In the same spirit as Talmudic Question #4, posted on December 19, 2006, here's another similarly "crazy" one... Read more →
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Phage & Bacteria: A Space for Mutual Co-Existence
by Roberto — Phage-bacteria population dynamics can be remarkably complex. This is reflected in the natural history of both; new phage defense systems in bacteria and anti-defense systems in phage seem to be discovered daily. Behind these intricate strategies to help in the reproductive success of each lies the basic problem of any predator-prey relationship. Read more →
Digital Sequence Information
by Mechas — Microbiologists regularly use sequence data without giving it much thought. What will surprise many scientists is that its use is now being hotly debated in international scenarios such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Read more →
«Anything that can be regulated...
by Christoph — ...will be regulated» Thus goes a lesser‑known but tried-and-tested amendment of Murphy's law among molecular biologists. Practitioners, especially students struggling with their own first PCR and cloning experiments in the lab, are familiar with the original «Anythings that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time.» I don't need to dwell... Read more →
Pictures Considered #62 : Myxococcus swarm‑hunting E. coli
by Christoph — It is boring to look at swarm-hunting Myxococcus bacteria in still images, you don't get any impression of their speedy efficacy. Therefore this is, again, not a "pictures" considered here, but a time‑lapse recording as video clip. Read more →
Outpaced in the Evolutionary Arms Race
by Kevin Blake — Reports on antibiotic resistance almost invariably begin with a roll call of several very big numbers. 4.95 million deaths per year globally, calculates the World Health Organization. 2.8 million infections per year in the United States resulting in 35,000 deaths, per the US Centers for Disease Control. 10 million deaths per year by 2050 globally costing $100 trillion to the global economy, estimates the Wellcome Trust... Read more →
A Whiff of ...Replication – Pendulisporaceae
by Christoph — Just to quote myself here: When microbiologists describe a previously unknown bacterium, they are mainly interested in its lifestyle, metabolism, morphology and cell cycle. And to continue with the self-quotation: For me, "getting to know" newbies always involves finding out how they initiate the replication of their chromosome(s)… Read more →
A Whiff of Taxonomy – Pendulisporaceae
by Christoph — Microbiologists have always been fascinated by myxobacteria, that is for over a hundred years, because of their lifestyle, coordinated swarm hunting, and their ability to form spore‑containing fruiting bodies, an easily visible but unique differentiation feat among bacteria. And for just as long, microbiologists have been tearing their hair out over the difficulties of cultivating these hunter-gatherers in the lab... Read more →
A Whiff of Taxonomy – Lacrymaria olor
by Roberto — I was recently made aware of one of Earth's "most interesting living beings owing primarily to its power of elongation, its wonderful elasticity and its great freedom of movement." Thus begins a captivating 1911 article by S. O. Mast, describing the amazing features of the ciliate Lacrymaria olor. Read more →