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The colorful community of microbes hiding in Yellowstone's hot springs

Molecular ecologist Devaki Bhaya studies communities of microbes that live in the colorful hot springs of Yellowstone National Park.
Peter Unger
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Molecular ecologist Devaki Bhaya studies communities of microbes that live in the colorful hot springs of Yellowstone National Park.

In the words of English poet John Donne, "no man is an island."

In the words of Carnegie Science researcher Devaki Bhaya, no microbe is an island, either.

The microbes Bhaya studies, in particular, are extremophiles — organisms that thrive in the intensely hot springs of Yellowstone National Park. For a long time, these microbes were studied in isolation: removed from their natural environment, examined under a microscope, grown in petri dishes to see what they ate and produced. And while that approach is traditional, it's missing something.

"It's great to study things in isolation because you can do a lot of manipulation, but you absolutely miss what they're doing with their friends and foes and cousins," Bhaya says. "How do they behave in a village?"

Devaki wants to study the microbial "village" in the hot springs... to discover how microbes behave within their communities, as well as what genes and functions they might exchange.

"When they work together they make much more complex patterns... the sexy term is emergent behaviors," Bhaya says.

Those emergent behaviors are shifting how researchers think about microbial life, past evolution, and even their own scientific collaboration.

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Today's episode was produced by Hannah Chinn. It was edited by our showrunner, Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Jimmy Keeley was the audio engineer.

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Hannah Chinn
Hannah Chinn (they/them) is a producer on NPR's science podcast Short Wave. Prior to joining Short Wave, they produced Good Luck Media's inaugural "climate thriller" podcast. Before that, they worked on Spotify & Gimlet Media shows such as Conviction, How to Save a Planet and Reply All. Previous pit stops also include WHYY, as well as Willamette Week and The Philadelphia Inquirer. In between, they've worked a number of non-journalism gigs at various vintage stores, coffee shops and haunted houses.
Emily Kwong (she/her) is the reporter for NPR's daily science podcast, Short Wave. The podcast explores new discoveries, everyday mysteries and the science behind the headlines — all in about 10 minutes, Monday through Friday.
Rebecca Ramirez
Rebecca Ramirez (she/her) is the founding producer of NPR's daily science podcast, Short Wave. It's a meditation in how to be a Swiss Army Knife, in that it involves a little of everything — background research, finding and booking sources, interviewing guests, writing, cutting the tape, editing, scoring ... you get the idea.