Apparently, the total weight of Bacteria on Earth exceeds that of Archaea. How come? Read more →
Talmudic Question #149
by Jeff Mahr | Why are there apparently no electron transport chains in eukaryotic membranes? Read more →
Talmudic Question #148
We are not aware of many biological entities in the shape of a torus (doughnut), certainly not bacteria. Can you think of some, either uni- or multicellular?
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Talmudic Question #147
by Bernie Strauss | CRISPR-cas9 supposedly has its antecedents in an immune type mechanism to protect bacteria from virus infections. How does this discovery fit with the Luria-Delbrück demonstration that resistance develops as a result of spontaneous mutation rather than being induced by infection? Of course, it is possible that both mechanisms operate but I haven't seen the question discussed... Read more →
Talmudic Question #146
The Gram-negative outer membrane lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has three components, Lipid A, the core, and the O-antigen side-chain. The O-side chain and parts of the core can be deleted. In contrast, Lipid A appears to be essential. Why do you think that is?
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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?
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Talmudic Question #144
by Christoph Weigel
Michael Arnold, a geneticist at UGA, Athens, GA was cited in an article in the New York Times as saying: "It's sort of cool that evolution is really messy." Is that so?...
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Talmudic Question #143
On the planet Trafalmadore there are no lytic phages, only lysogenic ones that are only rarely induced to produce progeny virions. How does their planetary microbiome differ from ours?
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Talmudic Question #142
On the planet Krypton there are no lysogenic phages, only lytic ones. How does their planetary microbiome differ from ours?
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Talmudic Question #141
How come peptides made enzymatically (independent of ribosomes) don't seem to get strung together to make a respectably sized protein?
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Moselio (Elio) Schaechter & Roberto Kolter
The purpose of this blog is to share our appreciation for the width and depth of the microbial activities on this planet. We will emphasize the unusual and the unexpected phenomena for which we have a special fascination... (more)
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S. Marvin Friedman
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