SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " Bacteria " 378 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
All known life uses 4 DNA letters; UC San Diego showed an existing bacterial enzyme can accurately read and transcribe 8, doubling the genetic alphabet with synthetic letters
All life on Earth, from bacteria to blue whales, writes its genetic instructions using the same four-letter alphabet. These four DNA bases, usually referred to as A, T, C and G, pair up in predictable ways to store and pass on the information needed for life.
Scientists Discover Soil Bacteria Enzyme that Breaks Down Both Plastic and Antibiotics
Biologists studying how bacteria break down a new generation of plant-based bioplastics -- long-chain aliphatic polyesters -- have discovered an enzyme that can dismantle both plastic and antibiotics.
Health advisory issued for Ririe Reservoir after potentially dangerous toxins found
IDAHO FALLS — Idaho health officials are warning people to stay out of the water at Ririe Reservoir after testing found high levels of toxin-producing cyanobacteria. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare issued a health advisory for the reservoir, located east of Idaho Falls off U.S. Highway 26 in Bonneville County. Recent water samples […]
Prof Elizabeth Streicher unravels the science behind drug-resistant TB
Prof Elizabeth Streicher of the Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics delivered her inaugural lecture on Tuesday 1 September 2026. Her research focuses on the transmission and spread of Tuberculosis (TB). Knowing where TB transmission is happening can help to stop it from spreading. Prof Elizabeth Streicher of the Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences delivered her inaugural lecture on Tuesday 1 September 2026. The title of her lecture was Decoding tuberculosis: the evolution of technology, epidemiology and the Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome. Streicher explained to Corporate Communication and Marketing how molecular epidemiology (using genetic information to track how and why diseases spread through populations) has improved our understanding of where drug-resistant TB comes from, how it spreads and how drug resistance evolves within and between populations. Tell us more about your research and why you became interested in this specific field. Overall, our research group studies the genome (complete set of DNA instructions found in a cell) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB) disease. Various regions of the genome are interrogated to study different aspects of the disease. My main focus has been on the epidemiology of tuberculosis – how the bacteria’s genome changes over time and what this tells us about the transmission and spread of the disease. How would you describe the relevance of your work? If we understand how the bacteria that cause TB change and spread, it can assist in combating TB globally. How has molecular epidemiology helped improve our understanding of drug-resistant TB? Molecular epidemiology was very important in drug-resistant TB as it was originally believed that bacteria that become resistant to antibiotics would be less fit and not be able to transmit. But it was shown that they can transmit, and therefore have to be monitored to identify hotspots of transmission and outbreaks, etc. Can you tell us briefly about the spoligotyping technique and its advantages for studying drug-resistant TB? Spoligotyping (a molecular technique used to identify and track specific strains of TB bacteria) does not detect drug resistance, but since the technique is relatively quick to do, it can be very useful in real-time situations, e.g. to monitor outbreaks of drug resistance. Why are interrupting transmission chains and identifying genomic hotspots important for controlling the spread of TB? Knowing where TB transmission is happening can assist in allocating resources to those areas to stop future transmission and spread of TB. Higher education can be challenging. What keeps you motivated when things get tough? Students – how they are so passionate and dedicated to learning and contributing to research and society as a whole. What aspects of your work do you enjoy the most? Again, the students and colleagues! But also the fact that it is continuously changing and thereby we are learning and expanding our knowledge. In the end, I know that we contribute to a better society in our small way. Tell us something exciting about yourself that people would not expect. Even though I love hiking (day and multi-day hikes) and being outside, I really do not like camping! How do you spend your free time? I love hiking (wellbeing in nature) and like to watch most sports. ©Higher Education Media Services. Subscribe
Bacteria found in classroom dust may affect children’s respiratory health
Common bacteria found in classroom dust are associated with reduced lung function in children according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
In 2024, scientists dyed Peter Lake blue with Aquashade to starve algae of light, but the water still turned green, and the team suspects repeated rain kept flushing the pigment out.
In summer 2024, Cascade Project researchers dyed Michigan's Peter Lake blue with Aquashade to limit light for algae, then added fertiliser; the lake still greened, and the team suspects rain flushed the pigment.
From Life’s Origin to Cyanobacteria in a Billion Years
That’s now just 1 billion years for all the apparatus to hit on the lucky combination randomly, unless we start with design principles.
Health advisories lifted for 3 Oregon beaches
The Oregon Health Authority lifted health advisories for Mill Beach, Siletz Bay, and Oceanside Beach after testing showed lowered levels of fecal bacteria.
'Unsafe levels' of fecal bacteria found at 3 beaches in this state
Visitors should not swim, surf, dive or kayak at the beaches, activities where they may swallow water, according to health officials.
Scientists capture how bacteria build their protective antibiotic-resistant barriers
Gram-negative bacteria are responsible for causing several infections that are hard to treat, owing to their high resistance to antibiotics.
