It's a big week for developmental biologist Lucy Shapiro, PhD. On Friday, she will be awarded the National Medal of Science - an honor often referred …
Category: Microbiology
Exploring the microbes that inhabit our bodies
We've written previously about how researchers at Stanford and elsewhere are working to determine how microscopic ecosystems that exist in and on the human body may impact personal health. …
Naval gazing: Belly Button Biodiversity project identifies thousands of bacteria species
For many of us, questions about our belly buttons rarely go beyond: Innie or outie? But a team of North Carolina-based researchers is looking past …
Researchers identify potential drug target in ulcer bug that infects half the world's population
Scientists have used powerful X-rays at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford to reveal a potential way to combat the common stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori. …
How to hack a cell: Protein bubbles
In this amazing video, Tom Kirchhausen, PhD, a Harvard Medical School professor of cell biology, shows how tiny protein-bubbles form to carry cargo, such as …
Examining the role internal fungi play in our health
As we've reported previously on Scope, cutting-edge techniques and cost-effective methods of rapidly sequencing entire genomes of bacteria and viruses are helping researchers better understand …
Cultivating the human microbiome
In a sense, our body is not our own. Microbes living in and around us outnumber our own human cells ten to one. A review …
Contemplating how our human microbiome influences personal health
As previously reported on Scope, researchers at Stanford and elsewhere are engaged in ongoing efforts to determine how microscopic ecosystems that exist in the human …
Tiny wonders: Small World in Motion competition winners bring microscopic activity to life
Yesterday, Nikon Instruments announced the winners of its inaugural Small World in Motion Photomicrography Competition. From a selection of more than 200 submissions, judges deemed …
Video: "Seven Wonders of the Microbe World"
This neat little documentary from Open University catalogs seven "wonders" of the microbe world, from the making of beer to what caused the Black Death …
Stanford researchers investigate using E.coli to generate biodiesel
Does the basic catalytic engine in E. coli have enough horsepower to convert inexpensive sugars into biodiesel? That's the question posed by Stanford researchers investigating …
A social networking service for digestive health?
As we've previously written about on Scope, microbe hunters are using a host of new technologies to discern the origin of specific diseases and gain …
A look at how building design may affect our health
From office buildings to shopping malls to our homes, we spend a significant about of time in structures with controlled environments. Noting how much time …
Researchers identify caffeine-feeding bacterium
Some days it can feel as if you subsist on caffeine. But, sadly, you're no competition for a newly discovered caffeine-feeding bacterium called Pseudomonas putida …
Study shows intestinal microbes may fall into three distinct categories
You may have read yesterday about new research (subscription required) suggesting there are three distinct types of microscopic ecosystems that exist in the human intestine. …
Study says stress may alter intestinal ecosystem, immune response
Stress can make your heart race, palms sweat and voice crack. But it also may alter the balance of the microorganisms living in your gut, …