The Blue Soup Saga Is One Beefy Mystery

Beef soup! You’d normally expect it to be somewhere from reddish-brown to grey, depending on how well it was cooked and prepared. However, strangely, an assistant professor found the beef sou…

Scientists Revived Ancient 'Zombie Viruses' Frozen For Eons in Siberia

As the world warms up, vast tranches of permafrost are melting, releasing material that's been trapped in its icy grip for years.

Could a Gut Bacteria Supplement Make Us Run Faster? (Published 2019)

Running a marathon ramps up levels of a gut bacteria that made mice run faster, but it’s unclear whether it would work in people.

Are There Benefits to Drinking Kombucha? (Published 2019)

If by “benefits” you mean being wildly popular and sometimes unpredictably alcoholic, then yes.

Satellites Spot Oceans Aglow With Trillions of Organisms

A new generation of detectors let scientists identify a dozen large episodes of bioluminescence, one a hundred times larger than Manhattan — and that’s the smallest.

The Dos and Don’ts of Fermented Foods

Is all yogurt created equal? Does it matter if the kimchi is spicy? And what if my kombucha has sugar? Your questions answered.

How Fermented Foods May Alter Your Microbiome and Improve Your Health

Foods like yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut and kombucha increased the diversity of gut microbes and led to lower levels of inflammation.

You’re Missing Microbes. But Is ‘Rewilding’ the Way to Get Them Back?

The science behind the idea of restoring the intestinal microbiome to an ancestral state is shaky, skeptics say, and in some cases unethical.

Covid’s Lambda Variant: Worth Watching, but No Cause for Alarm

Spreading fast in South America, the variant is still a mystery. No one knows whether it is more contagious than other variants or if it affects vaccines.

Do I Always Need to Wash Fruits and Vegetables? Do I Need a Special Soap?

A food safety specialist offers tips on helping to keep your food safe.

Training the Next Generation of Indigenous Data Scientists

A new workshop explores the right of Indigenous people to govern the collection, ownership and use of their biological and cultural data.

How Glowing Bacteria in the Dirt May One Day Save Lives

Researchers in Israel have recently detailed progress in developing sensors that light up in the presence of a chemical linked to land mines and other deadly explosives.

This Tiny Creature Survived 24,000 Years Frozen in Siberian Permafrost

The microscopic animals were frozen when woolly mammoths still roamed the planet, but were restored as though no time had passed.

Subway Swabbers Find a Microbe Jungle and Thousands of New Species

A team of international researchers has assembled an atlas of microorganisms present in 60 cities around the world.