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by reasonattlm 3684 days ago
A popular science article on the researchers who discovered the way to culture the other 99% of soil bacteria:

http://www.popsci.com/ichip-new-way-find-antibiotics-and-oth...

"A team led by scientists from Northeastern University published a study describing a new class of antibiotics called teixobactin, which they found in the soil of a field in Maine. But what I found even more interesting than the teixobactin discovery—which other writers have also pointed out—was how the researchers were able to find it. They developed a device called an iChip, which allows scientists to explore the virtually untapped wilds of bacteria for potential antibiotics and other interesting unknown chemicals."