One of my intentions when I started this blog is to show that microbes are everywhere. So what better way to do that than to share some of the ways we encounter microbes just by venturing outside? Taking a walk, or digging up some dirt, for example. Here are four of the many ways to…
Microbes and insects often interact in a delicate symbiosis. The microbes provide nutrients that the insects need and the insects provide a home for the microbes. In the case of the cicada-microbe interactions, the bacteria Hodgkinia provides the essential amino acids histidine and methionine. Over time, the endosymbionts, the microbes living within the host cells, become…
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has been largely untouched by humans since the Chernobyl nuclear explosion in 1986. Now over 30 years later, there’s been an abundance of wildlife in the 1,600 square mile zone despite their exposure to radioactive material in the soil and food. Scientists are monitoring animal populations with camera traps set up…
What started off as an unexpected find in the 1800s could now have big implications for climate. Captain John Ross, a British Royal Navy officer and Polar explorer, embarked on his first polar expedition in 1818. The goal? To find the Northwest Passage, a way to the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic by crossing the…
In the UK, thousands of oak trees are “bleeding,” oozing dark liquid from cracks on their bark. What lies underneath are fluid-filled necrotic cavities that disrupts their life force by impeding the normal flow of nutrients and water. Taking advantage of the weakened state of the trees, are bark-boring beetles, which lay their eggs in…