HEALTH MINUTE: LABOR DAY BEACH BACTERIA SAFETY
The heat isn’t taking a vacation for Labor Day weekend, and if you’re saying goodbye to summer by heading to the lake or beach, experts say to beware! Hot weather
Unsafe levels of fecal bacteria in Siletz Bay trigger health advisory
The Oregon Health Authority issued a public health advisory for unsafe levels of fecal bacteria in the water at Siletz Bay in Lincoln City.
Scientists revive coral dying from heat using live bacteria
Researchers successfully applied probiotic and postbiotic treatments for the first time in open sea to save the marine life form. The post Scientists revive coral dying from heat using live bacteria a...
Deciphering black holes, problematic proteins, and ‘intelligent’ bacteria: 75 undergraduates experience Clark’s ‘Summer of Science’
Seventy-five undergraduate science majors at Clark spent the summer working closely with faculty mentors and diving deep into research. Their projects ranged from black holes in outer space to the ubiquitin protein system, whose dysregulation can lead to the development of cancer and other serious diseases.
How to Clean a Reusable Water Bottle
Reusable water bottles can harbor a lot of bacteria if they go unwashed — here’s how to keep them safe to drink from.
Are you a 'mosquito magnet'? Science explains why
A new study shows different mosquito species are attracted to specific human scents and skin bacteria.
Here's what to eat to protect your mouth's good bacteria
Your oral microbiome is the key to a healthy mouth and body. Here's how to make sure it's well-nourished.
Strengthening bacterial meningitis surveillance in Central America
San José, Costa Rica, 20 August 2026 – Approximately 25 representatives and experts from seven countries participated in a subregional workshop organized by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to strengthen epidemiological and laboratory surveillance of bacterial meningitis. Meningitis caused an estimated 5,000 deaths in the Americas in 2021, one-third among children under 5, and approximately one in four survivors experience permanent sequelae.
Health advisory in effect at Miami-Dade beach, testing revealed bacteria
A water quality advisory is in effect at a Miami-Dade, Florida, beach after testing revealed elevated levels of bacteria in surrounding waters.
Popular sweeteners may leave effects that last for generations
Two widely used zero-calorie sweeteners, sucralose and stevia, may have effects that linger far longer than the sweet taste itself. In mice, researchers found that both sweeteners altered the gut microbiome, reduced beneficial compounds produced by gut bacteria, and changed the activity of genes involved in metabolism and inflammation. Some of those changes were also detected in later generations that had never consumed the sweeteners themselves.
Minnesota company is tackling nitrogen pollution with ag science in volatile fertilizer market
Pivot Bio, a company selling farmers a self-sustaining, non-synthetic, bacterial source of nitrogen, aims to lower the nitrogen levels that are the source of significant water pollution in farm states.
Cinco Bayou under another health advisory for high 'enterococcus' bacteria levels
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. -- The City of Fort Walton Beach has another bacteria problem in Cinco Bayou.
Four key ways our warming planet is affecting our health
Heatwaves and extreme weather conditions are damaging our health in several ways, including mosquito-borne disease, drug-resistant bacteria and smoke from wildfires.
Common medications may change your gut for years
Common medications may reshape the gut microbiome long after the last dose is taken. In a study of more than 2,500 people, researchers found lasting microbial changes linked not only to antibiotics, but also to antidepressants, beta-blockers, acid-reducing drugs, and benzodiazepines. Some effects were still detectable years later, suggesting past medication use may strongly influence the gut bacteria people carry today.
Norway's King Harald V's health has worsened, palace says
Norway's King Harald remains in hospital receiving antibiotics for a bloodstream bacterial infection.
The health of Norway's King Harald deteriorates over the weekend
King Harald of Norway's health has deteriorated, according to the royal palace. The 89-year-old monarch was admitted to the National Hospital a week ago and is receiving antibiotics for a bacterial blood infection.
When Farm Animals Get Sick, Human Health Is Often Next
New editorial reviews 10 studies on zoonotic pathogens, AMR, and vaccine advances, underscoring One Health surveillance needs for biosecurity professionals.
This common mouth bacteria could be linked to Alzheimer’s—here’s what experts have found - Futura-Sciences
Physician Stephen Dominy and microbiologist Jan Potempa led the landmark effort, discovering Porphyromonas gingivalis in the brains of deceased Alzheimer’s patients. Normally confined to the mouth, where it causes chronic gum disease, the pathogen’s presence in brain tissue proved it could breach the blood-brain barrier and take root in central...
3rd person dies in Florida from flesh-eating bacteria: Department of Health
Recently updated data from the Florida Department of Health shows that another person has died in the state from the flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus.
Scientists turn probiotic bacteria into tiny drug factories for pancreatic cancer
Engineered probiotic bacteria were able to infiltrate pancreatic tumors, stimulate cancer-fighting immune cells, and slow tumor growth in animal studies. Even more strikingly, the treatment worked better when combined with chemotherapy, radiation, or immunotherapy.
