Microbiology, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 30, 2005

Mystery Ocean Glow Confirmed in Satellite Photos

Mariners have long told of rare nighttime events in which the ocean glows intensely as far as the eye can see in all directions. Fictionally, such a milky sea is encountered by the Nautilus in Jules Verne classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Scientists don't have a good handle what's...

Nov 30, 2006

Diarrhea Hits the Road

The construction of highways in northern Ecuador did more than open up access to once-isolated villages. It also created a new network for diarrheal pathogens to travel on, highlighting how human-influenced habitat changes could impact public health, a new study concludes. In 1996, the government of Ecuador started building roads...

May 31, 2006

The Truth About Toilet Seats

The paper toilet-seat cover can be a guardian angel for the backside, but only if the seat is dry to begin with. When the cover is placed onto a seat that's wet, it ferries bacteria and viruses from the toilet seat up to your bare skin. The good news is...

Jun 30, 2007

Strange New Microbe Harvests Sunlight

Yellowstone's hot springs are known to harbor extreme creatures that paint the water shades of red, orange and green. Now scientists have discovered a new type of bacteria with light-harvesting antennae. The oddity among oddities adds to a short list of microbes that can transform light into chemical energy, a...

May 31, 2007

When Men Bite Men: The Dirty Truth

Biting isn’t just for dogs and cats. In the adult arena (think pub brawls), men are 12 times more likely than women to sustain serious human-bite injuries, finds a recent study. “It’s fairly horrendous, but that’s what they do,” said study leader Patricia Eadie of St. James's Hospital in Dublin,...

Apr 30, 2007

Asphalt-Munching Bacteria Discovered

Vehicles may crowd the asphalt of downtown Los Angeles freeways above ground, but below ground hundreds of newly discovered bacteria thrive by munching on heavy oil and natural asphalt. Trapped in the Rancho La Brea tar pits 28,000 years ago, the bacteria are equipped with special enzymes that can break...

Dec 31, 2006

Study: Microwaves Kill Kitchen Germs

Sponges and kitchen scrub brushes can be loaded with disease-causing viruses and bacteria. So microwave them, scientists say. Researchers soaked sponges and scrubbers in a disgusting brew of raw wastewater containing fecal bacteria, viruses, protozoan parasites and bacterial spores, including Bacillus cereus spores—known for being very hard to kill with...

May 31, 2008

Life Endures 120,000 Years Under Ice

Being tiny has its advantages, and a newly discovered microbe in Greenland has exploited this fully. The bacterium survived more than 120,000 years beneath the ice where inhospitable conditions reach new lows. Most organisms constantly deal with trade-offs, such as some hot-desert residents that take advantage of sunshine yet must...

Jan 31, 2009

Complexity of Spit Revealed

Saliva tells a lot about a person these days, ranging from ancestry to criminal connections. But drool still holds many mysteries, including what the heck lives in it and why each of us has our own salivary signature. A new study tries to clean this up a bit, revealing that...

Aug 31, 2011

Listeria Outbreak: What You Need to Know The Illness

An outbreak of listeriosis linked to contaminated cantaloupe has so far sickened 22 people in seven states and killed at least two, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Listeriosis is caused by infection with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, which are found in soil and water. People...

Feb 28, 2011

Hands-Free Hospital Faucets Less Hygienic Than Traditional Taps

Electronic faucets in hospitals are intended to thwart the spread of bacteria by allowing doctors and patients to turn taps on and off without touching them. But the high-tech faucets are more likely to be contaminated with high levels of certain bacteria than traditional faucets, a new study finds. The...

May 31, 2012

The Dirtiest Things in a Hotel Room Revealed

Want to stay away from germs during your next hotel stay? Then don’t turn on the TV or lights — new research shows that TV remotes and light switches are among the most contaminated items in hotel rooms. Researchers from the University of Houston took bacteria samples from several items...

Nov 30, 2013

Holiday Snapshots: Seasonal Cells

Nestled snug while visions of ... cells danced in their heads? (Image credit: Erkin Kuru, Indiana University.)What's red and green all over? While this time of the year may have you guessing a poinsettia, holiday garland or even a sunburned elf, another answer is: snapshots of cells. Scientists use imaging...

Oct 31, 2013

Grit Your Teeth: Toothbrush Holder Yields New Germ (Op-Ed)

Robert Donofrio is director of NSF International's Applied Research Center. He contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Recently, my colleagues and I at NSF International's Applied Research Center (ARC) discovered a new bacterium, Klebsiella michiganensis, lurking on a toothbrush holder. This unique coliform bacterium is a...

Jul 31, 2014

5 Ways Gut Bacteria Are Good for More Than Just Your Gut

Exercise may improve more than just the look and diameter of your gut, according to a recent study. It may also increase the bacterial diversity within it, the study published in June in the journal Gut showed. But is having more gut bacteria a good thing? To give you an...