Exploring microbial diversity is becoming more like exploring outer space with soil representing a "final frontier" that harbors a largely unknown microbial universe. There are more than 1016 prokaryotes in a ton of soil compared to a mere 1011 stars in our galaxy. Astronomers have wisely inferred the population of celestial objects by mathematical inference. Now microbiologists are following s...

Comparative analyses of survival senescence by using life tables have identified generalizations including the observation that mammals senesce faster than similar-sized birds. These generalizations have been challenged because of limitations of life-table approaches and the growing appreciation that senescence is more than an increasing probability of death. Without using life tables, ...