10 years to solve a mystery—AI cracked it in just 48 hours - Futura-Sciences
10 Years, One Mystery—and a 48-Hour AI Revelation For the last ten years, a dedicated team at Imperial College London had thrown themselves into one of the most urgent battles in modern medicine: figuring out the mechanism that allows certain bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics. The topic of ‘superbugs’—those...
Blue-green algae confirmed in Lake DuBay; health officials urge caution
WAUSAU, Wis. — Health officials are urging residents to use caution at Lake DuBay after blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, was confirmed in
When gut microbes run low on fiber, they may start eating you
Gut microbes need something to eat, and when fiber is limited, they may begin consuming proteins from the mucus lining that protects the gut. Researchers found that fiber can suppress this process, while indigestible plant proteins help microbes produce more beneficial compounds.
Life on Earth may have begun twice. A Science Advances study found that bacteria and archaea inherited one ancient genetic code but independently evolved the machinery needed to become free-living cells — leading the researchers to describe it as “one origin of the genetic code, but two origins of life.
The study proposes one inherited genetic system but two independent completions of cellular metabolism, not two unrelated acts of abiogenesis.
Scientists Say Life on Earth May Have Begun Not Once, but Twice
A new study theorizes that both prokaryotes—bacteria and archaea—transitioned into living cells independently of each other.
Louisiana health officials warn of vibrio case rise
🚨 A jump in Vibrio vulnificus cases is prompting Louisiana health officials to urge caution around certain exposures to salt water and raw seafood. The bacteria is known for causing a "flesh-eating" infection. Nine people have been hospitalized, and five have died this year, officials said Thursday. (Press release)
Taylor Farms issues recall for over 12 items over Salmonella risk
Taylor Farms is pulling prepared food items containing jalapeños because of concerns of Salmonella, a bacteria that can cause painful food poisoning.
Health officials urge caution for Gulf Coast beachgoers during surge of deadly bacterial infections
As many as one in five Vibrio vulnificus infections are fatal, a much higher rate than other types of Vibrio bacteria.
Flesh-eating bacteria cases prompt health warnings for Gulf Coast
Health officials in Louisiana are urging beachgoers to take precautions during a summertime surge in infections from a flesh-eating bacteria, one variety of which is often deadly.
Health officials urge caution for Gulf Coast beachgoers during surge of deadly bacterial infections
Health officials in Louisiana are urging beachgoers to take precautions during a summertime surge in infections from a flesh-eating bacteria found in coastal waters.
Health officials urge caution for Gulf Coast beachgoers during surge of deadly bacterial infections
Louisiana has confirmed nine cases of Vibrio vulnificus infections this year, the state's health department said last week in a news release. All were hospitalized, and five died.
Health officials urge caution for Gulf Coast beachgoers during surge of deadly bacterial infections
Health officials in Louisiana are urging beachgoers to take precautions during a summertime surge in infections from a flesh-eating bacteria.
Health officials urge caution for Gulf Coast beachgoers during surge of deadly bacterial infections
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Health officials in Louisiana are urging beachgoers to take precautions during a summertime surge in infections from a flesh-eating bacteria found in coastal waters.
Health officials urge caution for Gulf Coast beachgoers during surge of deadly bacterial infections
Health officials in Louisiana are urging beachgoers to take precautions during a summertime surge in infections from a flesh-eating bacteria.
Louisiana health officials warn beachgoers of flesh-eating bacteria risk
Health officials in Louisiana are urging beachgoers to take precautions during a summertime surge in infections from a flesh-eating bacteria.
Scientists discover bacteria that lock toxic uranium into a stable form
Deep underground, bacteria may be capable of doing something remarkable: trapping toxic uranium before it spreads. When researchers fed microbes in uranium-contaminated mine water with glycerol, about 95% of the dissolved uranium disappeared within 130 days. The bacteria helped convert it into an unusually stable uranium compound that had rarely been observed before.
5 dead from rare flesh-eating bacteria in Louisiana
Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, a flesh-eating bacteria, has hospitalized nine and killed five in Louisiana in 2026, health officials say.
5 dead, 4 hospitalized in Louisiana from flesh-eating bacteria outbreak: health officials
NBC 10 WJAR is the news, sports and weather leader for Providence, Rhode Island and surrounding communities, including Cranston, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Warwick, Newport, Bristol and Narragansett, Rhode Island and Attleboro, North Attleborough, Swansea, Fall River, Taunton and New Bedford, Massachusetts.
5 dead, 4 hospitalized in Louisiana from flesh-eating bacteria outbreak: health officials
A rare bacteria found in warm coastal waters has killed five people in Louisiana so far in 2026, with state health officials warning residents to take notice.
