Small Things Considered

Summer Vacation

by the STC team
We are taking our customary two week vacation. Do you think we deserve it? See you again July 3^rd ... Read more →

News From the Missing Methanogenic Archaea Front

by Elio | Best I can tell, methanogenesis remains a purview of the Ar­chaea. Bacteria are still not known to do it and plants emit methane but apparently by recycling it from the atmosphere. We asked why this is in an early Talmudic Question, which elicited some truly interesting comments, some of which... Read more →

Retrospective, June 2017

Readers may be interested in learning that STC is being archived at the Library of Congress, thus its contents will be available in perpetuity (what will people make of it in the future? ). We are told that STC enjoys “active collection status.” Its web archives are available here. STC has been also... Read more →

Microbe 2017

by Elio | The annual meeting of the ASM, called Microbe, took place in New Orleans, June 1-5, 2017. I was there and not just for the crawfish etufée. A few notable changes from the customary routine were in evidence. Read more →

TWiM #153: Covert pathogenesis

The TWiM team ventures into preprint space with an analysis of type VI secretion across human gut microbiomes, and provide insight into urinary tract infection: how bladder exposure to a member of the vaginal microbiota triggers E. coli egress from latent reservoirs. Read more →

Brudziński: On his Contribution to Early Bacteriology.

by Piotr Polaczek | Józef Brudziński died December 18^th, 1917 at the age of 43. In his short life, he achieved prominence as a pediatrician, neurologist, bacteriologist, and also as a political figure. In Poland, he is remembered as the first rector of Warsaw University following its revival after a century of turmoil. He was also wholeheartedly involved in... Read more →

Talmudic Question #145

It is becoming increasingly apparent that bacteria and archaea living in various oligotrophic environments tend to be quite a bit smaller than most grown in the la­bo­ra­to­ry. If this is true for the majority of prokaryotes, what do you make of it? Read more →