Small Things Considered

A blog for sharing appreciation of the width and depth of microbes and microbial activities on this planet.

Small Things Considered
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Welcome to Small Things Considered (STC)! In this blog we share our excitement about unexpected and unusual stories of the microbial world. The "About" page describes who we are. But we do not just publish our own writing. We very much enjoy posting contributions from students, postdocs, and others. Don't think that we do this to avoid work, we spend a lot of time editing the material we receive. Do send us your comments, criticisms, submissions, ideas, or whatever else comes to you mind; we are very eager to hear from you. See the "Contact" tab for directions on how to reach us. Thank you for visiting and, before you go, consider taking a moment to "Subscribe."

Novel Fungus-Cyanobacterium Symbiosis

Noteworthy — Fungi are wonderfully diverse and versatile microorganisms. And it is perhaps this versatility that makes them so adept at forming symbiotic relationships with other organisms. Mycorrhizae or endophytic fungi, for example, inhabit plant tissues where they reside within or between plant cells. Read more →

Posted on April 03, 2025 at 03:25 AM in Noteworthy, Symbioses | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our Built Environment Microbiomes

by Mechas — There is no doubt that our understanding of microbiomes – those microbial communities in practically any environment – has increased in recent years. Research now covers almost any conceivable niches, from cow rumen or the human gut, to numerous human-made ecosystems. Read more →

Posted on March 31, 2025 at 01:16 AM in Ecology | Permalink | Comments (0)

Making a Living in the Nucleus

Noteworthy — When it comes to intracellular pathogens, we usually think of those that remain inside a membrane-enclosed vacuole and those that escape into the cytoplasm. Much rarer are cases of parasite that make a living inside the nucleus. Read more →

Posted on March 27, 2025 at 01:30 AM in Noteworthy, Pathogens | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lost & Found #5

by Christoph — When you leave 𝕏, it means that among the “bookmarks” you take with you, you will also come across some that contain images or videos that are mainly nice to look at and even entertaining. As in 'Lost & Found #4', two such are included today in 'Lost & Found #5'. Read more →

Posted on March 24, 2025 at 02:30 AM in Odds & Ends | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Fungus that Reduces Methane Emissions

Noteworthy — We face unprecedented rising global temperatures, a crisis driven largely by the burning of fossil fuels. But other sectors, like the livestock industry, also contribute by producing large amounts of greenhouse gases. Read more →

Posted on March 20, 2025 at 02:30 AM in Ecology, Fungi, Noteworthy | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wait, What? extracurricular DNA (eDNA)

by Christoph — Among biologists, DNA is a household term, the acronym for desoxyribonucleic acid, which hardly anyone pronounces in full. But can you find your way around the zoo of prefixes that are in use and in most cases are not separated from 'DNA' by a hyphen, as for example in Z-DNA? cccDNA, rcDNA (ocDNA), mtDNA, ecDNA, cDNA, bDNA, gDNA (chrDNA), kDNA, xDNA, rDNA, tDNA, ssDNA,… and eDNA. Read more →

Posted on March 17, 2025 at 02:30 AM in Physiology & Genetics, Teachers Corner | Permalink | Comments (0)

Deep-Sea Viruses Wreak Havoc

Noteworthy — Absorbed in our daily activities and concerns, personal, local or global, we remain largely unaware of how life unfolds on this planet. Viruses, and especially those in our vast oceans, play a major life-defining role. Read more →

Posted on March 13, 2025 at 02:30 AM in Noteworthy, Viruses | Permalink | Comments (0)

Watching the flagellar motor at work

by Lucas Le Nagard — Swimming E. coli typically cover a distance equivalent to the radius of a human hair each second. It might not seem very impressive… But for a 2 µm bacterium, it corresponds to 10 body lengths per second! Much better than the swimming speed of our best athletes, which barely exceeds one body length per second. So, how does E. coli achieve this? Read more →

Posted on March 10, 2025 at 02:30 AM in Physiology & Genetics | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bacterium Linked to Depression

Noteworthy — The human microbiome – the collection of microbes associated with our bodies – is variable, adapts to its host, but, most importantly, is increasingly recognized as important for our health and physiology. The sheer number and diversity of microbes, not to mention their interactions and activities, makes the study of the microbiome complex. How, then, can we understand what these microbes are doing? Read more →

Posted on March 06, 2025 at 01:30 AM in Noteworthy, Physiology & Genetics | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lost & Found #4

by Christoph — When you leave 𝕏 (formerly Twitter), it means that among the “bookmarks” you take with you, you will also come across some that contain images or videos that are mainly nice to look at and even entertaining. Two of these – no, none of the infamous cat pictures – are included today, in 'Lost & Found #4'. Read more →

Posted on March 03, 2025 at 01:30 AM in Odds & Ends | Permalink | Comments (0)

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