5 dead, 4 hospitalized in Louisiana from flesh-eating bacteria outbreak: health officials
WCHS ABC 8 provides local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of events and items of interest in the community, sports and entertainment programming for Charleston and nearby towns and communities in the Tri-State area, including Huntington, Dunbar, Marmet, Montgomery, Nitro, South Charleston, St. Albans, Cedar Grove, Chesapeake, Clendenin, East Bank, Glasgow, Pratt, Cross Lanes, Elkview, Pinch, Sissonville, Big Chimney, Cabin Creek, Chelyan, Davis Creek, Institute, Jefferson, Loudendale, Mink Shoals, Pocatalico, Quick, Quincy, Rand, Buffalo, Eleanor, Hurricane, Nitro, Poca, Winfield, Culloden, Fraziers Bottom, Hometown, Red House, Scott Depot, Teays Valley, Danville, Madison, Hamlin, Logan, Chapmanville, Man, Delbarton, Kermit, Gilbert, Matewan, Williamson, Summersville, Richwood, Flatwoods, Gassaway, Sutton, Spencer, Ravenswood, Ripley, Mason, Point Pleasant, Ashland, Pikeville, Ironton, Portsmouth, Gallipolis, and Athens.
5 dead, 4 hospitalized in Louisiana from flesh-eating bacteria outbreak: health officials
A rare bacteria found in warm coastal waters has killed five people in Louisiana so far in 2026, with state health officials warning residents to take notice.
5 dead, 4 hospitalized in Louisiana from flesh-eating bacteria outbreak: health officials
A rare bacteria found in warm coastal waters has killed five people in Louisiana so far in 2026, with state health officials warning residents to take notice.
Scientists Used AI To Produce A Bacteria-Killing Virus, “A Little Bowel Movement” 540 Million Years Ago Sparked An Evolutionary Explosion, And Much More This Week
All the biggest science news stories of the week.
Beachgoers warned after deadly 'flesh-eating' bacteria kills 5 in southern state
Five deaths in Louisiana from Vibrio vulnificus mark a sharp rise, as all nine cases involved open wounds exposed to warm seawater this year.
Scientists Used AI to Create 16 New Viruses
The use of AI systems to create viruses opens up new possibilities for combating bacterial resistance. It also raises concerns about the pace at which technology is outstripping regulation.
Scientists find unexpected life on Ötzi the Iceman’s 5,300-year-old body
More than 5,000 years after his death, Ötzi the Iceman is still hosting a remarkable mix of ancient and modern microorganisms. Researchers separated microbes that lived in his body during his lifetime from those that arrived after his death, uncovering traces of his original gut bacteria and cold-loving yeasts that may have survived alongside him in the glacier for millennia.
Flesh-eating bacteria has killed 5 in Louisiana this year, officials say
A flesh-eating bacteria found in warm coastal waters is responsible for at least five deaths so far this year in Louisiana, state health officials reported Thursday.
AI designs a novel E. coli killer
Using an AI model of their own creation that writes whole genomes, a team of Stanford scientists has engineered a novel bacteria-fighting phage. A new age of antibiotics could be on the horizon.
Sanofi suspends chronic lung disease phase 2 study, tied to ‘strategic business reasons’
Sanofi halted a phase 2 trial testing a monoclonal antibody, SAR445399, in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, Fierce Biotech has learned. The trial, which began only back in April, was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to measure the reduction in mucus plug score following treatment with SAR445399 compared with placebo in adults aged 18 to 80 years with NCFB, a chronic lung disease. The trial was officially reported as halted on July 29, the day before Sanofi’s second-quarter earnings call. The decision to pause the trial was made “as part of a company-wide portfolio review for strategic business reasons,” and not due to safety concerns, a Sanofi spokesperson told Fierce. The move to pause the NCFB trial comes during a trying time for Sanofi following a year filled with a series of trial fails. In February, the French pharma ousted CEO Paul Hudson and appointed Merck KGaA leader Belén Garijo, M.D., Ph.D., to steer the ship. Since then, Garijo has been doing a deep dive on correcting the company’s strewn R&D and clinical strategies. On July 24, Sanofi scrapped amlitelimab for atopic dermatitis, despite its lore as being a potential $5 billion blockbuster. During its second-quarter report, the company abandoned two more assets, balinatunfib and itepekimab, following failed trial results in psoriasis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, respectively. SAR445399, only first revealed by Sanofi in 2023, is an anti-interleukin-1 receptor 3 monoclonal antibody developed to block the interleukin 1, 33, and 36 cytokine pathways. These pathways can be important in chronic immune-related dermatologic diseases, such as atopic dermatitis and hidradenitis suppurativa, as well as respiratory conditions, such as NCFB. Related Sanofi’s new CEO ‘looking deeply’ at late-stage pipeline as clinical clearout continues NCFB affects roughly half a million people in the U.S., with a global incidence of greater than one million cases. In August 2025, Insmed received FDA approval for Brinsupri, a DPP1 inhibitor targeting neutrophil activation, for treatment of NCFB in adults and kids ages 12 and older. The British biotech Infex Therapeutics showed promising NCFB phase 2a data using their monoclonal antibody, INFEX702, which acts by disabling Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria known to be a major pathogen of NCFB. Sanofi is currently running a separate phase 2 study testing SAR445399 as a potential treatment for the inflammatory skin condition hidradenitis suppurativa.
