxin, as well as to others.) Read more →

A Glimpse Into the World of Metagenomics

by Donald A. Klein | The article entitled 'Metagenomics' that recently appeared in Nature provides interesting insights into how metagenomicists appear to view microbes and the field of microbial ecology. What are some of the assumptions that are being made, based on the information given in this article? Read more →

In the Company of A Microbiology Blogger and Mushroom Hunter

by Chris Condayan | Hear Elio speak on the "Meet the Scientist Podcast" podcast. He is being interviewed about the joys and uses of microbiology blogs and mushroom hunting by (another Merry) Merry Buckley. The episode is about 16 minutes long... Read more →

Another Ralph Story

by John Ingraham | Heres a Ralph Lewin story you might not know. Ralph and Mike Doudoroff (another polymath: student of butterflies and snakes as well as microbial metabolism and taxonomy) were great friends. At the annual Asilomar meetings, Mike and Ralph always hung out together and interacted to everyone's delight and mild apprehension. Read more →

Of Fly Paper, Esperanto, Algae, Poems, and Polar Bears: In Memory of Ralph Lewin

by Elio | Picture a leading authority on algal genetics and ecology, a discoverer of fascinating microbes from many phyla, an accomplished poet, an Esperantist who translated Winnie the Pooh into that language, a wit, a philosopher, and a nice guy. You have pictured Ralph Lewin, who died in La Jolla, California, in late November... Read more →

Wolbachia Infection: A Good Thing?

by Merry Youle | Wolbachia have caused one of the great pandemics in the history of life. They infect at least 20% of the species of arthropods — which adds up to about 10⁶ species — as well as other invertebrate hosts. And they have done this using only maternal (vertical) transmission to infect their next host. Maternal transmission is... Read more →