Microbes
- Animals
Choked by bacteria, some starfish are turning to goo
For years, researchers thought gooey, dying starfish were infected. Instead, these sea stars are suffocating. And bacteria may be behind it all.
- Animals
Scientists Say: Organelle
An organelle is a part of a cell with a particular function. Like organs. But for cells.
- Animals
Scientists Say: Apoptosis
When it’s time for cells to die, they need to do it carefully, so they don’t harm other cells.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Nucleus
Nucleus comes from the Latin term “nuc,” meaning nut or kernel. In science there are lots of nuclei. Every one of them is the center of something.
- Animals
Polluting microplastics harm both animals and ecosystems
Researchers are beginning to uncover the real-world impacts of polluting microplastic bits on animals and the ecosystems they inhabit.
- Health & Medicine
Trio wins 2020 Nobel for discovery of hepatitis C
It took 50 years from discovery of hepatitis C to its cure. For their pivotal work in this area, three men will take home a 2020 Nobel Prize.
- Life
If bacteria stick together, they can survive for years in space
Tiny clumps of bacteria can survive at least three years in outer space. This raises the prospect of interplanetary travel by microbial life.
- Chemistry
Stinky success: Scientists identify the chemistry of B.O.
They turned up the enzyme in bacteria behind that underarm stench. Understanding how it works could pave the way to new types of deodorant.
- Microbes
Some deep-seafloor microbes still alive after 100 million years!
Some starving microbes nap while awaiting their next meal. For some living miles below the ocean surface, that nap may exceed 100 million years.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: What are Antibodies?
Antibodies are one of the major players in the immune system’s attack against germs. Learn what they are, what they do and how they keep us healthy.
- Genetics
New COVID-19 vaccines show promise in people
Early data from human trials show that several candidate COVID-19 vaccines produce virus-inactivating antibodies and immune cells that fight the virus.
- Microbes
Scientists Say: Amoeba
Amoebas are single-celled microbes that move and eat with shape-shifting bulges that extend from their cells. Some are blobs. Others build a shell.
