Deep within the ocean, scientists and explorers alike have discovered all sorts of creatures almost unfathomable to our terrestrial minds. Giant octopus, electric eels, and anglerfish have all tickled our imagination over the past several centuries, and left us in awe of the capabilities of life. A more recent discovery is that of the bone-eating…
Most animals depend on their gut microbes for digestive help. The caterpillar, however, seems to lack resident gut microbes all together. By characterizing the microbial composition across 124 species of caterpillars from North America and Costa Rica, Tobin Hammer and colleagues at the University of Colorado Boulder found that caterpillars do not have microbial friends…
It is commonly believed that bacteria are microscopic – stealthy and hidden from the naked eye. But the bacterium, Epulopiscium fishelsoni, is a microbial behemoth you can see with the human eye alone. First discovered in the intestines of a brown surgeonfish in the Red Sea in 1985, this giant bacterium was first classified as…
When the sun vanishes behind the moon, living organisms behave as if twilight is here. Crickets start to chirp, flowers close up, and cows head to the barn. In this year’s highly anticipated solar eclipse, microbes will also fly high in the sky on giant balloons as part of a citizen science project called the…
Spring has arrived, gardens are planted, and now, we eagerly await the harvest of fruits and vegetables. To up-level your garden, use the power of microbial decay! Throwing food waste into a pile of leaves and earth, letting it rot, and stirring it around has never been so trendy.