Small Things Considered

A blog for sharing appreciation of the width and depth of microbes and microbial activities on this planet.

Small Things Considered
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Welcome to Small Things Considered (STC)! In this blog we share our excitement about unexpected and unusual stories of the microbial world. The "About" page describes who we are. But we do not just publish our own writing. We very much enjoy posting contributions from students, postdocs, and others. Don't think that we do this to avoid work, we spend a lot of time editing the material we receive. Do send us your comments, criticisms, submissions, ideas, or whatever else comes to you mind; we are very eager to hear from you. See the "Contact" tab for directions on how to reach us. Thank you for visiting and, before you go, consider taking a moment to "Subscribe."
  • Summer Vacation
  • Retrospective, January to June 2025
  • Koyaanisqatsi
  • Lost & Found #7
  • Gene Location Matters
  • The Remarkable Julian Davies
  • A Most Useful Light Switch
  • Zombie Ants and the Evolution of Mind Control
  • CRISPR-Based Metabarcoding

Summer Vacation

The STC team is taking its customary summer vacation, this year for five weeks. Do you think we deserve it? We do. We look forward to seeing you again on July 21! Read more →

Posted on June 12, 2025 at 02:30 AM in Odds & Ends | Permalink | Comments (0)

Retrospective, January to June 2025

by the STC Team — In keeping with tradition, here is the list of our posts from the last half year. Read more →

Posted on June 09, 2025 at 02:30 AM in Odds & Ends | Permalink | Comments (0)

Koyaanisqatsi

Noteworthy — Summer break for us is almost here. We'll post our January – June 2025 Retrospective next Monday and then its Summer Vacation for STC! As we end our first semester of "Noteworthy" post experiment we're straying off topic. We're drawing your attention to a film, and it is not a film about microbes. Read more →

Posted on June 05, 2025 at 01:30 AM in Odds & Ends | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lost & Found #7

by Christoph — As in 'Lost & Found #1–6', there are three bookmarks that caught my eye when I was cleaning up our account on 𝕏 (formerly Twitter). And which might still be worth a quick look for you, too, I hope, so here it is 'Lost & Found #7'. Read more →

Posted on June 02, 2025 at 02:35 AM in Odds & Ends | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gene Location Matters

Noteworthy — Bacterial genomes are not a laundry list of genes, but dynamic structures intimately connected with cellular function. As a result, natural selection has a heavy hand in shaping chromosomal architecture – the position of genes within chromosomes – into configurations that best coordinate gene expression. Read more →

Posted on May 29, 2025 at 04:09 AM in Noteworthy, Physiology & Genetics | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Remarkable Julian Davies

by Roberto — If I were asked to name scientists who have deeply influenced the evolution of my own thinking along the decades, there's little doubt that Julian Davies would be at the top of the list. Julian died this past February 2nd, shortly after turning 93. Read more →

Posted on May 26, 2025 at 01:30 AM in Odds & Ends | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Most Useful Light Switch

Noteworthy — Phytoplankton, photosynthetic microbes that inhabit surface ocean waters, form the base of marine food webs. These keystone microbes are the oceans' primary producers. Importantly, their ability to carry out photosynthesis depends on their ability to make chlorophyll. Read more →

Posted on May 22, 2025 at 01:30 AM in Ecology, Noteworthy | Permalink | Comments (0)

Zombie Ants and the Evolution of Mind Control

by Clio Morata de Jong and Nico Morales — In the realm of natural mind control, few phenomena are as gripping – literally – as the death grip of the parasitic fungus in the genus Ophiocordyceps. This fungus doesn't just kill its carpenter ant hosts; it transforms them into instruments of fungal propagation. Read more →

Posted on May 19, 2025 at 01:30 AM in Ecology, Evolution | Permalink | Comments (0)

CRISPR-Based Metabarcoding

Noteworthy — Microbes are abundant and very diverse. But acknowledging their significance in our biosphere has taken time and relied on curiosity, hard work, and the development of technologies to access, identify, and study microbial communities. Read more →

Posted on May 15, 2025 at 01:30 AM in Ecology, Noteworthy | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lost & Found #6

by Christoph — In this episode, again three bookmarks that came to my attention while cleaning up our account on 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) and that are not at all out of date. Give them a brief look and judge for yourself. Here is Lost & Found #6. Read more →

Posted on May 12, 2025 at 02:55 AM in Odds & Ends | Permalink | Comments (0)

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