Tag Archives: human health

Of microbes and men: Testing the neutral theory with the human microbiome

There is no doubt that one of the hottest current topics in microbiology revolves around the human microbiome. There have been a suite of recent studies we’ve highlighted, on organisms ranging from bees and mice, to humans. A quick google scholar search identifies … Continue reading

Posted in community ecology, genomics, metagenomics, microbiology | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

When times are good or bad, happy or sad, viral quasispecies like to stay together

We’ve known for a long time that symbioses are important across all walks of life. Clownfish and sea anemones are obligate symbionts, and bacteria found in legume root nodules help fix nitrogen. In a nice review published recently in Evolutionary … Continue reading

Posted in adaptation, Coevolution, evolution | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How urbanization might affect the five-second rule

At this point, we know that microbes are everywhere and make up complex communities found all over the place ranging from oceanic hydrothermal vents to lakes, soils, and, yes of course, all over you. It has also become apparent that … Continue reading

Posted in community ecology, microbiology | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments