Microbiology
Methane on the dinner menu
Bacteria in coastal waters can eat methane, a greenhouse gas – but just how much and how fast can they eat?
Hunter-Chiller: Multiple feeding strategies for some of the world’s smallest organisms
Because of their ability to conduct photosynthesis, most of our planet’s oxygen comes from microscopic organisms in the ocean called algae. In addition to photosynthesis, some of these algae can also hunt and consume prey to supplement their energy needs. In this study a group of scientists has set out to determine just how their hunting strategy works, and why each strategy has its own set benefits and drawbacks.
Sharkcano, a melting pot for biology
No, a Sharkcano is not a volcano that erupts sharks. IT IS WAY COOLER THAN THAT! It is a submarine volcano that hosts a diverse macro community in water that is much warmer and more acidic that the surrounding seawater. Read more to find out about this alien-esc ecosystem in the South Pacific Ocean.
A mercurial tug o’ war in Antarctic sea ice
DNA from bacteria living in Antarctic sea ice provides a clue to the mysterious origins of methyl mercury in seawater in the Southern Ocean.
Lionfish slime helps ward off diseases
We know of many things that protect animals against disease – immune systems and gut bacteria are just the two most common examples. It turns out fish have antimicrobial properties that come from bacteria that live in the slime that covers their bodies, and it just might make lionfish specifically more resistant to disease.
Speed dating: how finding that special symbiosis saved some coral from climate change
Choosing the right symbiont might be a coral’s ticket to cheating global warming.
Wasting Away in Virus-ville
Sea star wasting disease still plagues the U.S. West Coast, but clues to its nature are being uncovered. Find out how temperature may be a key player in the progression of the disease in today’s article!
Iceberg Buffet: How giant icebergs bring food to plankton
While icebergs are calving from Antarctic glaciers at alarming rates, they may provide a negative feedback for the carbon cycle. Giant icebergs bring large amounts of iron to iron-poor areas of the Southern Ocean, stimulating primary productivity and boosting carbon sequestration.
Of whales and cows: the baleen whale microbiome revealed
Scientists sequenced the microbiomes of several baleen whales that are strict carnivores and found some startling similarities to the microbiomes of terrestrial herbivores.
One to tango: a bacterium that does the work of two in the nitrogen cycle
Scientists report bacterial species capable of performing the two-step process of nitrification, traditionally thought to exist only as a division of labor between two functionally distinct bacteria.
It’s a virus’ world: Glaciers host unique viral communities
Scientists have only recently started studying the wealth of biological diversity that is found on top of glaciers. Cryoconite holes hold microscopic communities of algae, bacteria, and viruses. These studies are revealing an increasingly complex web of interactions between community members, driving the evolution of many unique adaptations to survive in such stiff competition.
Prokaryotes are prokaryotes: a sneak peak at the microbial oceans courtesy DNA
Scientists have sequenced the microbial diversity of the world’s oceans unlocking the secrets of the microbes that run our planet.
From 591 leagues under the sea to eukaryote and me: introducing the closest known relative to our cells
Scientists think they’ve found an ancient link to the eukaryotic cell from the deep down in the ocean, and it’s an archaeon.
Time to rethink the role of ocean’s microbes?
Have you ever wondered what may live inside the tiniest drops of seawater? Global oceans are dominated by organisms we cannot even see. Marine microbes are resilient, incredibly diverse, and ecologically important. These microbes deserve a closer look.
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