Small Things Considered

Announcement

by Elio| We are trying out a small modification to our procedure. From now on, we will post material once a week only — on Mondays. Included will be the shorter pieces that... Read more →

TWiM #58: The Brain Microbiome?

Vincent, Elio and Michael review how underground mycelial networks carry signals that warn neighboring plants of aphid attack, and the presence of bacteria in the human brain. Read more →

Retrospective, June 2013

We continue our semi-annual ritual and post this quick tour of our blog posts published since December, 2012. Pretty picture. Source. Pictures Considered Our new section dealing with “pictures that made a difference but may be nearly forgotten by now” seems to be off to a good start. Please send... Read more →

Fine Reading: The gut microbiota of insects – diversity in structure and function

by Elio | Now that the mammalian intestinal microbiome has been promoted to organ status, might not such stately respectability be granted to the gut microbiota of other metazoans? If looking for a worthy candidate for such recognition, one could not do better than to consider the varied communities dwelling in the guts… Read more →

Finally, Farewell to “Stamp Collecting”...

by Christoph Weigel | The perspective paper by Margaret McFall-Ngai and colleagues was recently featured by Elio in this blog, strongly emphasizing its Chicxulub-like impact on microbiology. Here I offer a postscript, a few loosely connected thoughts from a historical perspective about its impact on biology and life sciences in general… Read more →

Pictures Considered #5. The Birth of the FtsZ Ring

by Elio | The first cytoskeletal protein discovered in bacteria was FtsZ, the tubulin-like maker of the contractile ring involved in cell division of most bacteria. It was found by investigating one of a series of Fts (for “Filamentingtemperature sensitive”) conditional mutants, first constructed by Y. Hirota, A. Ryter and F. Jacob… Read more →

Terraforming Mars With Microbes

by Ben Auch | Using new advances in synthetic biology and our updated understanding of Martian geochemical conditions, we should be able to inoculate the planet Mars with specially designed extremophilic microbes in an attempt to start (or re-start) life on its surface. This could be the largest and most audacious scientific experiment ever… Read more →