Microbes

  1. Microbes

    Amoebas are crafty, shape-shifting engineers

    It’s easy to overlook amoebas — but we shouldn’t. These one-celled wonders can build their own shells, punch holes in prey and even farm bacteria.

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  2. Environment

    Six things that shouldn’t pollute your drinking water

    These are why drinking untreated water can be harmful. But keep in mind, today’s water-treatment plants still won’t remove all of these.

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  3. Earth

    Explainer: How is water cleaned up for drinking

    Unless you’re drinking well water, city folks typically get drinking water that has been treated in a water-treatment plant. Here’s what that means.

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  4. Microbes

    Bacteria and bugs will save us from the zombie apocalypse

    Don’t fear the undead. Here’s how the body’s cells, microbes and insects will eat a zombie before it ever goes looking for brains.

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  5. Microbes

    Bacteria are all around us — and that’s okay

    Scientists may have identified less than one percent of all bacteria on Earth. But there’s a reason to keep up the hunt. These microbes could help us understand and protect our planet.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Parasitic worms sicken people in the mainland United States

    A worm native to Asia has sickened at least 12 people in eight continental U.S. states since 2011, a new report finds.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Crickets for breakfast?

    In a small trial, levels of beneficial gut bacteria rose in young adults who ate a breakfast that included crickets every day for two weeks.

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  8. Planets

    Finding living Martians just got a bit more believable

    What might a real Martian look like? Scientists have a better idea after identifying a buried liquid lake on the Red Planet.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Dogs carry a grab bag of flu viruses

    Dogs carry a mix of flu viruses, including some that came from pigs. But there’s no reason to worry just yet.

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  10. Microbes

    Nom, nom! These bacteria eat antibiotics for lunch

    Some soil microbes don’t just break down antibiotics, they can eat them too. Scientists have found one way they do it.

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  11. Microbes

    Analyze This: These viruses are behemoths

    Scientists keep finding larger and larger viruses. Just how big can these microbes get?

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  12. Brain

    Belly bacteria can shape mood and behavior

    Our guts and our brains are in constant communication with the goal of managing a whole lot more than food digestion. Their conversations can affect stress, behaviors — even memory.

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