TWiM #127: Subway Snowblowers and Men in Black

The TWiM team explores microbes in snowblower vents on the ocean floor, and cleavage of antibody molecules by a Mycoplasma protease.

Image (right): Photograph of the ‘Subway’ snowblower vent on the sea floor at Axial Seamount, Juan de Fuca Ridge. Visible are white ‘snow’ in the vent and orange floc on the seafloor. Credit: Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility and the University of Washington

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michele Swanson, and Michael Schmidt.

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• Happy Birthday, Elio!
• In the Company of Microbes
• Snowblower vents (Front Micro)
• Deep-sea snowblower vents video (YouTube)
• Visions 11 cruise photos
• Mycoplasma capture and cleave IgG (PNAS)
• Snowblower image (large)
• Letters read on TWiM 127

This episode is sponsored by ASM Agar Art Contest and ASM Grant Writing Course

Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to [email protected]