Did you miss the first airing of the eleventh installment of our new Insight series? LISTEN NOW to the program or to the extended version of the interview. They are all around us, raising trouble in their wake. They are so small, though, and silent that most of us have no idea they exist. But not Judy Wall. As a Curators…
Bacteria ⋅ Page 1
Taking Root
New grass finding may reduce nitrogen amounts needed for farming
As farmers spend billions of dollars spreading nitrogen on their fields this spring, researchers at the University of Missouri are working toward less reliance on the fertilizer. Less dependence on nitrogen could start with a simple type of grass, Setaria viridis, and its relationship with bacteria. The plant promises to lay groundwork for scientists exploring the relationship between crops and…
Who Invited the Germs?
Bacteria may be lurking in the holiday lunch buffet table
‘Tis the season for the holiday party with plates of tasty meats, creamy pies and veggies and dips. But be careful says Andrew Clarke. Unless properly handled, these treats can send you home with a case of food poisoning as a holiday gift.
A Turf War on Bacteria?
Sports field tests at MU may curtail athlete infections
Student and professional athletes seem to get more and more serious infections from their bumps and bruises. Is it the grass? Scientists at the University of Missouri are testing different brands of artificial turf to study the effects of heat and bacterial growth on the surfaces, which are widely used on high school, college and professional sports fields.
Stinky little uranium traps
Sulfate-reducing bacteria smell terrible but can make radioactive toxins less harmful
Judy Wall, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, is working on an alternative way to clean up such sites. Her laboratory, in partnership with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., is looking at eventually using bacteria to reduce toxic metals to inert substances.