Microbiology

A single bacterial cell is invisible to the naked eye. As that single cell grows and divides into new cells, however, it forms a visible pile of bacteria. In microbiology, we call this pile of bacteria a colony. A colony’s appearance can indicate a lot…

The adaptation of the opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa often produces phenotypic diversity. Here, mutants isolated from a genetic screen show notable differences in phenotype: the production of pigments, size, shape, and texture. The…

by Saman Hussain figures by Daniel Utter All living organisms have developed ways to move to places that are beneficial for them. Even tiny organisms like bacteria need to move towards food sources. Finding food becomes much easier if information from…

by Alexandra Cantley figures by Joy Jiao and Shannon McArdel Over the last several years, antibiotic resistance has gripped the attention of the public. Recently, newspapers have alerted us to a “superbug” in China and detailed the struggles of Daniel…

Scanning electron micrograph of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (brown) surrounded by cellular debris.Credit: Credit: NIAID/NIH (NIAID Flickr’s photostream) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons A 1000-year-old Anglo-Saxon recipe for…

Certain types of life-threatening bacteria are no longer killed by current antibiotics, creating a need to develop new compounds to fight them. Scientists have been studying proteins produced by animals and humans, called cationic antimicrobial peptides…

In many elementary schools, students are introduced to the idea that rats spread one of the deadliest diseases in human history – the Bubonic plague. It was told in history classes that rats carried fleas, which carried the bacteria responsible for the…

Overprescription of antibiotics pressures bacteria to evolve resistance. The rise of antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” – harmful bacteria that cannot be treated with antibiotics – is an often overlooked threat to public health. The World Health…

Science journalism is an essential medium for keeping the general public well informed about ground breaking and exciting science. But in the process of translating complex research into attractive material for general consumption important details and…

The age distribution of human populations is unique among animal species. Children remain dependent on their parents for an extended time, and the elderly live long after the end of their reproductive period. Some scientists now speculate that…