Donate

microbes

Magnified red microbes float among a yellow background

A micro safari through household germs reveals that cleanliness isn’t always a good thing

Medicine

Take a look around — you might not be able to see them, but they are everywhere. We are surrounded by forests of bacteria and microbes. And it turns out, that might not be such a bad thing. But our obsession with cleanliness could be.

A view of tundra landscape in the Rocky Mountains — 11,000 feet from sea level.

In the dead of winter, plants are already starting to prepare for spring — underground

Science
Microbiome

Scientists are turning their attention to the microbiome of where we live

Health
Gut bacteria

Microbes may hold the key to future high-tech meds and materials

Science
Thin filaments of fungi form a dense network between the roots of most of the world's food crops. Some researchers believe that working with such microbes rather than against them, as has often been the case in conventional agriculture, will help the worl

The future of agriculture may be too small to see. Think microbes

Environment
Case of drug-resistant microbes are on the rise around the world, especially bacteria resistant to antibiotics. This map from the World Health Organization shows the proportion of cases of tuberculosis that are resistant to multiple drugs, based on the la

A World Health Organization report warns we’re moving toward a world where antibiotics don’t work

Environment

Overuse of antibiotics may be driving us into a “post-antibiotic era,” in which common infections and minor injuries can kill us. We are already seeing a rise in resistant infections.Overuse of antibiotics may be driving us into a “post-antibiotic era,” in which common infections and minor injuries can kill us. We are already seeing a rise in resistant infections.