by Roberto — Serendipity. I feel it is one of the most beautiful words in English; it's so melodic and loaded with meaning. Perhaps I'm fascinated by it because it is difficult to translate into my native Spanish. Regardless, it does seem that quite often scientific discoveries happen serendipitously. Read more →
Wastewater Microbiology
by Mechas — Using wastewater to monitor human populations is a growing trend. The waste products found in the water discarded after domestic, commercial, or industrial use reflects the habits and consumptions of society and provide a pool of information on our customs and behaviors. Read more →
Bacterial Sounds
by Roberto — Towards the end of last century, I read a short but provocative note entitled "Do bacteria sing?" With a title like that, who's not going to read it? As is usually the case, that reading led to more reading. I discovered several papers describing how some bacteria could be stimulated to form colonies more efficiently following sound stimulation. Read more →
Earth History – Microbial Numbers and Impact
by Roberto — I find solace in putting my life in perspective. And one of my favorite ways to approach this is to consider life at scales that are orders of magnitude away from my direct experience. Since all the life we know of is on Earth, here are a few of Earth's basic numbers... Read more →
Of Terms in Biology: Teleonomy
by Roberto — Read the following two phrases: In the presence of lactose, E. coli induces beta–galactosidase in order to use the sugar. In the presence of lactose, E. coli induces beta–galactosidase and thereby uses the sugar. Which one would you use? Do you see the fundamental difference between them? Read more →
The Early Days of Restriction Enzymes
by John Collins — In the early 1960s, Werner Arber in Switzerland discovered that foreign DNA entering a bacterial cell could be cleaved on both strands by restriction endonucleases (restriction enzymes). This was part of the host's defense against viral attack. For this discovery he shared the 1978 Nobel Prize with Hamilton Smith and Daniel Nathans. Read more →
Butyribacterium, E. coli and the Elephant – A Snippet and an Adumbration
by Roberto — I could not help myself. As I begin another year of blogging at STC, I had to start with this recurring theme of elephants. It does have the feeling of a blogger's equivalent to a composer's ostinato (think obstinate) – a motif that persistently repeats. Oh, but what wonderfully alluring motif, E. coli and Elephants! Read more →
Winter Vacation
By the STC team — We take advantage of this being the season for rejoicing, and embark on a four-week winter vacation. When we return in 2024, on January 15th, we will enter the 18th year of Small Things Considered. Read more →
Retrospective, July to December 2023
by the STC team — Did you miss some of our posts from the past six months? Do you want to re-read your favorites? Just scroll to quickly scan through the list of our posts from the last half year, arranged by categories. Read more →
The Microbes of the Lost World of Cuatro Ciénagas
by Roberto — What makes Cuatro Ciénagas unique is that its phosphorus content has been extremely low for a very very long time. The authors suggest that this chemical feature of extreme nutrient unbalance has created a real life lost world... Read more →