Talmudic Question #209
What general rules do you see emerging from the ongoing studies of microbial communities that will inform our understanding of their function?
Read more →
Talmudic Question #209
What general rules do you see emerging from the ongoing studies of microbial communities that will inform our understanding of their function?
Read more →
Posted on November 30, 2023 at 12:43 AM in Talmudic Questions | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Christoph
Other than the title Kool & The Gang − Celebration suggests, this post is not about the R&B band of past glories and their biggest hit, but instead celebrates the true "cool kids", mushrooms − biologically correct fungi − and their "hypothermic nature", studied by Cordero et al. (2023).
Read more →
Posted on November 27, 2023 at 01:30 AM in Fungi | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Christoph
Elio wrote A table for Two many years ago, about the surprising observation that the Gram‑negative bacterium Vibrio vulnificus can be preyed upon simultaneously by a bacteriophage and a "bacteriovorous" bacterium. He could not have figured that the single image in his piece is a perfect vignette for the greatly increased interest...
Read more →
Posted on November 23, 2023 at 01:30 AM in Physiology & Genetics | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Christoph
Today for a change a movie review : The remake of the 1967 classic Le bal des vampires by Roman Polanski. ... They had casted Caulobacter crescentus as the innkeeper's pretty daughter Sarah, and as the villain Count von Krolock none other than Bdellovibrio exovorus (no, not the better known Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus).
Read more →
Posted on November 20, 2023 at 12:05 AM in Physiology & Genetics | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Mechas
Anyone who has worked in a microbiology lab can empathize with the anguish of having a contaminant ruin your experiment. In many cases, such as in clinical laboratories or in the food industry, contaminants can prove devastating and challenging to control. When dealing with environmental samples, on the other hand, contaminants are the norm.
Read more →
Posted on November 16, 2023 at 01:30 AM in Odds & Ends | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Sarah Camara-Wilpert and David Mayo-Muñoz
Bacteria, just like humans, are frequently infected by viruses (bacteriophages or phages). Phages replicate at the expense of their hosts, killing them and the process releases hundreds of progeny into the environment to complete their life cycle. The end of bacteria? Not so fast!
Read more →
Posted on November 13, 2023 at 01:30 AM in Physiology & Genetics, Viruses | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Roberto
This past October 9th, microbiology lost an extraordinary member when Andrew Wright died. Those of us fortunate to have interacted with him over the years lost a very good friend. Even on a first meeting it was impossible not to sense his kindness and genuine interest in the conversation, underscored by his gentle smile and an endearing Scottish accent.
Read more →
Posted on November 09, 2023 at 01:30 AM in Odds & Ends | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Janie
In storytelling, there is a famous principle called Chekhov's gun. "If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise, don't put it there." This pithy (and very debatable) directive, attributed to the eponymous playwright, smells a whole lot like the (similarly very debatable) viewpoint of adaptationism...
Read more →
Posted on November 06, 2023 at 12:30 AM in Behavior, Physiology & Genetics, Symbioses | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Roberto
In casual conversations I used to say that the number of bacteria causing human disease was small, a few dozen, perhaps around 100. Was I wrong! A paper by Bartlett et al. (2022) puts the number at 1513 and growing rapidly...
Read more →
Posted on November 02, 2023 at 01:21 AM in Pathogens | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Christoph
In his recent post, Roberto was pleased to learn of a study addressing bacterial chemical ecology within a very small ecosystem, namely the hair follicles of human skin, where Cutibacterium acnes contend with Staphylococci. Here now, it's again about C. acnes, but this time about several strains competing for growth in human hair follicles, pores. An ecological family affair, so to speak.
Read more →
Posted on October 30, 2023 at 02:30 AM in Ecology, Physiology & Genetics | Permalink | Comments (0)