“One bacterial species stood out, both for its protective powers and for its colour: blackish-purple, ominous but darkly beautiful. It was called… — Ed Yong Copy Share Image
“Even now, the photosynthetic bacteria in the oceans produce the oxygen in half the breaths you take, and they lock away an… — Ed Yong Carbon dioxide Copy Share Image
“If I went to a library and lobbed a microbiology textbook out the window, I could easily concuss a passer-by. If I… — Ed Yong Copy Share Image
“For example, all three partners cooperate to make nutrients. To create the amino acid phenylalanine, they need nine enzymes. Tremblaya can build… — Ed Yong Greek mythology Copy Share Image
“Almost every major partnership in the natural world is like this. Cheats are always a problem. Betrayal lurks perpetually on the horizon.… — Ed Yong Betrayal Copy Share Image
“The microbiome may vary from day to day, from sunrise to sunset, or even from meal to meal, but such variations are… — Ed Yong Day to day Copy Share Image
“Her husband donated a stool sample, which Khoruts pulverised in a blender. He then delivered a cupful of the slurry into Rebecca… — Ed Yong Marriage Copy Share Image
“The data might tell tales with preposterous plots, but they don't lie. They tell us that the citrus mealybug is a mash-up… — Ed Yong Copy Share Image
“These changes are all fundamentally Darwinian. This point is worth repeating: taking any fast or instant evolutionary shifts as a refutation of… — Ed Yong Biology Copy Share Image
“Every major transition in the history of life- from single cell to multi-celled -from individuals to symbiotic Collectives has had to solve… — Ed Yong History Copy Share Image
“The citrus mealybug is a living matryoshka doll. It has bacteria living inside its cells, and those bacteria have more bacteria living… — Ed Yong Life Copy Share Image
“Martinus Beijerinck, a Dutchman, was amongst the first to demonstrate their planetary importance. Reclusive, brusque, and unpopular, he had no love for… — Ed Yong Love Copy Share Image
“At the time, BD was creeping fast across the Sierra Nevada, covering around 700 metres a year. By charting its advances, Vredenburg… — Ed Yong Time Copy Share Image
“Sixty years on, we know that HGT is one of the most profound aspects of bacterial life. It allows bacteria to evolve… — Ed Yong Life Copy Share Image
“Humans don't need to evolve a gene that can break down the carbohydrates in seaweed; if we swallow enough microbes that can… — Ed Yong Copy Share Image
“They worked with the same strain of timid mice that Collins studied, and managed to change the animals' behaviour by feeding them… — Ed Yong Dairy products Copy Share Image
“And in maintaining such constancy, microbes are crucial. They affect the storage of fat. They help to replenish the linings of the… — Ed Yong Old stuff Copy Share Image
“In the 1990s, Taylor and his colleagues took these ideas into the field. They wanted to see if they could use an… — Ed Yong First time Copy Share Image
“The procedure works along the same principles as a probiotic, but rather than adding just one strain of bacteria, or even 17,… — Ed Yong Organ transplant Copy Share Image
