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Goats and Soda

Are There Zombie Viruses — Like The 1918 Flu — Thawing In The Permafrost?

May 19, 2020
As if the pandemic weren't enough, people are wondering whether climate change will cause pathogens buried in frozen ground to come back to life as the Arctic warms. How worried should we be?
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Goats and Soda
<em>Aedes aegypti</em> mosquitoes infected with the <em>Wolbachia</em> bacterium, which appears to block transmission of dengue fever and other mosquito-borne viruses.

Infecting Mosquitoes With Bacteria Could Have A Big Payoff

Nov 21, 2019
Scientists are trying to flip the script on control of mosquitoes in an effort to combat dengue fever. Instead of trying to wipe them out, they're infecting them with bacteria.
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Goats and Soda
<em>Malassezia</em> is a genus of fungi naturally found on the skin surfaces of many animals, including humans. The researchers found it in urban apartments, although some strains have been known to cause infections in hospitals.

Scrubbing Your House Of Bacteria Could Clear The Way For Fungus

Nov 06, 2019
A new study in Brazil finds that urban apartments have more diverse fungi — some healthy, some potentially not — than villages in the Amazon rainforest.
NPR
Environment
Anne Schauer-Gimenez (from left) Allison Pieja and Molly Morse of Mango Materials stand next to the biopolymer fermenter at a sewage treatment plant next to San Francisco Bay. The fermenter feeds bacteria the methane they need to produce a biological for

Replacing Plastic: Can Bacteria Help Us Break The Habit?

Jun 17, 2019
Entrepreneurs are eager to find substitutes for plastic that naturally degrade. One option is a "natural" plastic made by microbes and then eaten by them. But the process is still in the early days.
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Shots - Health News
Jonah Reeder prepares a special protein shake that helps him manage a metabolic condition called phenylketonuria.

A Gulp Of Genetically Modified Bacteria Might Someday Treat A Range Of Illnesses

Mar 08, 2019
Researchers think genetically engineered versions of microbes that can live in humans could help treat some rare genetic disorders and perhaps help with Type 1 diabetes, cirrhosis and cancer.
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NPR
Shots - Health News
Scientists have isolated a molecule with disease-fighting potential in a microbe living on a type of fungus-farming ant (genus <em>Cyphomyrmex). </em>The microbe kills off other hostile microbes attacking the ants' fungus, a food source.

Bugs Vs. Superbugs: Insects Offer Promise In Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance

Feb 13, 2019
With the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections, scientists are exploring nature to find new disease-fighting compounds. They're finding them in surprising new places: the microbiomes of insects.
NPR
Goats and Soda
In these images, <em>E coli</em> bacteria harbor proteins from a bacteria-killing virus that can eavesdrop on bacterial communication. At left, one protein from the virus has been tagged with a red marker. At right, the virus has overheard bacterial comm

A Virus Can Eavesdrop On Bacterial Communication

Dec 13, 2018
A researcher had an idea about viruses that was wild. And it turned out to be true.
NPR
The Salt
<a href="http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/wwno/files/styles/x_large/public/201811/img-6038_1__1.jpg"> </a> Thomas "Uptown T" Stewart (left), has been shucking oysters at Pascal's Manale restaurant for more than 30 years, about as long as Paula (mid

As Climate Changes, Is Eating Raw Oysters Getting Riskier?

Dec 10, 2018
Tighter regulations on oyster harvesting have helped reduce the number of people affected by the deadly bacteria Vibrio vulnificus, but warming waters have allowed the bacteria to expand and thrive.
NPR
Shots - Health News
Infections<em> </em>with<em> Clostridium difficile</em> can crop up after a round of antibiotics.

Dangerous Infection Tied To Hospitals Now Becoming Common Outside Them

Nov 25, 2018
Infections with Clostridium difficile can be difficult to treat and life-threatening. Once a problem seen mainly in health care facilities, the infections are now occurring often in the community.
NPR
The Salt
"Our data suggests that something about baking seems to be changing the hands of the people who do the baking," says ecologist Rob Dunn.

Sourdough Hands: How Bakers And Bread Are A Microbial Match

Nov 12, 2018
In Robert Dunn's new book, Never Home Alone, he explores our symbiotic relationship with food: Not only do we impact the bacteria in our food, but the microbes in our food imprint our bodies.
NPR
Shots - Health News
University of Oregon scientists used real dust from inside homes around Portland to test the effects of sunlight, UV light and darkness on bacteria found in the dust.

Grandma Was Right: Sunshine Helps Kill Germs Indoors

Oct 18, 2018
All kinds of bacteria live with us indoors, and some can make us sick. A new study shows that rooms exposed to light had about half the live bacteria found in rooms that were kept in darkness.
NPR
Goats and Soda
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, in Norway, preserves plant seeds in cold storage. What about doing the same for helpful bacteria, ask researchers in a new paper.

