Pipe-eating bug: Biotechnology researchers at The Institute for Genomic Research in Rockville, Md., have sequenced the genome of the desulfovibrio vulgaris bacterium that has caused substantial economic losses in the petroleum and other industries around the world. The microbes create a biofilm that damages oil and natural gas pipelines and oilfield equipment. Analysis of the bacterium's genes is expected to help researchers find ways to minimize such damage.