I’m hanging out at the park while my preschooler blows bubbles or plays in the sandbox with his friends. The sun begins setting and I’m beginning to notice the prick and the itching that arises on my skin. Everyone is having a fun time, unbothered by those pesky mosquitoes swarming around. Why am I the…
Since I shared my Instant Pot yogurt making recipe in 2022, I’ve gotten a ton of questions about the yogurt making process (also I can’t believe I am still doing this every couple weeks years later). Below, find a selection of the most common questions I’ve gotten about homemade yogurt (plus a few others!) covering…
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…