Microbes | Science News for Students

Microbes

maze corals with lesions from a new coral disease

Maze corals on Flat Cay reef near St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Lesions expose the corals’ stark white skeleton. A deadly new disease is to blame — and it's spreading through the Caribbean.

M. Brandt

Animals
 
Aug 29, 2019
Mystery disease is killing Caribbean corals
a photo of a skinny mouse and a plump mouse side by side

A study in mice showed altered immune cells led to weight gain. Gut microbes also played a role.  

Georgejason/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Microbes
 
Aug 16, 2019
Obesity in mice caused by defects in their immune system
a photo of an Ethiopian farmer's hands holding wheat grown in his field against a blue sky

Melese Tsegaye, a farmer in Kulumsa, Ethiopia, holds seed heads taken from stalks of wheat. Wheat is one of many crops that have suffered from disease outbreaks.

Peter Lowe/CIMMYT/Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Agriculture
 
Aug 15, 2019
As infections ravage food crops, scientists fight back
bat wings

This bat is being treated with antifungal bacteria. A new study finds the applied germs appear to fight a fungus that’s been killing millions of North American bats.

USFWS/SUE CAMERON/FLICKR (CC BY 2.0)

Algae & Fungi
 
Jul 26, 2019
New treatment offers hope for bats battling white nose syndrome
an illustration of a chemical compound that binds to the pit of a virus

A chemical compound (illustrated at center) binds to a never-before-seen pit on the surface (blue, white and magenta) of a type of disease-causing virus. The interaction stops this enterovirus from reproducing.

James Geraets

Microbes
 
Jul 16, 2019
A surface crater in viruses may be key to keeping colds from spreading
an illustration of microbes in the gut

Bacteria living in your tummy (illustrated) could interfere with many oral medicines.

DR_MICROBE/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Microbes
 
Jul 9, 2019
Gut bacteria may affect how well your medicines work
a bat hanging on a tree

Since the 1950s, bats and other wild animals have replaced dogs as the major U.S. source of human deaths from rabies.

ADAMDV18/Encyclopedia of Life (CC-BY-NC-4.0)

Health
 
Jul 3, 2019
Bats are now the primary source of U.S. rabies deaths
a photo of the Odaw River

A new survey finds antibiotics in about two-thirds of 711 river sites tested. They include the Odaw River, shown, running through Ghana’s capital of Accra.

Rob Marchant

Pollution
 
Jul 2, 2019
Antibiotics pollute many of the world’s rivers
a photo of the trio of teen scientists who found a new bacterium

Atlantis Aziz-Dickerson (left), Joyceline Dweh (center) and D’Asia Buchanan (right) swabbed a door handle, a smartphone and a hand dryer — and found a new bacterium.

A. Sue Weisler

Microbes
 
Jun 21, 2019
Teens swipe a door handle and find an antibiotic
An underwater photo of a school of fish swimming past a reef. 

Researchers are studying the bacteria that live on fish in the Pacific Ocean in search of molecules that could be turned into drugs.

strmko/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Microbes
 
May 29, 2019
Slimy fish could aid the search for new drugs