Living Magnets: Meet the Bacteria That Can Sense Earth's Magnetic Field
Long before animals evolved magnetic navigation, bacteria were using microscopic compasses to thrive in a world of varied oxygen levels.
Healthy advisory issued for Cinco Bayou in Fort Walton Beach due to bacteria levels
OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. -- The Florida Department of Health in Okaloosa County has issued a health advisory for Cinco Bayou in Fort Walton Beach.Drinking water i
Stanford scientists discover immune cells that explode like microscopic bombs
Stanford researchers discovered immune cells in flatworms that explode within minutes, killing nearby bacteria and foreign cells before vanishing completely. Their unusually fast and localized attack could offer clues for developing targeted treatments against infections and cancer.
UT San Antonio scientist highlights growing threat of antifungal resistance
For decades, scientists have studied antibiotic resistance, which is how bacteria evolve mechanisms to evade lifesaving drugs. Now, researchers are warning that a similar challenge is emerging among fungi, where resistance to frontline antifungal medications is making serious infections increasingly difficult to treat. Nathan Wiederhold, PharmD, director of the Fungus Testing Laboratory and professor […]
What Bifidobacteria tell us about gut health and how diet can help
In this interview, microbiome researcher Sudarshan Shetty explains what shapes Bifidobacteria, how they change with age, and what diet can do
4 Anne Arundel beaches placed under no-swim advisories for high bacteria levels
Water-contact activities, including swimming and waterskiing, are prohibited.
UT San Antonio scientist highlights growing threat of antifungal resistance
For decades, scientists have studied antibiotic resistance, which is how bacteria evolve mechanisms to evade lifesaving drugs. Now, researchers are warning that a similar challenge is emerging among fungi, where resistance to frontline antifungal medications is making serious infections increasingly difficult to treat. Nathan Wiederhold, PharmD, director of the Fungus Testing Laboratory and professor […]
Could a change in diet improve mental health? Metabolic psychiatry, explained.
Patients rave about how the keto diet has helped ease mental health symptoms. The data are limited, but encouraging.
'Natural Protection From Asthma And Allergies': Scientists Isolate Bacteria Behind The Immune System Farm Effect
A bit of dirt can be good for you.
Panama: Haemophilus influenzae meningitis case reported in Veraguas Health Region
The Veraguas Health Region, located in the central-western region of Panama, confirmed a case of meningitis caused by the Haemophilus influenzae bacteria in a 12-year-old student from La Primavera School, diagnosed on July 29. The patient remains hospitalized, is receiving appropriate treatment, and is in stable clinical condition. The regional health director of Veraguas, Xavier A. Torres Domínguez, reported that, once the diagnosis was confirmed, the Ministry of Health (Minsa), in coordination with the Social Security Fund (CSS), immediately activated the epidemiological investigation and health response protocols established for this type of event. Canada: Haemophilus influenzae type B outbreak in Calgary As part of the actions implemented, the Epidemiology teams carried out the identification and monitoring of the patient’s close contacts, applying the corresponding preventive measures to reduce the risk of transmission and safeguard the health of the educational community. Health authorities explained that meningitis caused by Haemophilus influenzae is a bacterial disease that requires timely medical attention. In that regard, they urged the population to immediately seek medical attention if they experience symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, vomiting, drowsiness, or altered mental status. They also reiterated that vaccination is the main preventive measure against this disease, and therefore called on parents and guardians to verify that their children’s immunization schedules are complete, in accordance with the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
State officials alert urgent health hazard at popular CT lake, warn swimmers to stay out of water
Officials with the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection have issued an urgent health hazard for Great Hill Pond in Portland after dangerous bacteria was found in the water.
UES Legionnaires' disease exposure risk has ended, NYC health officials say
‘Flesh-eating’ bacteria causes death in South Florida, health officials report
A patient aged 80 to 84 was the first to die this year in Florida of a confirmed Vibrio vulnificus, better known as the “flesh-eating bacteria,” infection, according to the Florida Department of Health’s data on Thursday.
First death of 2026 from rare, flesh-eating bacteria reported in South Florida, state health officials say
According to data from the Florida Department of Health, a person from Palm Beach County was reported dead on July 30 after being diagnosed with Vibrio vulnificus.
Overlooked plant proteins may boost gut health
Plant-based diets are good for you. They promote gut, immune, metabolic and cardiovascular health, in part by cultivating a diverse community of intestinal bacteria. These benefits have long been known ...
How Oral Bacteria and Gum Disease Impact Heart Health and Life Expectancy
As scientists link oral bacteria to heart disease and cognitive decline, a push is under way to treat the mouth as a source of bodywide inflammation
Drug-Resistant Superbugs May Be Jumping Between Pets And Humans, Scientists Warn
Livestock aren't the only issue.
Confusion for residents after Legionella bacteria found in Lower East Side building
Residents are confused about water issues at an apartment Complex in Alphabet City.
Great Barrier Reef microbiome mapped as researchers discover 500 bacterial species previously unknown to science
Research identifies 808,585 viral genomes belonging to what scientists estimate to be 362,802 different viruses
4 Common Medications That Can Mess With Your Gut Health
Some medications may disrupt the good bacteria in your gut, potentially affecting your digestive and overall health.
Fifth Legionnaires’ death confirmed as dozens of NYC buildings found with live bacteria
Tuesday marked the fifth consecutive day a death had been reported by NYC health officials. A total of 82 people have been sickened by the illness.
Fifth Legionnaires' death confirmed as dozens of NYC buildings found with live bacteria
A fifth person has died as a result of a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Manhattan, the health department said, which also shared that dozens of buildings were found to have live legionella bacteria in their cooling towers.
34 cooling towers on Upper East Side tested positive for live Legionella bacteria, health officials say
Thirty-four cooling towers at 33 buildings on the Upper East Side tested positive for live Legionella bacteria, the New York City Health Department announced Tuesday.
Harmful algae bloom leads to health advisory for T. Howard Duckett Reservoir
Recreational areas will stay open, and boating and fishing will still be allowed, but cyanobacteria can bring risks.
Harmful algae bloom leads to health advisory for T. Howard Duckett Reservoir
WSSC Water has detected high concentrations of blue green algae (cyanobacteria) in the Howard T Duckett reservoir, and has issued a health advisory.
Harmful algae bloom leads to health advisory for T. Howard Duckett Reservoir
WSSC Water has detected high concentrations of blue green algae (cyanobacteria) in the Howard T Duckett reservoir, and has issued a health advisory.
Idaho’s Brownlee and Hells Canyon reservoirs under health advisory
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare advised to stay out of Brownlee and Hells Canyon reservoirs, citing toxic cyanobacteria.
The bacteria behind gum disease may also harm your heart valves, early research suggests
A bacterium linked to gum disease may contribute to heart valve disease by setting off inflammation that can lead to calcium buildup.
Low-cal sweeteners can change gut bacteria — especially if you're on a popular antidepressant
That guilt-free treat may not be as innocent as it seems.
First death reported in Upper East Side Legionnaires' disease outbreak as cases rise to 67
The outbreak has sickened 67 people with 12 hospitalized as investigators trace Legionella bacteria to dozens of cooling towers on the Upper East Side.
Supplement that binds to microplastics may remove them from our body
A supplement comprised of dead bacteria seems to remove microplastics, and prevent their absorption into cells, by attracting them to the bacteria's rough surfaces
Scientists tested 39 sweeteners and found unexpected gut effects
A large laboratory study found that many commonly used sweeteners can directly change the growth of gut bacteria. Researchers identified more than 100 cases in which sweeteners behaved differently when combined with medications, caffeine, or flavorings. The combination of isosteviol and the antidepressant duloxetine was especially disruptive, reducing beneficial bacteria and overall microbial diversity.
Scientists finally solved how a common gut bacterium triggers colon cancer
Researchers solved a long-standing mystery behind how a bacterial toxin associated with colorectal cancer damages the colon. The toxin first binds to a receptor called claudin-4, giving it access to attack the cells' protective barrier. After identifying this weak point, the team designed a decoy protein that successfully blocked the toxin in mice. The discovery could pave the way for new therapies to prevent inflammation and colon tumors.
Future scientists explore the wonders of biology at STC summer camp
From growing plants and examining cells under microscopes to culturing bacteria and dissecting organisms, middle school students are discovering the excitement of science through STC annual Biology Explorers Camp.
Dozens of New York cooling towers test positive for Legionnaires’ bacteria as outbreak reaches 60 cases
New York City is managing a community cluster of Legionnaires’ disease cases on the Upper East Side that officials believe is tied to bacteria found in cooling towers. Towers on 76 buildings on the Upper East Side have tested positive for the bacteria, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said Tuesday.
The science of sponge anxiety
Kitchen hygiene is one of those topics where common sense, science, and social media often collide. A new study suggests that the humble kitchen sponge is remarkably good at harboring bacteria and spreading them to food-contact surfaces.
Uranium-Eating Bacteria Leave Just 5% of The Radioactive Metal in Toxic Mine Water, Scientists Discover
The first evidence that bacteria can convert toxic uranium dissolved in water into a stable chemical compound.
Additional cooling towers test positive for Legionella bacteria
Investigators have now identified 31 cooling towers testing positive for the bacteria in three zip codes.
