Microbes
- Earth
Antibiotics pollute many of the world’s rivers
A survey of 165 rivers finds unsafe levels of antibiotics at one in six sites tested. Such pollution can leave germs resistant (unharmed) by the drugs.
- Life
Teens swipe a door handle and find an antibiotic
Three teens swabbed a smartphone, a door handle and a hand dryer. The new bacterium they turned up can kill other types of germs.
- Animals
Slimy fish could aid the search for new drugs
Fish slime could teach scientists about bacteria that live on fish and aid in the hunt for new kinds of antibiotics.
- Life
Explainer: Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes
Prokaryotes tend to be small and simple, while eukaryotes have embraced a highly organized lifestyle. These divergent approaches to life have both proved very successful.
- Computing
This bionic mushroom makes electricity
What do you get when you combine fungi, graphene, 3-D printing and photosynthetic bacteria? A mushroom that makes electricity.
- Life
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.
- Chemistry
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.
- Chemistry
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.
- Health & Medicine
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.
- Life
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.
- Animals
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.
- 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.
