Small Things Considered

Talmudic Question #144

by Christoph Weigel
Michael Arnold, a geneticist at UGA, Athens, GA was cited in an article in the New York Times as saying: "It's sort of cool that evolution is really messy." Is that so?... Read more →

Relieving the Pressure: An Out of this World Discovery

by Mike Delmont | Are we alone in the universe? That is a question humans have asked throughout history, and it is one for which we continue to search for an answer. While many may envision some sort of intelligent humanoid when thinking about an alien, it is potential microbial life out there is of foremost concern to astrobiology. Read more →

An Easter Egg for Our Readers

by the STC team | Here's an Easter Egg for you! No, not of the tempting, chocolate-loaden variety (which wouldn't be enjoyable in a virtual version anyway ) but of that sort computer-addicts know as "...an intentional inside joke, a hidden message, or a secret feature of an interactive work (often, a computer program),...". It's actually not a joke but... Read more →

Staying Safe in Space

by Jennifer Tsang | The thought of bringing alien life forms to Earth or of creating dangerous mutant microorganisms during space travel might seem straight out of a science fiction movie. But are these concerns really that far fetched? Read more →

Tales of Mystery and Imagination (2/2)

by Daniel P. Haeusser | Early attempts from the 1970's to detect peptidoglycan in PVC superphylum members failed, lead­ing to the accepted conclusion that the periplasm of the majority of its species lacked a cell wall. These early experiments involved classical techniques of peptidoglycan detection through bio­che­mi­cal purification and characterization of sacculi, and observation by electron microscopy. In more recent years, as genome sequencing... Read more →

TWiM #149: You're going to learn R

TWiM speaks with Pat Schloss about assigning sequence data to operational taxonomic units, and his experience with mSphere Direct, a new way of submitting papers for publication. Read more →

Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1/2)

by Daniel P. Haeusser | Over the last ten-plus years of this blog's ex­istence, one cluster of branches on the bacterial phy­lo­ge­ne­tic tree in particular has presented us with fascinating mysteries regarding basic, and seemingly unique, cellular biology. Many aspects of the species on these branches remain enigmatic, but what details researchers have been able to coax from them... Read more →

Fine Reading: Unearthing the Roots of Ectomycorrhizal Symbioses

by Elio | This is a primer on the mycorrhizae, the association of plant roots and fungi. An outstanding review article on this subject has recently appeared, authored by four Frenchmen and one American: F. Martin, A. Kohler, C. Murat, C. Veneault-Fourrey, and D. S. Hibbett. I found reading it both exciting and illuminating, and a good way to conclude this »Fungomania« series. Read more →

If You Were a Carpenter Ant

by Roberto | If you were a Carpenter ant (Camponotus leonardi ) in a rainforest in Thailand, your nest would be built high atop the canopy and, as a worker, you would seldom venture down to the ground during your foraging trips. Somehow, perhaps for the presence of eerie-looking ant graveyards, you are hesitant to go along the path on the forest floor... Read more →