What will be found in the samples collected by Perseverance once they are brought to Earth and fully analyzed? Read more →
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A Brief History of Biofilm Research
by George O'Toole — I have studied bacterial biofilms since I joined Roberto Kolter's lab at Harvard Medical School in 1995. I "discovered" biofilms as I was finishing my graduate work at Wisconsin and continued tracking the literature backwards after I joined Roberto's lab. The oldest reference I could find was from the 1920s – a Navy report on hull biofouling cited in another paper I had read. Read more →
History of Microbiology Puzzler
by Roberto — Have a lot of time on your hands? Having trouble with sleepless nights? Consider working on this History of Microbiology puzzler. Read more →
TWiM 235: Green algae and fatty acids
In this episode, how DNA of giant viruses has contributed extensively to the genome of green algae, and inhibition of E. coli virulence by a metabolic product of arachidonic acid in the intestinal epithelium. Read more →
Book Review: The Genesis Quest
by Janie — 'The Genesis Quest' is a tour-de-force recount of the eclectic effort to understand the origins of life on Earth, authored by science writer Michael Marshall. Here is a tale that spans from prebiotic chemistry to protocells, interlaced with tales of the idiosyncrasies of the scientists involved... Read more →
Microcosm: The Current Issue
by Elio and Roberto — The current issue of Microcosm (Fall 2020) is notable for its focus on vaccines, hence this special mention. Read more →
The Bacterial Symbionts of the Giant Tube Worms Are Varied In Shape and Function
by Elio — Some thirty years ago it was my good fortune to sit in an airplane next to the famed marine microbiologist, the late Holger Jannasch, of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He shared with me stories of his deep-sea explorations, especially his voyages in the submersible Alvin. These included visits to the recently discovered deep sea hydrothermal vents... Read more →
Fine Reading. Proximate and ultimate causes of the bactericidal action of antibiotics
by Elio — In a Perspective piece in Nature Reviews Microbiology, Fernando Baquero of the Ramon y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid and Bruce R. Levin of the Antibiotic Resistance Canter at Emory University present a most thoughtful essay on the ways antibiotics kill bacteria (or don't). To explain the curious title and what's behind it, let me quote their introductory paragraph... Read more →
TWiM 234: Corkscrewing through snot
On This Week in Microbiology: Salmonella colonization of three-dimensional miniature intestinal organs, and identification of a circadian clock in a non-photosynthetic prokaryote. Read more →
Non-Photosynthetic Bacteria Also Have a Circadian Rhythm
by Elio — The very first entry in this blog, in December 2006, was about the amazing fact that some photosynthetic cyanobacteria have a circadian rhythm. I entitled it "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing." Read more →