Cooperation vs. Competition: Microbiome Diversity and Interactions

by Wei Lifigures by MacKenzie Mauger Microbial communities, known as microbiomes, are everywhere—on our bodies, in our food, and in the environment—and they are as important as they are prevalent. The gut microbiome interacts with our body and influences our health, the bacteria composition in cheese and other fermented products shapes their taste, and the bacteria in the soil helps plants grow faster.  These microbial … Continue reading Cooperation vs. Competition: Microbiome Diversity and Interactions

Mapping Individual Microbes among the Multitudes

by Sophia Swartzfigures by Jasmin Joseph-Chazan If you put all of the living things on Earth in a box–from humans to anteaters to teeny-tiny tardigrades–and then plucked one of these organisms out at random, it is very, very likely that you just found yourself a microbe. Microbes, although too small to be seen with the naked eye, are some of the most common forms of … Continue reading Mapping Individual Microbes among the Multitudes

When Correlation Does Not Imply Causation: Why your gut microbes may not (yet) be a silver bullet to all your problems

by Dawn Chenfigures by Daniel Utter Did you know that the divorce rate in Maine strongly correlates with the per capita consumption of margarine? Wow, maybe abstaining from margarine prevents divorce! I can definitely imagine a pop-media article with this eye-catching title. Before throwing out all margarine to save your marriage, an intelligent reader like you would probably think to yourself: “what absurdity, it’s probably … Continue reading When Correlation Does Not Imply Causation: Why your gut microbes may not (yet) be a silver bullet to all your problems

How to improve cheese quality and taste? Understand the cheese’s microbial community.

What makes all the different cheeses taste so wonderful? All of the different microbes that help make your cheese! Scientists have begun linking specific flavors to specific bacteria – meaning sometime soon we can start making designer cheese flavors. Continue reading How to improve cheese quality and taste? Understand the cheese’s microbial community.