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Decades of research on biosolids and its benefits

For more than four decades, biosolids have been applied to land and studied by researchers for many useful purposes.

22 Sep 2022

Soil viruses contribute auxiliary functions to their hosts

There are billions of fungi, bacteria, and viruses, in a handful of soil, all working to support the cycle of life. Comprehending the interaction of these microbes with one another aids researchers evaluate soil carbon and nutrient cycling, soil health, and also the means through which dead insects decompose.

21 Sep 2022

Study shows how microbial functional genes-environment links for soil health monitoring

In terms of functional gene content, soil bacteria are important agents that influence how ecosystems work, but the understanding of their ecological implications and functional characterization is still insufficient.

1 Jul 2022

Rhizosphere-on-a-chip with a simulated soil allows scientists to view how roots grow over time

The rhizosphere is the living ecosystem around plant roots. It is a dynamic ecosystem of plant and microbes that is difficult to study because soil is opaque and complex.

23 Jun 2022

Understanding why brain training works for some people but not others

If you are skilled at playing puzzles on your smartphone or tablet, what does it say about how fast you learn new puzzles, or, more broadly, how well you can focus, say, in school or at work? Or, in the language of psychologists, does "near transfer" predict "far transfer"?

22 Jun 2022

Massive urban development is disrupting natural biorhythms in corals

Coral reefs in the Gulf of Eilat (also known as the Gulf of Aqaba) have been proven particularly resistant to global warming, rising water temperatures and bleaching events that are crippling their counterparts elsewhere around the world.

21 Mar 2022

A fresh perspective on genome-editing tools, likely to help microbial communities

Microbial communities in nature are made up of a variety of bacterium species. This makes it challenging to isolate and culture individual bacterium species in the laboratory. New tools have been created by researchers to assist.

21 Mar 2022

Researchers address the dynamics of soil microbial community structure and stoichiometry

Forest conversion has a significant influence on the structure and stoichiometry of the soil microbial community (SMC).

16 Mar 2022

Microbial fertilizer factory on the Earth's seafloor helped support complex life

Scientists reveal a new part of the recipe for complex life on planets, and it involves the onset of a microbial fertilizer factory on the Earth's seafloor roughly 2.6 billion years ago.

11 Mar 2022

Microorganisms “breathe” rocks through extracellular electron transfer, says study

Microbes may be tiny, yet they have a significant influence on the Earth’s habitability.

4 Feb 2022

Culturing marine sponge cells in 3D could scale-up production of biomass, bioactive metabolites

There are more than 9,000 species of marine sponges (Phylum Porifera) worldwide, which are a source of novel natural products.

25 Jan 2022

Study evaluates the basic principles of bacterial community assembly

The bacterial communities present in the soil play a vital role in carbon (C) and nutrient cycling.

23 Dec 2021

How Can Sustainable Agricultural Practices Improve Soil Health?

In this interview, we speak to Dr. Fiona Brennan from Teagasc, about the importance of sustainable agricultural practices and how they can help to improve soil health.

21 Dec 2021

World Soil Day: An Interview with the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)

For World Soil Day, we spoke to Ronald Vargas from the FAO, about the importance of soil health and the need to raise awareness surrounding it.

3 Dec 2021

Research reveals role of bacteria in mediating soil carbon cycling

Scientists recently created an innovative technique to monitor microbes and comprehend the different means through which the microbes process soil carbon.

25 Nov 2021

Heat and antibiotics disrupt soil microbes and nutrient cycling

Soils are home to diverse microbial communities that cycle nutrients, support agriculture, and trap carbon – an important service for climate mitigation.

9 Nov 2021

Scientists use DNA to create what may be the world's tiniest ruler for measuring proteins

As scientists have probed the mysteries of life down to smaller and smaller scales, they have invented tools to help them understand what they observe.

22 Oct 2021

Study identifies the spatial pattern of soil bacterial community in deep soil layer

Soil microorganisms are crucial constituents of the soil ecosystem. They have vital roles in nutrient cycling and biogeochemical processes.

21 Oct 2021

Mitochondria of diabetic patients can't keep track of time, study finds

Almost all cells regulate their biological processes over a 24-hour period, otherwise called a cell's circadian rhythm. To do so, cells use a biological clock that cycles different genes on and off throughout the day and night.