With its speedy growth and adaptability, E. coli has spent many years at the top of the "model organism" list, with no signs of slipping. But E. coli is a blip in a rich microbial world ...

This year is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Theodor Escherich, the German physician who discovered Escherichia coli. Jörg Hacker and Gabriele Blum-Oehler reflect on the life of Escherich ...