by Matteo Cavallito<\/p>\n
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An innovative method of analyzing microbes could pave the way for new insights into the complex interactions<\/strong> that continuously take place in the soil<\/strong>, explains a study<\/a> published in recent weeks by scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory<\/strong>, a research center based in California. The authors, assisted by colleagues at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute and UC Berkeley, have developed a technique that allows for more effective use of what is known as SIP, or Stable Isotope Probing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The new version of this method, according to a statement<\/a> from the California Laboratory, “automates several steps in the process of stable isotope probing, allowing investigations of microbial activity of microorganisms under realistic conditions, without the need for lab culturing.”<\/p>\n