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Our planet is home to a vast array of environmental conditions, and humans can tolerate an impressive range of them. Communities make their homes in places where temperatures regularly fall below -50 o C or top 50 o C. Deep-sea divers experience pressure several times that of our ambient atmosphere. We may not enjoy spending time in the most extreme conditions, but we can survive there. But earth is full of environments that fall well outside the bounds of human physiology. T

Most of the life that we see around us, like plants, animals, humans, depends on oxygen for survival and growth. But while macroorganisms are aerobic creatures, there is a whole world of microorganisms called anaerobes that don't need oxygen to survive. And for some of them, oxygen can even be deadly. Anaerobic environments are more common than you might think. They include sediments, soil micropores, biofilms, and even our very own digestive system. Humans also harness anaer

The invention of Teflon, the very first PFAS compound, happened by accident in 1938. Scientists at DuPont were trying to make a different molecule entirely, but they unintentionally synthesized PFTE, known commercially as Teflon, instead. This nonstick, water repellant, heat resistant compound was initially used in manufacturing applications, but quickly found use in consumer products as well. That original compound, PTFE, has expanded to an entire class of chemicals known as

Our world is filled with a vast array of microorganisms with strange and fascinating abilities. One example is magnetotactic bacteria, a group of organisms that respond to magnetic fields. Put a magnet near them, and they'll come swarming toward it! Scientists are excited by the potential applications of microbes that can be moved around in targeted ways. They are exploring several biotechnology applications, from cancer treatment to metal recycling. To understand how scienti

This blog post is based on my recent paper in the Journal of Environmental Engineering , the first of three that will ultimately be published from my PhD research, entitled Populus Species Mitigate Nitrogen Breakthrough in Wastewater Infiltration Systems for Year-Round Treatment and Recovery The circular economy challenges industries to consider all phases of a product's lifecycle, from materials acquisition to disposal at end-of-life, as well as the other waste streams crea

This post is based on my lab group's recent Journal of Environmental Engineering publication entitled: Populus Species Mitigate Nitrogen...

Environmental microorganisms are as varied as the environments in which they live. Classification systems are not always perfect, but...

As human beings living in the 21st century, we've had our fair share of "once in a lifetime" experiences that conspicuously happened far...

Welcome to the AppliedMicrobio blog! This post is the first in a series that will introduce some basic concepts in environmental...