What if every virus in the world were collected into one area?

I always enjoy the webcomic XKCD's "What-Ifs" but this one was especially relevant so I wanted to share.

Pile of Viruses

There are LOTS of viruses.
(P.S. Don't forget to hold your mouse over the illustrations to see the alt text.)

New podcast about plant pathology

Plants are very important for people (and bacteria!), and I talk a lot about soil ecology on this show, but microbes can cause disease in plants too, as much or more as in animals, especially fungi. So I'd like to introduce this newly minted podcast about plant pathology, the study of plant diseases, hosted by a graduate student in that field of study. If it sounds interesting, check out The Plant Pathology Podcast!

BacterioFiles Micro Edition 33 - Playing Paramecium Pong

This episode: Video games with live microbes!

Download Episode (2 MB, 2.25 minutes)

Show notes:
News item 1/News item 2/Journal paper

Other interesting stories:
**Speculation about using bacteria for nanomachine communication
**Bacteria thriving even in deepest explored layer of ocean crust
**Infants digest milk better than adults do because of bacteria
**Researchers reviving bacteria trapped in salt crystals for thousands of years
**Using bacteria like a really big hard drive
**Testing bacterial survival in orbit

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles at gmail dot com. Thanks for listening!

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.