Can cigarette butts on the beach influence the local environment?
A study of burned and unburned cigarettes found that water chemistry and microbes living in Mediterranean beach sediments changed after 4…
Category: Environment
What can microbes teach us about life in extreme environments?
Microbes on Earth have adapted to survive in some pretty extreme locations. The extreme dryness of deserts, high salinity in salt deposits,…
Fungi influence the recovery of pollutants in the environment
Researchers found a hidden selenium cycle tied to manganese oxide minerals made by common soil fungi.
Tiny green organisms could have a big impact on polluted environments
Can photosynthetic organisms help clean up contamination? New research from @DominiqueChaput, @biominerals, @RadicalMicrobe & authors…
Microbe lasagna tells us about what life was like billions of years ago
Sort of like a fossilized microbial lasagna, fossils called “stromatolites” are formed when layered communities of different types of…
Contaminants in groundwater can take over 20 years to break down
Have you ever driven past an old factory building and wondered what ever happened to the harsh chemicals that were used there? If you…
Mining with acid-generating bacteria
Sulfuric acid production by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria may be a solution to a long standing mining problem.
Dying coral reefs spring forward with new life
Our coral reef ecosystems, often called “underwater rainforests,” are quickly changing. Coral reefs are elaborate and complex ecosystems…
Antibiotic resistance is natural and it is everywhere
Antibiotic resistance is a major public health crisis worldwide as bacteria develop the ability to defend themselves against many, sometimes…
Oxygen, nitrogen, and what happens when biology gets involved
When studying Earth’s past, researchers want to understand how nutrients like nitrogen cycled and the impact biology had on them.…