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Tiny Worlds

From the social network in the soil to the ecosystem in your body, it’s amazing what’s hidden just out of sight

Featuring 20 articles by 14 scientists

The secret to sounder sleep may be lurking in our guts

New research shows that stressed med students on probiotics got better shut-eye

Hannah Thomasy

Neuroscience

University of Washington

Comment 2 peer comments

Don't fear germs – at least not too much

Microbes are neither purely 'good' nor 'bad'

Jennifer Tsang

Microbiology

Comment 3 peer comments

Scientists want to harness our microbiomes for cancer treatments

Microbes' fight for survival can help cancers thrive or help us treat it

Melanie Silvis

Molecular Microbiology

UC San Francisco

Can corals be saved? The key may be in their microbes

Biologists are studying corals with techniques designed for humans

Maite Ghazaleh Bucher

Environmental Health

University of Georgia

Comment 3 peer comments

How scientists are mapping the building blocks of life

A microscopic moonshot hopes to revolutionize biology

How gut bacteria manipulates your immune system – by mimicking it

Scientists are discovering how microbes 'speak' with the body

Melanie Silvis

Molecular Microbiology

UC San Francisco

Comment 1 peer comment

Genes are like the cosmos: the more we discover, the more we have to explore

"I don't know how to keep the air in my chest thinking about the scale and size of the unknown"

Dan Samorodnitsky

Biochemistry

Carnegie Mellon University

Why teamwork is better than attempting lone heroism in science

A story of failure, collaboration, and incredibly tiny medicine

Samantha McWhirter

Chemistry

University of Toronto

Comment 2 peer comments

Scientists are recruiting live bacteria to fight deadly infections

A study in rural India is raising hopes for a future without antibiotics

Devang Mehta

Genomics

University of Alberta

Comment 3 peer comments

Beetles exploit bacteria labor to grow their exoskeletons

New research has revealed a "symbiotic organ" in weevils, showing how tiny organisms shape larger life

Scientists found an entire herpes virus genome hiding out in fish DNA

Researchers have made a bizarre discovery involving transposons, parasitic DNA found in fish (and humans)

Dan Samorodnitsky

Biochemistry

Carnegie Mellon University

Comment 2 peer comments

Can the right microbes really solve all your health problems?

A microbiologist explains the latest gut science

Namrata Iyer

Microbiology

Brown University

Why you shouldn't worry about the bacteria in your sponges

Remember that study about the 'dangerous' bacteria hiding in your kitchen sponge? Not so fast

Kevin Pels

Chemical Biology

The Scripps Research Institute

We're beginning to understand the 'tumor microenvironment' that makes cancer so resilient

The cellular processes that help tumors thrive in the body are a promising new target for cancer treatments

Danny Jomaa

Biochemistry

University of Ottawa

How do mosses reproduce? By spreading their seed on everything

That's right: come for the soft, cool outdoor perch – leave covered in moss sperm

The soil microbiome could change agriculture—if we can understand it

Tinkering with the buzzing "social network" in the soil could be a new frontier for making crops grow faster and healthier.

Michael Graw

Microbial Ecology

Oregon State University

A scientist explains why you should approach exciting microbiome news with caution

We know the microbiome is important to health, but we're still developing the tools to understand how and why

Ilana Arbisser

Computational Biology

Stanford University

These tiny methane-eating organisms have an outsize impact on our climate models

They don't need as much oxygen as we think, and that's a big deal for climate scientists.

Michael Graw

Microbial Ecology

Oregon State University