Cellular & Microscopic Biology
Cellular and microscopic biology allow scientists to study cells and microorganisms. Cellular biology is the study of cells, including their structure and function. Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which include algae, bacteria, and viruses.
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You may be familiar with the medieval "Black Plague," but did you know that bouts of plague still break out today? Find out what causes an outbreak, why plague still exists and how the plague has influenced history.
By Tracy V. Wilson & Alia Hoyt
Phone calls, e-mails, sign language, friendly shouts -- this is how we communicate in our daily lives. Bacteria, some of the tiniest organisms on Earth, have a different way of talking.
For something too small to be detected by an ordinary microscope, viruses pack a big punch. We all know they can wreak havoc on the body, but how do they do it?
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Cell suicide sounds unpleasant, but this programmed cell death is the reason your fingers and toes are no longer webbed. What's the story behind apoptosis, and what does it have to do with curing disease?
Pasteurization is the process of removing harmful pathogens from various types of food. How was this process discovered?
By Carol White
Bacteria are both friend and foe to humanity. They cause and cure health problems, make rotting food stink and give sourdough its delicious taste. Find out how these countless tiny microbes accomplish all of this and more.
Viruses, viroids and prions are microscopic, infectious particles with a common, despicable goal - but the way each goes about achieving that goal is different.
By Debra Ronca
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You won't find some of history's biggest killers on this list, but you will find at least one disease that will make you want to bite something and another that might make you break out in "elevated pustules." Curious yet?
By Garth Sundem
Your body replaces billions (with a b!) of cells every day. In about 100 days, 30 trillion be replaced, but does that mean you're a new person, too?
Yep, fungi are all around us - in the grocery store, in the woods or living on your discolored toenail. And fungi can break down almost anything.
No life, except possibly very small bacteria, would exist on Earth without photosynthesis.
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Chloroplasts are where some of the most miraculous chemistry on Earth goes down.
Prokaryotic cells are like single-room efficiency apartments while eukaryotic cells are like mansions with many rooms - and they are the only two kinds of cells in the world.
The part of your cells that helps you recover from a hangover is shaped like a maze of tubes and is made of two parts - the rough endoplasmic reticulum and the smooth endoplasmic reticulum.
Centrioles are spindles that create the pathways for chromosomes to follow during cell division.
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Niels Bohr proposed the model of the atom that we still learn in school today, even though it's technically incorrect.
Mold is a type of fungus, and it's everywhere - indoors, outdoors and even in the air. But is black mold worse than the rest? Is it as deadly as people say?
The mass of microorganisms swarming inside your favorite elite athlete's body may be a great business opportunity.
By Amanda Onion
You probably use the words mold and mildew interchangeably. But these two types of fungi aren't quite the same. Is one worse?
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While plant and animal cells are strikingly similar, there are a few key differences.
When an electron loses its partner, it creates a free radical. So is that free radical now potentially hazardous to your health?
Viruses need hosts to replicate and reproduce. So if a virus has no host, how long can it survive? It depends on a lot of factors.
Researchers are calling for a new "Noah's Ark" to store microbes that might one day be valuable.
By Chris Opfer
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Scientists started an experiment back in 2014 that will run for 500 years. The first results were recently published. So, what have they found so far?
Australia's western coast boasts such pink wonders. But what gives these lakes their pink hue?