This post is part of the Meet a Microbe series on the blog. Check it out to meet other microbes! When it comes to predators, we naturally think of large, agile, and powerful animals on the prowl. But we often don’t think about the most abundant predators on our planet, predators of the microscopic world. In the…
Today marks the end of 2016’s World Antibiotic Awareness Week, aimed to increase awareness of antibiotic resistance and to advocate for the prudent use of these drugs. One of the key drivers of antibiotic resistance is how rapidly bacteria acquire DNA from the environment or from other bacteria. Resistance elements are often carried on mobile…
Halloween has finally arrived and everyone around you has been busy working on their costumes in anticipation for this glorious day of tricks and treats. Come Halloween night, you may not even recognize the faces behind the costumes. How would you tell apart friends with a sweet tooth from foes ready for some tricks? For…
Imagine you are at a picnic on a nice sunny day. Several bees stop by buzzing around your food particularly intrigued by a bowl of fruit. Though bees may be a nuisance on this particular day, they serve an essential role in the production of much of the food we eat. They produce honey, beeswax…
The ocean is teeming with microscopic life that despite their minuscule size, greatly impact our world’s ecosystem and climate. A large majority of these organisms are considered planktonic, those that are suspended in the ocean waters and rely on the current for movement. Phytoplankton are a type of plankton that are autotrophic and use just…