The Quintessential Trump-era Politician
In 2020, I wrote an article about collaboration and collaborators. The title was History Will Judge the Complicit, and it started with the story of two famous East Germans, Markus Wolf and Wolfgang Leonhard, who both landed in East Berlin just after the end of the war. Although they came from very similar backgrounds, the former stuck with the regime, eventually becoming its spy boss; the latter, horrified by the brutal reality of Soviet-style communism, escaped. By way of juxtaposition, I also wrote about Lyndsey Graham and Mitt Romney. These two men also made very different decisions when confronted by Donald Trump’s assault on the ideals that they had both grown up believing: A glance at their biographies would not have led many to predict what happened next. On paper, Graham would have seemed, in 2016, like the man with deeper ties to the military, to the rule of law, and to an old-fashioned idea of American patriotism and American responsibility in the world. Romney, by contrast, with his shifts between the center and the right, with his multiple careers in business and politics, would have seemed less deeply attached to those same old-fashioned patriotic ideals. Most of us register soldiers as loyal patriots, and management consultants as self-interested. We assume people from small towns in South Carolina are more likely to resist political pressure than people who have lived in many places. Intuitively, we think that loyalty to a particular place implies loyalty to a set of values. But in this case the clichés were wrong. It was Graham who made excuses for Trump’s abuse of power. It was Graham—a JAG Corps lawyer—who downplayed the evidence that the president had attempted to manipulate foreign courts and blackmail a foreign leader into launching a phony investigation into a political rival. It was Graham who abandoned his own stated support for bipartisanship and instead pushed for a hyperpartisan Senate Judiciary Committee investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden’s son. It was Graham who played golf with Trump, who made excuses for him on television, who supported the president even as he slowly destroyed the American alliances—with Europeans, with the Kurds—that Graham had defended all his life. By contrast, it was Romney who, in February, became the only Republican senator to break ranks with his colleagues, voting to impeach the president. “Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office,” he said, is “perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one’s oath of office that I can imagine.” In the wake of Graham’s unexpected death on Saturday, I wrote about him again. He was, in many ways, the quintessential politician of Trump’s Washington, a man who shifted 180 degrees. Graham had been a fervent American patriot, proud reserve officer and military lawyer; he became one of the most important defenders of a president who believes soldiers are “suckers and losers” and shows no respect for law of any kind. As his politics changed, his language grew coarser and his behavior grew worse: He urged Israel to “level the place” in Gaza, and insulted the Danish prime minister in Munich, prompting a colleague, Senator Elissa Slotkin, to issue an apology. Here’s an excerpt from the article, which you can read in The Atlantic (gift link here) Like his close friend John McCain, Graham believed that America should stand at the center of a broad democratic alliance. The few times I met him were in that context, at the Munich Security Conference or at other European-American gatherings, which he once attended with great regularity. He also took seriously the practice of American democracy at home. In a 2014 conversation with The Atlantic, he described himself as a pragmatic politician who eschewed populist slogans. “I know Washington is broken, but what’s broken about it is everybody yelling and nobody trying to fix it,” he said. “I’m trying.” When Donald Trump first appeared in U.S. politics, Graham recognized him immediately for what he was: the spokesman for an alien ideology, one radically different from the idealistic patriotism that Graham had practiced and preached since childhood. Trump privately mocked the military that Graham loved as nothing but “suckers and losers.” He put falsehoods, cynicism, and personal greed at the center of his politics, while expressing disdain for transparency, accountability, and democracy itself. In 2015, Graham described Trump as a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot” who should “go to hell.” Also as a “nutjob.” When Trump won, Graham understood, as did so many others, that he would have to make some important choices. For a while, he went silent. In the spring of 2016, I saw him at one of those conferences in Europe. He seemed too depressed to speak. But then, like many other Republicans—and, more important, like many other people who have lived under political occupation or experienced radical regime change—he made the decision to abandon his previous ideals, to bury the patriotism that was once so important to him, and to become, instead, a loud, opportunistic collaborator. As I wrote in 2020, it’s very hard to look in to anyone’s heart and to understand their motivations from the outside. But it does seem that Graham had a deep need to be relevant, to be in the game, to be a player, at any cost. And that, rather than any particular achievement, is what he will be remembered for. Continuing to monitor conflicts of interest, ostentatious emoluments, outright corruption and policy changes that will facilitate outright corruption. (Read my original article, Kleptocracy Inc and check out the SNF Agora Institute chart) June 27 Trump diverted funds from more than 900 projects nationwide—including safety upgrades at national parks—to finance beautification projects around Washington, including $700,000 used to fix a White House walkway. June 28 After a years-long Department of Justice investigation into Abbott Laboratories over its management of a baby formula facility where potentially deadly bacteria turned up enough evidence to criminally charge the firm, top department officials instead opted for a financial penalty—illustrating