For the giant virus and Euglena fans out there:

Giant endogenous viral elements in the genome of the model protist Euglena gracilis reveal past interactions with giant viruses

https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jvi.00713-25

#virology #protists #viruses #microbiology

The Great Deceleration

by Roberto — As probably all STC readers are already well-aware, the end of exponential growth of the human population is near. The doubling time for humans to go from 2 to 4 billion was about fifty years. The population maintained pretty much the same doubling time going from 4 to 8 billion.

Read more > https://schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2025/08/the-great-deceleration.html
#microbiology

#Postdoc openings in the Meng lab at VT "to study the molecular mechanisms of hepatitis E virus replication and pathogenesis, antiviral development, and develop novel vaccines against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus."

Great opportunity!

https://research.vetmed.vt.edu/labs/faculty-labs/meng-lab.html

#virology #microbiology

Louis Pasteur in his laboratory, 1885.

Image: Wellcome Collection -- Public domain.

#LouisPasteur #Microbiology #Science #PublicHealth #Food #Pasteurization #France #History

https://youtube.com/watch?v=fQufTelXL6s&si=BVOue6sBTO3PS1Kx

Intraterrestrials. There’s a video! Get out the popcorn.

#science #biology #microbiology #astrobiology #geochemistry

Intraterrestrials! The truth is IN there. In the book, that is. Looks interesting. Makes you wonder how they got there. Makes you wonder about Io, or is it Europa? Anyway, oceans beneath ice.

(Update: It’s really well written. Here’s an excerpt from chapter one: “Any sad little trickle of life in this deep, dark underworld, therefore, might seem like it should be trying to clamber back up to the surface desperate for life-giving sunlight. But anyone who’s traveled to a methane seep at the bottom of the sea, like I have, knows the opposite is true: life flourishes in the dark.”)

On my Christmas list.

#science #astrobiology #microbiology #biology #extremophiles #books #biogeochemistry #oceanography

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-pursuit-of-life-where-it-seems-unimaginable-20250820/

In a political sense, there’s probably nothing worse than an extremophile, but biologically, I have to admit they are pretty interesting.

#science #biology #space #astrobiology #extremophiles #geochemistry #bioinformatics #microbiology

Giraffes’ Gut Microbiome Communities Determined By Species, Not Diet

"The giraffe’s gut microbiome is made up of a variety of bacteria and fungi, and is largely determined by the giraffe’s species — not by what they eat."

#SciComm by @grrlscientist

#giraffe #microbiome #microbiology #GutBacteria #conservation #ecology #diet https://medium.com/grrlscientist/giraffes-gut-microbiome-communities-determined-by-species-not-diet-9a0cd46bc926

Giraffes’ Gut Microbiome Communities Determined By Species, Not Diet

"The giraffe’s gut microbiome is made up of a variety of bacteria and fungi, and is largely determined by the giraffe’s species — not by what they eat."

#SciComm by @GrrlScientist

#giraffe #microbiome #microbiology #GutBacteria #conservation #ecology #diet https://medium.com/grrlscientist/giraffes-gut-microbiome-communities-determined-by-species-not-diet-9a0cd46bc926