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 in this area which have captured an abundance of wildlife on these cameras: grey wolves, raccoon dogs, boars, and foxes. (more…)
Tag: sequencing
Giant Genes for Tiny Organisms
How big can a gene be? Ten years ago in the early days of genome sequencing, researchers scoured the genomes of 580 bacterial and archaeal species for large genes. They found that 0.2% of all genes identified are longer than 5,000 bases and 80 of them are “giant genes,” those larger than 15,000 bases. To put this in perspective, the average prokaryotic gene length is between 900 and 1,200 bases.
The two longest genes were found in the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobium chlorochromatii CaD3. The genes encode proteins 36,806 and 20,647 amino acids long and their corresponding genes would be 110,418 and 61,941 bases long, respectively. At the time of this research, these giant genes are only surpassed in length by the human titin coding sequence which is 38,138 amino acids long. Now, scientists have identified a slew of genes that exceed one million bases long. (more…)
How Do Koch’s Postulates Hold Up More than A Century Later?
On this date in 1843, Robert Koch, the founder of modern microbiology was born. And on December 10, 1905, one day before his 62nd birthday, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on tuberculosis. (more…)
What’s Growing in My Showerhead? – The Showerhead Microbiome Project
Have you ever wondered what microbes are brewing in your showerhead? The Showerhead Microbiome Project is finding out! This project, run by a multi-institution group of researchers, is identifying what microbes live in showerheads and how the physical properties of the water and showerhead type may influence the microbial communities.
But why should we even care about showerhead microbes? (more…)
Microbes Fly Overhead in This Year’s Solar Eclipse
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 Eclipse Ballooning Project.
The Eclipse Ballooning Project harnesses the scientific curiosities of 55 teams across universities, high schools, and ballooning groups. These citizen scientists will capture footage along the path of totality across the Unites States. This will be the first time videos and images of a total eclipse will be documented live from near space. (more…)