Sept. 9, 2019 — As Rodolfo Martinez-Mota well knows, from the cactus spines in his clothes and skin, white-throated woodrats love to eat prickly pear cactus (from the Opuntia genus). They like the cactus so much that their gut microorganism community, or microbiome, is specially equipped to break down toxins in the cactus. But Martinez-Mota and […]

Germophobes – let’s chat. Microbes are everywhere – on every surface, every object, every plant and animal. Yes, including on and inside you. True, some of them cause disease. Wait – don’t reach for the hand sanitizer just yet. Many of them are co-residents in our bodies, providing beneficial services in exchange for some of […]