Small Things Considered

Talmudic Question #102

Suppose you're a sessile marine creature looking to put down "roots" some place. Would you choose to attach to a living organism or to something dead or inanimate? Read more →

TWiM #67: Black Mushrooms and RNA Thermosensors

Vincent, Elio, and Michael discuss how temperature triggers Neisseria menigitidis immune evasion, and protection of mice from ionizing radiation by feeding them black mushrooms. Read more →

STC Poll #1 - The Definition of the "Microbiome"

The term "Microbiome" is being used in two ways; either to denote all microbes at a site or all their genomes.Both can't be right, so let's have a poll! Read more →

Programmed Cell Death

by S. Marvin Friedman | Gone are the days when bacteria were thought to just grow and divide and not bother to converse with one another. That simple idea has produced mountains of data and most of what we know about bacterial physiology is based on this notion. It turns out, as we know now… Read more →

Recalling the Good in the Good Old Days

by Elio | In its early days, ca. 1945-1965, molecular biology was a particularly collegial undertaking, characterized by free sharing of research data and a relative lack of egotistical behavior. The reason for this marvel may well have been that there was so much to discover—so many low hanging fruits—that there… Read more →

A Bacterial Body Clock: Cryptic Periodic Reversals In Paenibacillus dendritiformis

by Monika Buczek | As humans we live our lives in 24-hour increments—waking, eating, and sleeping at specific times dictated to us not solely by our discerning willpower, but also by the greater underlying persuasion of our circadian rhythm. Based on the earth’s rotation from day into night, we have internalized a deeply… Read more →

TWiM #66: The Shape of a Container

Vincent, Elio, Michael, and Michele discuss the curious outer membrane vesicles of Neisseria meningitides, and sources of Clostridium difficile infection revealed by genome sequencing. Read more →

Talmudic Question #101

How many cells does it take to make a biofilm? Read more →

Vesiculation: Another Bacterial Skill

by Elio | Microbiology, we will agree, is a vast subject where many important aspects are likely to evade one’s sight. Here’s an example—the formation of vesicles from the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. This phenomenon, known as vesiculation, is widespread and noteworthy for enhancing our understanding of bacterial capabilities and for… Read more →

Pictures Considered #9. X-Ray Diffraction Image of DNA

by Elio | The famous X-ray crystallography image of DNA from calf thymus, taken by Rosalind Franklin and Ray Gosling. Linus Pauling's annotations are to the right of the photo. May 2, 1952. It says: “Franklin& Gosling. Sodium deoxyribose nucleate Type B”... Read more →