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Short Wave

Microbes: It's Complicated

Short Wave

NPR

Daily News, Nature, Life Sciences, Astronomy, Science, News

4.76K Ratings

🗓️ 5 February 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For a long time, microbes like the ones in Yellowstone's hot springs were studied in isolation. Molecular ecologist Devaki Bhaya says we should be studying them in community. Here's why.

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Transcript

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0:50.5

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0:56.8

Ask any scientist what it's like to do field work, you know, to venture into the real world and take samples of real things, and you'll get a lot of answers.

1:05.3

For some, the environment is full of beauty and wonder and preciousness.

1:09.9

And for others, it's almost really like suddenly entering hell.

1:13.6

This is Devaki Bahaya. She's a molecular ecologist and researcher at Carnegie Science. And the

1:19.9

environment she's describing is Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The first time she saw these

1:25.7

geysers and hot springs, it was a bit of a shock.

1:29.4

It's barren, there's steam coming up, it smells of sulfur, there's boiling mud.

1:35.8

I mean, it's what I would think of as being in hell, right?

1:41.2

But then, she got closer and really looked into the hot springs.

1:47.1

There's all these colors, beautiful colors, dark oranges, bright oranges, greens, olive greens.

1:58.6

Devaki became fascinated by all of these tiny life forms,

2:03.9

able to withstand these boiling hot conditions,

...

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