by Roberto — Writing is an essential part of all scientific endeavors. Yet it is rare to find a scientist that finds it easy, not to mention joyful. I am not much different. But after many years at it, I have learned to take certain steps that make the process at least less daunting, even simple. Read more →
Requiem for an Apparatus
by Roberto — Have you ever seen the type of apparatus that Carl Woese and colleagues used to obtain data to support their conclusion that Bacteria and Archaea were so distant phylogenetically as to merit being different domains of life? Read more →
Origins of Multicellularity Revisited
by Roberto — In the early years of STC, Elio wrote two posts on multicellularity. Why? Because "we lovers of microbes delight in the complexity of multicellular bacteria such as the actinomycetes, the myxobacteria, and some cyanobacteria," said he. Why do I write about this again? I'll argue that those three bacterial types are only the tip of the iceberg, bacterial multicellularity is the norm. 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 →
Small predators that could save our lives
by Jéssica Gil Serna — The world of predatory bacteria is a true reflection of the David versus Goliath story. A small cell needs to kill its large prey to ensure its own survival. This is the case of bacteria of the genus Bdellovibrio whose importance has been highlighted in recent years as a possible alternative to defeat antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Read more →
Of Terms in Biology: "Silent Mutation", part 2|2
by Christoph — To continue with the comparison of apples and pears from the first part, here is an example of a synonymous mutation that can rightly be described as a silent mutation... Read more →
Of Terms in Biology: "Synonymous Substitution", part 1|2
by Christoph — We are occasionally warned not to compare apples with pears (sorry, English speakers, not with oranges this time). Sure, both are pome fruits, and both plants belong to the Rosaceae family, but they differ notably in shape, feel, smell and taste. Geneticists may well need a similar warning when they sometimes use the terms silent mutation and synonymous substitution interchangeably. Read more →
Latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infections
by Roberto — A quarter of the world's population – that's two billion people – is estimated to be latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This staggering number is often presented in scientific publications, used by funding agencies for strategic planning, and taught to students (I've done this myself). But where does this number come from? Read more →
Patterns to Structures
by Christoph — I first saw this image a while ago on Twitter (now 𝕏) and I will put down a few thoughts about it here because it illustrates so well how microscopists, especially cryo-electron tomographers, work. And what distinguishes their way of working from that of artists and where the two meet. Read more →
Updating Horizontal Gene Transfer
by Mechas and Roberto — We recently prepared a lecture that included a brief discussion of bacterial evolution. Of course, we covered horizontal gene transfer (HGT), which we consider a key pillar in the evolutionary process. We dutifully began our presentation by listing, perforce: transformation, conjugation, and transduction. Read more →