Proposal: Let's Create A Frozen Noah's Ark For Helpful Germs

Oct 04, 2018
It'd be like the Global Seed Vault on the frigid island of Spitsbergen, Norway — only it would contain helpful human bacteria.
NPR
Shots - Health News
<em></em>It's a bacteria-eat-bacteria world, scientists say. <em>Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, <strong></strong></em>shown here in false color, attacks common germs six times its size, then devours them from the inside out.

'Predatory Bacteria' Might Be Enlisted In Defense Against Antibiotic Resistance

Sep 06, 2018
Microbe-eating-microbes are found in "almost every ecosystem on Earth," says a defense department scientist who hopes bacteria of this type might one day be deployed to fight human infections.
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Goats and Soda
A study has found that some bacteria are becoming "more tolerant" of the alcohol-based hand sanitizers used in hospitals.

Some Bacteria Are Becoming 'More Tolerant' Of Hand Sanitizers, Study Finds

Aug 02, 2018
Researchers wanted to know why certain infections were increasing in hospitals. They were surprised by what they found.
NPR
The Salt

Probiotics For Babies And Kids? New Research Explores Good Bacteria

Apr 30, 2018
Sales of probiotics are soaring. While some studies on this beneficial bacteria show it can treat specific health issues in children, scientists are exploring how it may help gut health more broadly.
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NPR
Shots - Health News
Mice may be adorable, but the droppings and the bacteria they contain, not so much.

New York City Mice Carry Bacteria That Can Make People Sick

Apr 17, 2018
An analysis of mice in the Big Apple finds that many harbor bacteria that can make humans sick if exposed to the animals' droppings. Some of the bacterial strains were resistant to antibiotics.
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NPR
Shots - Health News
The CDC is trying to stop E. coli and other bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics because they can cause a deadly infection.

Federal Efforts To Control Rare And Deadly Bacteria Working

Apr 03, 2018
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's efforts to control drug-resistant bacteria finds that the percentage of bacteria carrying this resistance is declining. But it wants more data.
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NPR
13.7: Cosmos And Culture
What scientists believe to be our oldest ancestor, the single-celled organism named LUCA, likely lived in extreme conditions where magma met water — in a setting situation similar to this one from Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

The Microbial Eve: Our Oldest Ancestors Were Single-Celled Organisms

Jan 31, 2018
Consider this: Evidence points to a microbial Eve as our first ancestor — a tough, underwater organism withstanding extremes that became every other creature to ever live, says Marcelo Gleiser.
NPR
The Salt
Colonies of microbes from different cheese rinds. From right to left, Comte, Robiola, blue cheese.

The Cheese Does Not Stand Alone: How Fungi And Bacteria Team Up For A Tastier Rind

Jan 29, 2018
Cheese rinds may seem simple, even discardable, but the microbial world they contain is complex. Among their inhabitants: bacterial swimmers that hop on highways of fungal tendrils to get around.
NPR
Goats and Soda
In the past few years, severe storms have ripped off big chunks of the Alaska coastline. The white bags are trying to prevent the ancient log cabin from sliding into the sea.

Are There Zombie Viruses In The Thawing Permafrost?

Jan 24, 2018
There's a new fear from climate change: Bacteria and viruses buried in frozen ground coming back to life as the Arctic warms up. We went digging in permafrost to find out how worried we should be.
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NPR
Shots - Health News
Dr. Daniel Merenstein, a family medicine physician at Georgetown University, with some bottles of the probiotic-laced strawberry yogurt drink that is part of the study he is leading.

Could Probiotics Protect Kids From A Downside Of Antibiotics?

Dec 11, 2017
Many marketing claims about the potential benefits of probiotics have raced ahead of the science, say researchers who are now trying to catch up. One NIH study is investigating kids' gut microbes.
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NPR
The Salt
Souring yeast are more resistant to alcohol and hops, allowing for stronger, hoppier beers.

The Taming Of The Brew: How Sour Beer Is Driving A Microbial Gold Rush

Oct 02, 2017
As the popularity of sour beers burgeons in America, scientists are going back to the drawing board in a quest to discover the perfect mix of new brewing microbes.
NPR
Shots - Health News
In July 2016, Rubins (left) and Jeff Williams (right), inside the International Space Station, maneuvered a supply spacecraft for docking.

A Microbe Hunter Plies Her Trade In Space

Mar 14, 2017
Meet Kate Rubins, a virus-hunter turned astronaut. When she sequenced DNA in space for the first time, she opened the door to a new era in space biology.
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NPR
Shots - Health News
When a single raindrop hits the ground, it causes tiny water droplets to shoot into the air, some containing bacteria.

WATCH: Raindrops Catapult Bacteria Into The Air, And It's Beautiful

Mar 07, 2017
They don't have wings, but bacteria sure can fly. Researchers at MIT say that tiny bubbles trapped by raindrops play a part in launching bacteria on long-distance flights.
NPR
Goats and Soda

WHO's First-Ever List Of The Dirty Dozen Superbugs

Feb 28, 2017
For the first time, the World Health Organization has released a list of 12 bacteria that "pose the greatest threat to human health" because of their antibiotic resistance.

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