Microbiology
Tuberculosis drug discovery: an in-house toxin blocks pathogenic bacterial growth
Infectious diseases rank among the greatest threats to human health. While the world stumbles through the current COVID-19 pandemic, a vast array of viral, fungal, parasitic, and bacterial pathogens continue to threaten people's lives. Before the rise of the pandemic, tuberculosis was the world's deadliest... click to read more
Engineering bacteria to save honey bees
Humans have kept honey bees for millennia, and scientists love to study them because of their unique societies (80,000 bees can live and work together in a single hive!) and communication (they exchange information by "dancing"). Honey bees also help produce much of the food... click to read more
The inanimate building-blocks for a living synthetic cell
In the field of "bottom-up" synthetic biology, we aim to build lifelike systems from inanimate building blocks. From this approach, we hope to gain deeper insights into the fundamental processes of life and develop new technological innovations. One such significant and possibly the most remarkable... click to read more
How nanosized shrapnel from exploding fungal cells may impact us: from allergies to cloud formation
Invisible to the naked eye, we are almost always surrounded by small particles suspended in the air. They are known as atmospheric aerosols and can be made of directly emitted particles like dust, sea salt, and viruses; or formed in the atmosphere out of molecules... click to read more
A newly discovered (microscopic) global source of methane
The average temperature on Earth rose dramatically during the last century. This is due to human activity, which led to the increased atmospheric concentration of certain gases, typically called greenhouse gases. These gases increase the solar heat trapped by our planet. The greenhouse gas methane... click to read more
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