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Fun

Microbial Advent Calendar 2k18 – Bad turning Good

Yesterday was the first blog post about our "Wolbachia Special" in the Microbial Advent Calendar. Today we have a look at the other side of the story. In some cases, Wolbachia infections can be beneficial to their host. Some help the host resist viral infection, increase lifespan or fecundity while others…
Adrien
December 9, 2018
Fun

Microbial Advent Calendar 2k18 – Masters of Sex

For the first weekend of the Microbial Advent Calendar, we are doing a "Wolbachia Special"! There are so many cool things about Wolbachia that I could have run at least a whole week with one example a day. Instead, we are going to condense the awesomeness of these bacteria in…
Adrien
December 9, 2018
Fun

Microbial Advent Calendar 2k18 – Nibbling Xylan

Day six of the Microbial Advent Calendar. Today let's have a look at termites! Cool little army of wood munchers. Their secret? A whole community of microbe hidden in their tiny gut! There are more than 3000 species of termites and they almost all digest wood with a little help…
Adrien
December 7, 2018
Fun

Microbial Advent Calendar 2k18 – A light in the dark

Deep in the dark ocean we go for Day 4 of the Microbial Advent Calendar! Where the anglerfish lure prey with their bioluminescent headlight organ at the end of a modified fin! And you guessed right this organ houses a bunch of bacteria who generate the light! You find many…
Adrien
December 5, 2018
Fun

Microbial Advent Calendar 2k18 – Being its own apothecary

For day 3 of the Microbial Advent Calendar, let's have a look at the Beewolf (Philanthus triangulum). Neither a bee nor a wolf, it is, in fact, a predatory wasp that actually hunts bees. Although the adult does not feed on bees, but on plant nectar, the females hunt bees…
Adrien
December 4, 2018
Fun

Microbial Advent Calendar 2k18 – Non Mainstream dividing

The second day of the Microbial Advent Calendar and today we have a sneak peak into the incredible world of nematodes associated with bacteria. There is an incredible diversity of host-associated systems in the nematode realm, today we a have a look at Laxus oneistus. This worm looks like, when you…
Adrien
December 2, 2018
Fun

Illustration selected for a Book of abstract

Recently was the Department retreat of my new (relatively, I have already been there six months, time fly...) institution. As a short summary, I am currently a Postdoctoral Associate in the Samuel Lab within the Baylor College of Medicine. The Samuel Lab belongs to the Molecular Virology and Microbiology (MVM)…
Adrien
October 12, 2018
FunTraveling Bacteria

[The traveling bacteria] Brewing Sake

Sake is probably one of the most iconic Japanese alcohols. It is referred to as rice wine, but unlike wine where the sugar present in the grapes is fermented into alcohols, sake is produced in a process closer to beer brewing where the starch present in the rice is transformed…
Adrien
January 25, 2018