This post is part of the Meet a Microbe series on the blog, which serves as a primer on the many members of the microbial world. Check it out to meet other microbes! Cyclospora cayetanensis is making headlines lately for an outbreak in the U.S. “Explosive diarrhea” is the language that many are using to…
First published May 2, 2023 and updated June 22, 2026. I started this list of microbiology and science books for kids when my son was a baby. Now he’s a preschooler and loves books and learning about science and microbiology (he loves talking about “good germs” and “bad germs”). I hope this list of books…
For the first time in nearly 30 years, the US is getting a new active ingredient for sunscreen. The FDA just approved the broad spectrum UV filter, bemotrizinol, after beginning the approval process over 20 years ago. The UV filter has been used in Europe for decades but because the FDA regulates sunscreen as a…
A few weeks ago, I ended up getting a cold that lasted forever. I’m talking about weeks of coughing, nasal congestion, and multiple boxes of tissues. At the same time, someone in my writers’ group shared that an iota carrageenan nasal spray helped her get over her cold quickly. She pointed me to a paper…
A paper recently came out in Cell Host & Microbe about how the microbes in our saliva and gut – like Rothia and Staphylococcus species – can degrade peanut allergens and reduce the severity of anaphylaxis. The researchers confirmed this with in vitro tests and in mice. Mice treated with the bacteria had milder reactions…