Small Things Considered

Talmudic Question #150

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? Read more →

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? Read more →

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? Read more →

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?... Read more →

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? Read more →

Talmudic Question #142

On the planet Krypton there are no lysogenic phages, only lytic ones. How does their planetary microbiome differ from ours? Read more →

Talmudic Question #141

How come peptides made enzymatically (independent of ribosomes) don't seem to get strung together to make a respectably sized protein? Read more →