While the more notorious food microbes like E. coli and Salmonella may hog the spotlight, we shouldn't neglect all the lovely microorganisms that bring us such life-affirming foods as wine, cheese, and even chocolate. The following collection of Web sites presents a small sample of what these beneficial bugs do for us. In the first site, offered through the University of Wisconsin-Madison, readers...

The first site (1) is a recent article from Nature that reports a newly discovered group of tiny microbes, Nanoarchaeota, that has "one of the smallest genomes known." The next Web site (2), from the University of Texas, gives a brief overview of nanobacteria, discusses the controversy over whether the small size can support independent life, and includes an image gallery. An article from Natural...

The Ciliate Resource Archive is a web site featuring a wealth of information on ciliates for educators, students and the general public. The site includes a glossary of terms, a list of valid type species and classification information. The site would be helpful for students researching ciliates or instructors developing related coursework.