Kimmie Gilbert couldn’t seem to lose weight despite trying diets, exercise, and medication. Research suggests that gut microbiome composition might play a role in a person’s weight. Gilbert got her stool analyzed in a lab and found that she was lacking some key microbes. Kimmie Gilbert has one pressing question: “What in the world are […]
British plant biologists are to work with their European counterparts to determine whether ancient microbes extracted from deep below the Arctic surface can be used to help present-day plant species adapt to climate change. A team at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh has been awarded £500,000 by Horizon Europe, a European Union scientific research initiative, to […]
The Curiosity Mars rover has detected intriguing chemical evidence, in the form of anomalous amounts of manganese oxide, which points to Mars having had not only a habitable environment billions of years ago, but also one possibly inhabited by microbes. NASA’s Curiosity is exploring the giant 154-kilometer (about 96-mile) diameter Gale crater, where the rover […]
Sourdough is the oldest kind of leavened bread in recorded history, and people have been eating it for thousands of years. The components of creating a sourdough starter are very simple – flour and water. Mixing them produces a live culture where yeast and bacteria ferment the sugars in flour, making byproducts that give sourdough […]
An upcoming Chinese lunar mission will carry a small ecosystem and other payloads to test using lunar resources later this decade. China’s Chang’e 8 mission is a precursor mission for a moon base, named the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) that the country wants to build with partners in the 2030s. Chang’e 8 will test […]
A patchwork of crystal-clear lagoons and vast salt plains in Argentina’s Puna de Atacama desert forms an otherworldly ecosystem unlike “anything any scientist has ever seen,” researchers say. The never-before-seen lagoons host mounds of rock layered with microbes that, at first glance, resemble some of the first known forms of life on Earth. Researchers discovered […]
Humans have sailed the world’s oceans for thousands of years, but they haven’t all reached port. Researchers estimate that there are some three million shipwrecks worldwide, resting in shallow rivers and bays, coastal waters and the deep ocean. Many sank during catastrophes – some during storms or after running aground, others in battle or collisions […]
What happens when you take the booze out of beer? It might not all be good news. The global alcohol-free beer market is worth over $20 billion, and is expected to more than double by 2032, according to a 2022 survey by Future Market Insights. The drinks allow you to enjoy yourself at the bar […]