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Microbes, Fungi & Algae Articles

Microscopic caffeine fiends

By Sid Perkins / April 15, 2013

Scientists tweaked the genes of a bacterium so that it requires caffeine to live and reproduce. Now, they can use this microbe to measure concentrations of caffeine in beverages such as soda, coffee and energy drinks. When the microbes are added to a water-weakened version of one of those drinks, the bacteria grow and the liquid turns cloudy — but only if the drink contained caffeine. In caffeine-free Coke (top left), no cloudiness appears. Credit: Barrick Lab/University of Texas at Austin

Researchers create a bacterium that can’t live or reproduce without a stimulant found in soft drinks, chocolate, coffee and tea

Posted in Microbes, Fungi & Algae | Tagged biochemist, bioengineer, caffeine, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), E. coli (Escherichia coli), gene, Genetic engineering, getinvolved, Jeffrey Barrick, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); guanine, topstories, University of Texas at Austin; Christopher Voigt

Fungi as carbon keepers

By Stephen Ornes / April 11, 2013

A recent study of forested Swedish islands found that tiny fungi in the soil store most of the carbon found in the forest floor. Credit: Photo courtesy of Karina Clemmensen

A common type of fungus stores most of a forest floor’s carbon underground

Posted in Environment & Pollution, Microbes, Fungi & Algae | Tagged carbon, carbon dioxide, ecology, Erik Hobbie, fungus, getinvolved, global warming, greenhouse gas, Karina Clemmensen, roots, soil, Sweden, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, trees, University of New Hampshire, Uppsala

A slime with memory

By Stephen Ornes / October 25, 2012

A slime mold, like the one shown here, leaves a trail of snotlike goo behind it. New research shows that a slime mold can tell where it’s been and usually avoids traveling on its own previous paths. Credit: Courtesy of Audrey Dussutour

Even without a brain, this slime mold knows where it’s been

Posted in Microbes, Fungi & Algae | Tagged Chris R. Reid, getinvolved, memory, microorganism, mucus, nuclei, nucleus, P. polycephalum, Physarum polycephalum, plasmodium, protists, slime mold, unicellular life. cells, University of Sydney

Bacteria learn new trick

By Stephen Ornes / October 12, 2012

A decades-long experiment growing E. coli bacteria showed the microbes evolved the ability to eat a new food. Flasks of the germs turned cloudy when the bacteria ate citrate. Credit: Brian Baer and Neerja Hajela

Scientists show evolution in action in decades-long E. coli study

Posted in Microbes, Fungi & Algae | Tagged Adaptation, bacteria, biology, Bruce Levin, citric acid, E. coli, Emory University, evolution, evolutionary biology, evolve, genes, germs, getinvolved, Massey University, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Michigan State University, mutate, mutations, Paul Rainey, Richard Lenski, Zachary Blount

Living long beneath the sea

By Stephen Ornes / October 11, 2012

Microbes in the mud beneath the seafloor may live millions of years, redefining what it means to be old and alive

Posted in Microbes, Fungi & Algae | Tagged Aarhus University, astrobiology, bacteria, biology, clay, Europa, feature, germs, Hans Roy, Karen Lloyd, Knorr, life, Mars, microbes, Pacific Ocean, prehistory, Seth Shostak, SETI, SETI Institute, Titan, topstories, University of Tennessee

Stony bacteria

By Roberta Kwok / May 14, 2012

A newly discovered bacterium has pearl-like lumps inside. Credit: CNRS, K. Benzerara & S. Borensztajn

Lake-dwelling bacterium has hard lumps inside it

Posted in Microbes, Fungi & Algae | Tagged bacteria/protists/fungi, bacterium, cyanobacterium, getinvolved, Marine bacteria, mineral, oceanography, proportion

Sniffing out truffle scent

By Roberta Kwok / April 30, 2012

A new study found that a truffle’s DNA plays a key role in determining its distinctive smell. Credit: Richard Splivallo

Genetics, not geography, plays key role in the aroma of the delicacy

Posted in Microbes, Fungi & Algae | Tagged DNA, food chemistry, fungus, getinvolved, Richard Splivallo, scent, truffle, University of Göttingen, volatile organic compound

Killing a bacterial killer

By Stephen Ornes / February 9, 2012

A common, cheap element offers hope against deadly bacterial infections

Posted in Microbes, Fungi & Algae | Tagged getinvolved

Glowing, gutsy hitchhikers

By Stephen Ornes / January 10, 2012

Bacteria glow to get across the ocean inside animals’ guts

Posted in Microbes, Fungi & Algae | Tagged bacteria/protists/fungi, bioluminescence, getinvolved, Marine bacteria, oceanography

Life in the bacterial underground

By Stephen Ornes / February 23, 2011

Tiny life forms in rock may coax minerals to release hydrogen for food

Posted in Microbes, Fungi & Algae | Tagged archaebacteria, Classification, extremophiles, getinvolved

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