Two organisms inhabiting a common environment can sometimes mutually influence each other, either benefiting or, in some ...

Permafrost in the Arctic stores large quantities of organic carbon. When frozen ground thaws or coastal sections erode, this carbon can enter the sea, where microorganisms can break it down and ...

Meet the chicken kidney sponge, a true ecosystem engineer that could use its filter-feeding power to clean the degraded ...

This biodegradable textile is alive and can host engineered microbes that can change its color or add UV protection ...

The UNESCO-Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology rewards the efforts of an individual, or of an institution, non-governmental organization or other entity which, through research and development, ...

On a sweltering morning last July, Vernon Spear, a burly eighty-five-year-old with thinning gray hair, went to check a chicken-wire crab trap that was hanging from a dock in Cambridge, Maryland. Spear ...

Biologic medications are complex drugs made from living microorganisms, plant, or animal cells. Biologics treat diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and diabetes by targeting specific proteins ...

Most soils are deficient in nutrients needed to support the growth of agricultural plants; therefore, nutrient supplements are essential to sustain food security. Plants require essential ...

What do turkey corn, swamp lousewort, American skunk cabbage, and sneezeweed (gesundheit) have in common? Besides having quirky names, they're all plants native to the U.S. Let's explore what native ...

Spacecraft are assembled in specialized “cleanrooms” that are designed to avoid contamination from dust and microorganisms. But bacteria called extremophiles have genetic components that allow them to ...

Cities don’t just sprawl—they metabolize. A new study shows that population, infrastructure, and emissions grow in lock-step, overturning the popular idea that bigger automatically means greener. The ...

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The writer is leader of the Synthetic Biology Group at the J Craig Venter Institute This year I witnessed ...