microbes

Tubes of hematite, an iron-rich mineral, might be evidence of microbial life that lived around underwater vents billions of years ago.

Science

Tiny Fossils Could Be Oldest Evidence Of Life On Earth

4:38pm March 01, 2017

by Rae Ellen Bichell

Scientists say they've found the remains of tube- and string-like organisms in Canadian rocks that are at least 3.7 billion years old. But findings like these are always controversial.

VIDEO: When Humans Got Cozy, Germs Got Deadly

3:02pm February 02, 2017

Our first germs didn't do much damage, until we gave up our hunter-gatherer ways and started farming. Episode 1 of a three-part animated miniseries on the battle between humans and germs.

A football field makes an enormous (and illuminating) timeline.

Watch Earth's History Play Out On A Football Field

4:39pm November 22, 2016

by Adam Cole

If our planet's 4.5 billion-year existence were laid out on a 100-yard timeline, when and where would humans first show up? Good question. NPR's Skunk Bear hits the gridiron for a reality check.

Pam Marrone (right), founder and CEO of Marrone Bio Innovations, inspects some colonies of microbes. Marrone has spent most of her professional life prospecting for microbial pesticides and bringing them to market.

Science

Mighty Farming Microbes: Companies Harness Bacteria To Give Crops A Boost

8:55pm June 12, 2015

by Dan Charles

Will agricultural chemical dealers start selling microbes? Some big pesticide companies are investing in efforts to turn soil bacteria into tools that farmers can use to grow more food.

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Plankton collected in the Pacific Ocean with a 0.1mm mesh net. Seen here is a mix of multicellular organisms — small zooplanktonic animals, larvae and single protists (diatoms, dinoflagellates, radiolarians) — the nearly invisible universe at the bott

Revealed: The Ocean's Tiniest Life At The Bottom Of The Food Chain

5:54pm May 22, 2015

by Christopher Joyce

The ocean's tiniest inhabitants — including bacteria, plankton, krill — are food for most everything that swims or floats. Now, scientists have completed a count of this vast and diverse hidden world.

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Urine For A Surprise: Your Pee Might Reveal Your Risk For Obesity

4:38pm May 04, 2015

by Poncie Rutsch

There are clues about your activity level and metabolism in urine. Researchers hope to one day predict obesity risk by tracking the different levels and ratios of certain molecules in pee.

The bacteria in the soap are usually less of a problem than the bacteria on your hands.

Your Soap Has Bacteria In It, But It Still Gets You Clean

2:20pm February 25, 2015

by Poncie Rutsch

Everyone presumes that soap is clean, but manufacturers know it's always got a few random germs in it. Most of the time that's not a problem, but every now and then things can get out of control.

Mattheos Koffas (left), a biochemical engineer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Andrew Jones, a graduate student in his lab, with a flask of microbe-produced antioxidants.

Who Made That Flavor? Maybe A Genetically Altered Microbe

3:42pm February 20, 2015

by Dan Charles

Biotech companies are inserting new genes into microorganisms, turning them into tiny factories to produce valuable nutrients and flavors. But many of the companies don't want to talk about it.

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Science

Microbes

4:00pm December 26, 2014

by Shawn Fitzmaurice

SciWorks Radio is a production of 88.5 WFDD and SciWorks, the Science Center and Environmental Park o

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The Original Grape-Nuts, which now bear a non-GMO label, no longer contain vitamins A, D, B-12 and B-2.

Why Did Vitamins Disappear From Non-GMO Breakfast Cereal?

6:18am December 06, 2014

by Dan Charles

When GMO-free cereals landed in supermarkets, some vitamins had mysteriously vanished from them. But these vitamins don't necessarily come from genetically altered organisms.