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…
“Remember that animals emerged in a world that had already been teeming with microbes for billions of years. They were the rulers of the planet long before we arrived.” -Ed Yong Note: As an Amazon Associate I may earn commissions from qualifying purchases from links in this post (affiliate disclosure). Last week, I was able…
This post is part of the Meet a Microbe series on the blog. Check it out to meet other microbes! Anyone who has dabbled into molecular biology knows that Escherichia coli has been the go-to model organism for quite some time. As an organism that is easy to grow and easy to genetically manipulate in the lab,…
Kimchi is the national dish of South Korea and has become a global trend in the last several years. With its distinct and pungent odor, people seem to either love this stuff or despise it with all their passion. Kimchi is a mixture of vegetables and seasonings that is fermented before it is eaten. It…
As the world watches the Olympics, the journal Nature Microbiology hosted the Microbial Olympics. Here are some highlights from this year’s Microbial Olympics events: (1) Synchronized swarming: Swarming is a coordinated movement of bacterial populations to spread out over solid or semi-solid surfaces. Swarming speeds are comparable to swimming speeds in the same organism. In…