Blaise Boles, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology

Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that many healthy people carry on their skin and in their noses without getting sick. But when skin is punctured or broken, staph bacteria can enter the wound and cause infections, which can lead to other health problems. Staphylococcal toxin is a common cause of food poisoning. This image of a large colony of tiny bacteria looks rather like an earthscape.