the department’s move away from strict corporate enforcement under the Trump administration. June 29 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stacked the Defense Policy Board—which is charged with providing independent national security recommendations to the Office of the Secretary of Defense—with Trump allies, including tech billionaire Marc Andreessen, who has invested in defense contractors like OpenAI and SpaceX, after purging the panel last year. Trump purchased between $1 million and $5 million worth of stock in Axon—which makes about 90% of US tasers—two weeks before ICE solicited bids for a $220 million taser contract. The White House unveiled limited-edition US passports for America’s 250th birthday, featuring a portrait of Trump overlaid on the Declaration of Independence. June 30 Trump made around $1.2 billion from his various crypto companies last year, including more than $500 million from World Liberty Financial and $600 million from sales of his meme coin. Trump is considering issuing 250 pardons to commemorate America’s 250th birthday. These are expected to be largely doled out through the Office of the Pardon Attorney’s informal network of intermediaries. White-collar defense attorneys say they can typically win pardons for clients for $2 million. Last year, Trump administration officials awarded a no-bid contract worth up to $500 million to Clark Construction for the White House ballroom—negotiations in which the president was directly involved. July 1 The Amazon MGM Studios documentary about Melania Trump earned the First Lady more than $10 million. Trump made hundreds of individual stock purchases worth as much as $12.8 million the day before his announcement pausing “Liberation Day” tariffs for 90 days sent the S&P 500 soaring nearly 10%—one of the largest single-day gains ever. Mar-a-Lago and Trump National Doral saw record surges in revenue during Trump’s first year in office, earning $77.5 million and $121.9 million respectively, compared to average annual revenues of $25 million and $75 million during Trump’s first term. Entities across the Persian Gulf paid more than $300 million to Trump’s businesses last year, including $263 million from the sale of half his stake in World Liberty Financial to a firm backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a top UAE royal and brother of the country’s president. Kash Patel failed to properly disclose his stock purchase of a Department of Justice contractor, MicroStrategy, worth up to $250,000 last year, despite laws requiring disclosure within 45 days of the trade. July 2 Trump has been directing administration officials to steer more government contracts—so far worth more than $2.4 billion—to Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin aerospace firm, after Amazon gave $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, donated to the White House ballroom project, and reached a $40 million deal to license a Melania Trump documentary. Alongside the billions he made from cryptocurrency last year, Trump earned millions of dollars from real estate licensing fees, including $21 million from organizations in the UAE and $9.2 million in Saudi Arabia, along with smaller sums from merchandise sales, including $4.7 million from Trump Watches and $35,920 from 45 Guitar, a guitar brand endorsed by the president. House Democrats accused consultants tied to the Trump administration of financial fraud, alleging they gave prospective donors to America250—the bipartisan committee created by Congress to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial—the banking and routing numbers for Freedom 250, the White House’s fund for events like the UFC cage fight. Democrats also allege that Freedom 250’s CEO traveled to the World Economic Forum in Davos to solicit donations from foreign government officials and business leaders. The Trump administration’s proposed rollback of gun regulations would lift the prohibition on mailing handguns to individuals, a significant win for GrabAGun—the direct-to-consumer firearm retailer on whose board Donald Trump Jr. sits and in which he holds a 1.1% ownership stake. GrabAGun currently must rely on a middleman to transfer firearms to customers. Trump’s financial disclosure revealed that he made more than 21,000 securities trades during his first year back in office, growing his investment account to at least $858 million across stakes in around 1,600 companies, compared to the 13 total trades Joe Biden made during his entire presidency. July 4 Nearly 1 million people who bought the president’s meme coin—Trump Coin—collectively lost $3.8 billion on the token, while he walked away with $636 million. July 6 Shares of Dell closed up 4.4% after Trump recommended people buy the firm’s computers during a speech announcing the launch of Trump investment accounts for children, boosting the more than $1 million worth of shares the president owns in the company. July 9 Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh named crypto investor and Trump ally Marc Andreessen to a task force aimed at modernizing the Federal Reserve, including rethinking its approach to inflation—a key factor keeping interest rates elevated. Palm Beach International Airport has officially changed its name to Trump International Airport—a move that will require Florida to pay royalties to the president’s family for licensing his name. I was there a few months ago, during a trip to Barcelona. The sculptures were a revelation, I’d never seen so many together before. Each one has its own personality. Enjoy the good weather, if you are lucky enough to have it. History Will Judge the Complicit The Quintessential Politician Autocracy Inc Open Letters, from Anne Applebaum is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
Miami Beach Health Alert: Unsafe bacteria closes 3 beaches amid extreme heat
Scientists discover a hidden heart valve risk linked to gum disease
Researchers found that bacteria linked to gum disease may help drive the development of calcific aortic valve stenosis by triggering inflammation and calcium buildup in the heart valve. The early findings suggest that keeping gums healthy could play a role in reducing the risk of this serious heart condition.