URBANA, Ill. — There’s a complex world beneath our feet, teeming with diverse and interdependent life. Plants call out with chemical signals in times of stress, summoning microbes that can unlock ...

Soil is a significant carbon reservoir, storing more carbon than all plants, animals and the atmosphere combined, making it crucial for addressing the climate crisis. Microbes, such as bacteria and ...

If you think fall is only about sweaters, pumpkin spice, and cozy evenings, think again—because underground, an invisible drama is unfolding. Beneath our feet, billions of microscopic organisms are ...

Scientists have discovered a new phylum of microbes in the Earth’s Critical Zone, an area of deep soil that restores water quality. Ground water, which becomes drinking water, passes through where ...

Prolonged droughts followed by sudden bursts of rainfall -- how do desert soil bacteria manage to survive such harsh conditions? This long-debated question has now been answered by microbiologists.

Researchers are using soil microbe DNA to model how they function and use carbon, helping to better predict and address climate change. A recent study led by a team at the Lawrence Berkeley National ...

In a multi-generation experiment, researchers found microbes helped plants cope with drought, but not in response to plants' cries for help. Instead, the environment itself selected for ...