Advances in DNA sequencing have expanded our view of the microbial world, but the inability to cultivate most microbes has ...

An international group of researchers has recently warned the broader scientific community and the public of the risks of mirror life—specifically, the creation of mirror microbes by scientists in the ...

Scientists have discovered a new phylum of microbes in the Earth's Critical Zone, an area of deep soil that restores water quality. Ground water, which becomes drinking water, passes through where ...

Beneath our feet, beyond the reach of sunlight, and buried in the most unforgiving corners of the planet, an unseen world thrives. Though these environments may seem desolate, and devoid of warmth, ...

Perfectly adapted microorganisms live in extreme environments from deep-sea trenches to mountaintops. Learning more about how these extremophiles survive in hostile conditions could inform scientists ...

A partially opened freezer drawer labeled with the letter I. Microbes are stored in an ultra-low-temperature freezer at the University of Zurich. So far, the facility houses about 1,200 stool samples ...

Microbial communities – vast ecosystems teeming with millions of different cells from different species – play a fundamental role in life on Earth, from producing oxygen to aiding digestion. Despite ...

A collection of short dispatches from the field of climate microbiology conveys the contributions that single-celled life forms make to our climate system, and how we can work with them to address ...