Advancement in DNA sequencing technology has greatly increased our understanding about the role of bacteria in soil. The authors of this study examine the microbial content of soil samples taken from three locations in southern New Hampshire with varying pH and plant composition.

This study aimed to determine whether artificial sweeteners are harmful to the human microbiome by investigating two different bacteria found to be advantageous to the human gut, Escherichia coli and Bacillus coagulans. Results showed dramatic reduction in bacterial growth for agar plates containing two artificial sweeteners in comparison to two natural sweeteners. This led to the conclusion that both artificial sweeteners inhibit the growth of the two bacteria and warrants further study to determine if zero-sugar sweeteners may be worse for the human gut than natural sugar itself.

In this study, preparations of ginger were tested for an effect on the growth of four common bacterial species.

Plastic debris can disrupt marine ecosystems, spread contaminants, and take years to naturally degrade. In this study, Wu et al aim to establish an understanding of the scope of Williamston, Michigan’s microplastics problem, as well as to attempt to find the source of these plastics. Initially, the authors hypothesize that the Williamston Wastewater Treatment Plant was the primary contributor to Williamston’s microplastics pollution. Although they find a general trend of increasing concentrations of microplastics from upstream to downstream, they do not pinpoint the source of Williamston’s microplastics pollution in the present research.

The authors tested environmentally-friendly alternatives to wastewater treatment chemicals, including activated charcoal for filtration and citrus peels for preventing bacterial growth.

Bacteria cause tooth decay, plaque, bad breath, and other diseases. Despite being cleaned with water and toothpaste, oral bacteria live on our toothbrushes. Bacterial growth has been shown to be inhibited by different toothpastes and common household spices. This study tested how different toothpastes and common household spices, including cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, and ground white pepper, can inhibit bacteria from growing on toothbrushes

FBS is an important component in in vitro cell culture work, helping to provide needed nutrients to cells to grow. The authors look at the ability of an alternative to FBS to support cell growth in culture.

In this article the authors look at the ability of spices to reduce microbial load on a cutting surface by comparing growth of bacteria cultured before and after cleaning with various spice mixtures.

The authors test whether soaking maize seeds in a solution of melatonin improves seed germination and drought tolerance.

The authors analyzed biosolids from five Wisconsin wastewater treatment plants and suggest using KBr pellet FTIR as a simple and rapid method to start characterizing P species in biosolids.