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bacteria + (6)
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Since 1977, Nikon has held a Small World Photomicrography Competition, to showcase that which cannot be seen with the naked eye. This year's winner will be announced in November, but until October 31, we have been invited to vote for one of this years' 115 finalists to receive the 'Small World Popular Vote Award.' [more inside]
posted by zarq on Sep 26, 2011 - 13 comments

Bacteria can communicate with each other, take concerted action, influence human physiology, alter human thinking, and work together to change their environment. The bacteria in your gut are talking to each other, and to you, and you are talking back to them. The mind boggles. [more inside]
posted by exphysicist345 on Oct 19, 2010 - 55 comments

Here in the US, each state has a state bird, flower, fish, rock, soil, and Wisconsin just passed a bill to add the first state microbe, bacterium Lactococcus lactis. Of course the Lactococcus lacti would be a hero for Wisconsin, because Lactococcus is used to make chedder cheese. [more inside]
posted by Wolfster on Apr 23, 2010 - 31 comments

Back before refrigeration, humanity turned to fermentation for much of our food preservation. With the help of some friendly bacteria and/or yeasts, home cooks can transmute tea into kombucha, and milk into yogurt, creme fraiche and buttermilk. [more inside]
posted by mccarty.tim on Jan 18, 2010 - 66 comments

ilovebacteria.com explains science to people who do not necessarily have a scientific background. You'll find a selection of DIY experiments like egg osmosis, and strange facts like the ever popular why does asparagus make your wee smell? And don't forget to meet the microbes.
posted by netbros on Jun 11, 2008 - 9 comments

Can microbes make us fat? Of the trillions and trillions of cells in a typical human body — at least 10 times as many cells in a single individual as there are stars in the Milky Way — only about 1 in 10 is human. The other 90 percent are microbial. These microbes — a term that encompasses all forms of microscopic organisms, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa and a form of life called archaea — exist everywhere. New evidence suggests microbes in our bodies can determine how efficiently we process food and affect our hunger centers.
posted by caddis on Aug 13, 2006 - 29 comments

Let your children play with the common cold... introducing giant microbe plush toys. [link via die puny humans]
posted by drezdn on Sep 21, 2004 - 9 comments

Giant Microbe Plush Toys. We make stuffed animals that look like tiny microbes—only a million times actual size!
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Feb 16, 2004 - 13 comments

The Bacteria Whisperer
“Bonnie Bassler discovered a secret about microbes that the science world has missed for centuries. The bugs are talking to each other. And plotting against us.”
posted by o2b on Mar 21, 2003 - 13 comments

Pictures of microbes and the machines that may one day fight them...
posted by Fabulon7 on Oct 4, 2002 - 7 comments

Martians may resemble the Spanish. Scientists are studying a red river in Spain which flows through a deposit of pyrite, "has a pH similar to that of automobile battery acid and contains virtually no oxygen in its lower depths" to get an idea of what Martian microbes might be like. The critters found in the Rio Tinto are extremophiles, little microscopic buggers that can live miles underground, or in water 170 degree Celsius under deep-sea hydrothermal vents. (No word yet on whether there's a Portuguese connection.)
[via Red Rock Eater]
posted by slipperywhenwet on Aug 25, 2002 - 5 comments