Tag: microbes

Duck-Billed Dinosaur ‘Mummies’ Are Clay Molds Formed by Microbes, Scientists Say
Fossilized Skin on Dinosaur ‘Mummies’ Isn’t Skin at All Wyoming’s “dinosaur mummies,” once thought to preserve fossilized flesh, are actually detailed clay molds formed by microbes as the creatures decayed By Andrea Tamayo edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier Mummy of the juvenile duck-billed dinosaur Edmontosaurus annectens preserved as a dried carcass resting on its ribcage…

Engineered Microbes Pull Critical Minerals from Mining Waste
Meet the Microbes That Munch Mountains of Mining Waste Biomining uses engineered microbes to harvest critical minerals By Vanessa Bates Ramirez edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier Escondida Mine, located in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The copper-bearing waste is poured into the impoundment area as a liquid (green region at image center) and dries to the lighter…

First Measles Death, Outbreaks of Mysterious Illness in DRC and Microbes in Space
The Latest on Measles in the U.S, a Mystery Illness in the DRC and the Flu Vaccines In this news roundup, we cover outbreak updates, microbes in space and a brain turned to glass. By Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi & Alex Sugiura Rachel Feltman: Happy Monday, listeners! And happy March. For Scientific American’s Science Quickly,…

The International Space Station May Need More Microbes to Keep Astronauts Healthy
The International Space Station May Need More Microbes to Keep Astronauts Healthy The overly sterile environment of the International Space Station is missing important microbes, a new detailed map shows. If we want to live off Earth, we may need to take more of our bacterial friends with us By Allison Parshall edited by Lee…

To Find Life on Mars, Make Microbes Wiggle
To Find Life on Mars, Make Microbes Wiggle Could tiny swimming microbes help us unlock the mysteries of extraterrestrial life? By Gayoung Lee edited by Lee Billings A color-enhanced microscopic view of Bacillus subtilis bacteria, rod-shaped extremophile microbes commonly found in soil and in the guts of cows and humans. The latest advance in the…