Microbiology
Here's how to prevent another anthrax outbreak in Kenya
Meat lovers in Thika, north east of Nairobi, are worried. In just one week, eight licensed people who load meat for sale into vans were hospitalised …
DiseaseAntibiotic of last resort engineered to kill resistant superbugs
The frightening spread of antibiotic-resistant superbugs threatens to return medicine to the pre-antibiotic era, with the return of deadly infectious …
BiologyThe CEO Of A Huge Chicken Company Denied That Antibiotic Use Is A Problem
If there is a company that is pioneering new practices in poultry farming to phase out the use of antibiotics, it would not be Sanderson Farms.<p>Challenging the consensus of scientists, the CEO of the third biggest chicken producer said that the use of antibiotics to treat farm animals is not …
AgricultureCellular self-destruct pathways keep brain cells alive during viral infections
Research in to West Nile virus infections has shown neurons behave differently from other cells in the body when attacked by viruses.<p>Most cells in …
BiologyNew The Strain Season 4 Trailer Teases a Final Reckoning
New The Strain Season 4 trailer teases a final reckoningFX has released a new <b>The Strain</b> Season 4 trailer teasing a final reckoning between man and …
TVThis is the dirtiest London tube line
Warning: You'll want to go out and buy hand sanitiser after reading this<p>Have you ever wondered just how dirty your tube ride home is? Well, a recent …
London Public TransportOne Girl's Mishap Led to the Creation of the Antibiotic Bacitracin
One day in May of 1943 seven-year-old Margaret Treacy was playing ball near her home in Upper Manhattan when she was hit by an ice truck. She broke a …
MedicineScientists scramble to understand the invisible world around us
May 23, 2017 — In southwestern Africa, a dozen scientists dig in the dirt. In a week, they’ve transected 100 miles of shifting sand dunes and flat …
BiologyTainted Nacho Cheese: Why Botulism Is So Deadly
A botulism outbreak has killed one man and sickened nine other people who ate nacho cheese sauce contaminated with the toxic bacterial protein. Heath …
Cool StuffOmega-3 fatty acids weaken Listeria, study finds
Numerous studies have documented the potential health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, which include a reduced risk of diabetes, obesity, asthma, and …
VitaminsScientists are spelunking for cave gunk to fight superbugs
Deep in caverns around the world, bacteria are laboring to make antibiotics we can discover and use for ourselves.<p>Caves are dark, dank, isolated, and home to very few plants or animals. At first glance they might seem devoid of life. But caves are full of microscopic creatures, bacteria and fungi …
NatureFungal diseases are on the rise, partly due to climate change
Scientists and physicians are looking for clues to a worrying increase in fungal infections and exploring ways to reduce the threat.<p>Fungi are …
Medicine‘Super Bacteria’ Were Around Before the Dinosaurs
Scientists are studying these ancient forms of bacteria to better understand how they work and how humans might try to defeat them.<p>Would it surprise …
MedicineBBC iPlayer - Michael Mosley vs The Superbugs
For 70 years we've waged war against harmful bacteria using antibiotics. But bacteria are fighting back and today more and more bacterial infections are becoming resistant to antibiotics. Drug-resistant superbugs are spreading; not just MRSA - also TB, pneumonia, e-coli. In Britain, hundreds are …
Could ants tackle the 'antibiotic apocalypse'?
<b>I was born in India and, as a young child, I developed a serious gut infection that would have killed me if it hadn't been for antibiotics.</b><p>These days a young child in India, with the same condition, would be far more vulnerable because of the huge and rapid rise in antibiotic resistance in that …
MedicineThe other problem with antimicrobial resistance: We don’t know what the words mean
If you don’t understand the term “antimicrobial resistance,” don’t feel bad — neither does anybody else. In a commentary & interview this month with …
Bacteria threaten to kill America’s $3-billion orange industry—so scientists are weaponizing viruses to fight it
Humans are a mere blip in the epic battle between bacteria and viruses. Long before we evolved, bacteria and viruses were at each other’s throats. And long after we are gone, they will still be at it.<p>Even in that blip, however, humans have a found way to change the story just that little bit. In …
Newly beefed up in antibiotics, Pfizer launches user-friendly access to global resistance database
Antibiotic resistance tracking just got a whole lot easier. Pfizer has launched a new system, dubbed ATLAS, with a new user-friendly website and a …
PharmaBritish scientists survey infectious bacteria by having people walk outside in socks
by Ben Guarino<p>Once every three weeks for 16 months, and more frequently in the springtime, a group of 60 volunteers put a sock on the outside of one …
Public HealthThese Maps Show Exactly Where Lyme Disease Will Be Most Prevalent This Year
And it's not just the Northeast that's in danger.<p>If you live in the Northeast, you know that taking precautions to protect yourself against …
Lyme DiseaseLearning the rules of antibiotics to make old drugs work on new bugs
A newly developed list of criteria may aid in finding and making effective drugs.<p>Bacteria come in two flavors: Gram-positive and Gram-negative. Gram …
E.coliBig Pharma's Industrial Pollution Goes Unchecked, Breeds Superbug Crisis
By Madlen DaviesIndustrial pollution from Indian pharmaceutical companies making medicines for nearly all the world's major drug companies is fueling …
PollutionAntibiotic-resistant microbes date back 450 million years, study finds
Evolution of enterococci traced back to when life was just making it to land<p>Antibiotic-resistant microbes have an ancestry that dates back hundreds …
EvolutionSidekick for antibiotic would 'gunk up' superbugs
Devising new drugs might not be the best way to fight antibiotic resistance. New research suggests that messing with the microbes could work better.
HealthSuperbugs 'Crawled Out' Of The Ocean 450 Million Years Ago
About 450 million years, animals made one of the most important decisions in Earth's history: They left the wet, nourishing seas and started living on the dry, desolate land.<p>At that moment, humanity's problems with superbugs probably began.<p>Scientists at the Broad Institute have found evidence that …
BacteriaSewage Saved This Man's Life. Someday It Could Save Yours.
Bacteriophages -- viruses found in soil, water and human waste -- may be the cure in a post-antibiotic world.<p>When Thomas Patterson woke up from a two-month coma in March 2016, he learned two things he couldn’t believe: Donald Trump was soon to become the Republican nominee for president, and his …
MedicineHow 450-Million-Year-Old Bacteria Evolved into a Dangerous Superbug
A dangerous bacteria found in hospitals might have originated from an ancestor that lived in the guts of the first animals to walk on land, according …
EvolutionShould You Change Clothes When You Get Home to Get Rid of Germs?
Experts weigh in on how cautious you should be about bringing germs and other stuff from the outside world into your home.<p>If the first thing you do …
What actually causes body odor?
It’s never as smelly as you think it is<p>Body odor is a universal human experience. As such, we as a species put a lot of time, money, and effort into finding ways to eliminate unpleasant natural stenches. But most of us put less time, if any, into understanding what actually causes our malodorous …
BiologyE. Coli Survival Guide: How to Protect Yourself from Dangerous Food Poisoning
E. coli food poisoning comes from contaminated meat, dairy, and produce, with some strains more virulent than others.<p>E. coli is a type of bacteria …
Public Health