Spooky season is here! While we associate Halloween with ghost stories, haunted houses, zombies, and trick-or-treating, the microbial world contains many eerie, microscopic (and macroscopic) tales. This Halloween, we bring you seven tales of microbial spookiness. (1) Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, the vampire bacteria Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus has many names such as the vampire bacterium or the predatory…
In 1933, Ruth Ella Moore (1903-1994) became the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in the natural sciences. The Columbus, Ohio native received her Ph.D. in bacteriology from Ohio State University, where she also finished her B.S. and M.A. Her dissertation was published in two parts: Studies on Dissociation of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, and A…
As COVID-19 spreads around the world, more and more things such as conferences, schools, and large events such as SXSW are being canceled – an effort to halt the spread of the virus and reduce the strain on our healthcare system. Meanwhile, dangerous notions circulate: the idea that nearly everyone will get COVID-19 so distancing…
It’s 1854 in London. The third major cholera pandemic was racing through the city. Spreading from the Ganges delta of India since 1837, it’s claimed over a million lives mostly among Asia, Europe, and North America. Within the Soho district of Westminster, London, things weren’t looking good. The London sewer system had not reached Soho,…
If you’re a microbiologist, the acronym HGT may have you thinking about horizontal gene transfer, the transfer of genes between microbes. But during the months of November and December, HGT takes on a different meaning: holiday gift transfer. As part of the annual #SecretSerratia holiday gift exchange, pairs of microbiologists exchange gifts, usually science and…