Stories by Jennifer Frazer

Bacterial predators fight like wolves, torpedoes and vampires, and they could provide the next antibiotics

After my son got sick, I dived into the data, and it turns out vaccinated people can and do spread COVID

Nearly a billion years ago, the planet was almost wholly encased in thousands of feet of ice—and then, somehow, it emerged

Ramisyllis multicaudata is an animal that seems to have adopted the lifestyle of a fungus

Surprisingly, there’s some evidence that it can

A series of experiments shows, remarkably, that it just might

Scientists have known for decades that oyster mushrooms feasted on roundworms—and they’ve finally figured out how their toxins work

Could bacteria be effectively immortal?

A bold hypothesis could account for the perplexing presence of multiple fungi

For these swarming, stinging insects, it’s the aroma of home sweet home

They’re not exempt from participation in the food web

If you lived in a desert, you’d probably want to live under a rock, too

Strange as it might seem, a 2,500-square-kilometer zone south of one tiny Pacific island could supply four substances that are crucial to modern electronics for centuries

It turns out that eyes aren’t necessary for vision

This blog, though not its author, reaches the end of the line

An amoeba spread by respiratory droplets, kisses and eating utensils may be a serious (and creepy) gum disease pathogen

The mystery of dirt’s origins is a thorny experimental problem

It smells like bacteria. But why?

Beautiful new footage ventures into a lake that is among the most remote on earth

Take a few moments to enjoy stalked barnacles, googly-eyed glass squid and other oddities of the deep, where it is cold, dark and 100 percent coronavirus free

A cup of cells can both bend and “see,” feats rarely seen outside of animals

Stunning new fossil reveals that at least one Cretaceous slime mold—an “intelligent” giant amoeba—looks identical to one alive today

Live fast, die young and leave a good lookin’ stump

The leafy lichens seem to have picked up where a lot of incinerated plants left off