How transient invaders can transform an ecosystem
Study finds microbes can alter an environment dramatically before dying out.
Why C. difficile infection spreads despite increased sanitation practices
Research underscores infection is not a common hospital transmission.
Maurice Fox, professor emeritus of biology, dies at 95
A caring mentor and staunch political activist, Fox cared deeply about his students, the department, and the scientific enterprise.
Testing the waters
MIT sophomore Rachel Shen looks for microscopic solutions to big environmental challenges.
The new front against antibiotic resistance
Deborah Hung shares research strategies to combat tuberculosis as part of the Department of Biology's IAP seminar series on microbes in health and disease.
Making real a biotechnology dream: nitrogen-fixing cereal crops
Voigt Lab's work could eventually replace cereal crops’ need for nitrogen from chemical fertilizers.
Building a platform to image membrane proteins
Biologists devise an efficient method to prepare fluorescently tagged proteins and simulate their native environment.
How biomarkers can record and reconstruct climate trends
Scientists reveal the genes and proteins controlling the chemical structures underpinning paleoclimate proxies.
Investigating the rise of oxygenic photosynthesis
EAPS scientists find an alternative explanation for mineral evidence thought to signal the presence of oxygen prior to the Great Oxidation Event.
A new way to control microbial metabolism
Chemical engineers program bacteria to switch between different metabolic pathways, boosting their yield of desirable products.
Coated seeds may enable agriculture on marginal lands
A specialized silk covering could protect seeds from salinity while also providing fertilizer-generating microbes.
Continuing a legacy of Antarctic exploration
The Summons Lab compares lipids from Antarctic microbial communities to century-old samples.
Biologists build proteins that avoid crosstalk with existing molecules
Engineered signaling pathways could offer a new way to build synthetic biology circuits.
Study reveals how mucus tames microbes
Specialized sugar molecules called glycans can disarm opportunistic pathogens and prevent infection.
Engineered viruses could fight drug resistance
By tweaking bacteriophage genomes, MIT team creates a new weapon to combat infection.