Discoveries

A scientist samples sediments at the bottom of the Pacific

Researchers take a planet-wide census of bacteria

Scientists at Argonne lab are leading an effort to catalog the world's most abundant lifeform: microbes. They are collecting samples from the tundra, the ocean, the hindlegs of a lizard and even a reporter's shoe. more

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Discoveries

Clever Apes: A world of bugs

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February, 22, 2012

Microbes are by far the most abundant life form on the planet. The numbers are so big, they’re almost comical: maybe five million trillion trillion bacteria on earth, and that’s conservative. And yet we know shockingly little about who’s living where, and what they do.So, big deal, right? We’ve... more

Discoveries

Clever Apes #26: The happiness machine

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February, 14, 2012

The human brain is full of wonder, mystery, perhaps even spirit. But it’s also a machine. And so even though it might sound far-fetched to suggest that a device can beam happiness into someone’s head, for some people living with depression that is the truth.Transcranial magnetic stimulation, the... more

Discoveries

Common air pollutant linked to mental decline

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February, 13, 2012

A common type of air pollution might speed up the mental decline that comes with aging, according to new research led by a Chicago scientist.Particulate pollution, made of tiny particles and droplets from smokestacks and tailpipes, has been known to contribute to lung disease and other health... more

Discoveries

Chicago paleontologist says ancient burial sites in Niger shed light on impact of climate change

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February, 10, 2012

Paleontologist Paul Sereno is known for digging up dinosaur fossils. Twelve years ago, however, while tracking dinosaur remains in the Sahara desert, his team stumbled upon human bones -- a lot of them. Sereno couldn’t walk away from the discovery. He put together an international team to... more

Discoveries

Clever Apes #25: Curveballs from space

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January, 31, 2012

Often in science, a new insight doesn’t fit in with the old patterns. That means something, of course, is wrong – either the fresh idea, or everything we thought we knew leading up to it. In the latest installment of Clever Apes, we consider two of these curveballs. One has already rewritten the... more

Discoveries

Clever Apes: Another gut check

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January, 23, 2012

So we just finished explaining how the gut is our second brain. How to top that? How about this: Your gut is its own planet.The human intestine hosts an entire civilization of microorganisms – about 100 trillion by most estimates. That’s many times more than there are cells in your body. You may... more