Small Things Considered

Fine Literature: Extracellular Respiration

by Elio  
Occasionally, we mention a review article that we think should be called to your attention. Now we wish to highlight a review by J. A. Granick and D. K. Newman called 'Extracellular Respiration'. Read more →

Talmudic Question #18

We previously asked: Invertebrates are said to have only innate immunity. Why do you suppose they have not evolved acquired immunity, as vertebrates have done? Let us now turn it around and ask: Why have vertebrates evolved acquired immunity? Read more →

Lingua Franca (Lipid Division)

by Elio  
A long, long time ago, a biochemist friend of mine said to me jokingly (I think): "When I hear the word lipid, I reach for my gun!" I'm not sure it was all that funny then, but any attempts at disparaging humor must cease now. A month doesn't go by without a report of a new role that lipids play in essential life processes. Read more →

Error Bars

by Elio  
Error bars in histograms remind me of detonators used to set off explosives. I am tempted to ask: "What would happen if you pushed down the plunger?" You see, in the old days people used to show the whole error bar, not just the half sticking out of the top. I'm still getting used to them, but... Read more →

Fungal Alchemy: Using Radiation as a Source of Energy

by Elio  
Accustomed as we are to microbial surprises, we were nonetheless taken aback by a report disclosing that certain fungi grow better when exposed to ionizing radiation. According to a paper from Albert Einstein Medical School, fungi can also use radiation as a source of energy─not exactly one's view of radiation as something malevolent and baneful. Read more →

The Cain Bugs

by Elio  
Pneumococci  aren't the most affable of bacteria. They make antimicrobial agents such as bacteriocins and bacteriolysins that are directed not, as is the usual case, against other species, but against their own. This phenomenon, dubbed fratricide... Read more →

Dive! Dive! Dive!

by Eddy Mateescu  
This urgent call, borrowed from movies about submarine warfare, applies to this non-microbial posting that is intended as an appetizer for the fascinating subject of parasite modification of host behavior. Read more →

Swimming by the Light of the Sun

by Merry Youle  
Marine bacteria have been much in the news of late, and rightfully so. There are many of them (an estimated 10 to the 29th total), they occupy specific local niches in the seas, and they carry out diverse (and sometimes previously unknown) activities. A case in point: some of them harvest energy from the sun via a system other than... Read more →

Planctomycetes: The Far Out Bugs

by Jennifer Gutierrez, Sabrina Perrino, Kalyn Stern, Mark Thever  
As first year graduate students in microbiology, we are accustomed to microbial surprises, learning again and again how different and exciting bacteria can be. However, it is fair to say that we were not entirely prepared for the Planctomycetes─ bacteria that divide by budding, have no peptidoglycan, and possess a unique and perplexing body plan. Read more →

Laser Pointers Make Me Dizzy

by Elio  
More often than not, speakers at lectures use a laser pointer to circle around or "underline" items on a slide they wish to emphasize. Read more →