If you’re a frequent reader of the blog, you’ve probably realized that microbes are everywhere and they do all sorts of things on earth. They can make peppers spicy, turn snow pink causing it to melt faster, and ferments bread dough to make sourdough. Since the blog is now three (!!) years old, it’s about…
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,…
By Ananya Sen A straight walk from India to the Arctic is approximately 4,000 miles. The trip includes the hot and humid climate of India, the temperate and dry climate of central Europe, and finally the rugged and frozen tundra of Svalbard in the Arctic Circle. Imagine embarking on this adventure as a gene. Seem…
I clearly remember my high school science teacher running across the room with a pressure cooker in hand making a beeline to the sink. After some sizzling when cold water hits its hot surface, my teacher finally opened it. What were we up to? Making agar plates of course! Years later, research published in PLoS…
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…