Outbreak Search Results

How To: Protect Up to 10 Devices with This All-in-One VPN

With millions of people working from home as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, hacking is on the rise. Nefarious black hats are taking advantage of the fact that workers have been forced to abandon their secure office networks in favor of home wireless connections. And white hats are spending even more time at home trying to be the next great ethical hacker.

News: This Genetic Defect Could Be Why Typhoid Mary Never Got Typhoid Fever

Whether or not a microbe is successful at establishing an infection depends both on the microbe and the host. Scientists from Duke found that a single DNA change can allow Salmonella typhi, the bacteria that causes typhoid fever, to invade cells. That single genetic variation increased the amount of cholesterol on cell membranes that Salmonella and other bacteria use as a docking station to attach to a cell to invade it. They also found that common cholesterol-lowering drugs protected zebrafi...

Tasty Testing: Artisanal Cheese Reveals Microbial Secrets of Deliciousness

Whether your palate runs to domestic or imported, a piece of cheese can be a real treat for the senses. Its smell, taste, and texture are all parts of its appeal. A big part of what makes that savory wonderfulness comes from the microbes in and on the cheese. Thanks to a team of researchers dedicated to studying those microbes, we have a better understanding of their importance to cheese and us.

News: Another Reason to Wash Your Sheets—Deadly Hospital Fungus Linked to Moldy Linens

Six people have died from fungal infections in Pittsburgh hospitals since 2014—that fact is indisputable. The rest of the situation is much vaguer. A lawsuit has been filed against the hospitals on behalf of some of the deceased patients, alleging that moldy hospital linens are to blame. While the lawyers argue over who's at fault, let's look at how this could have happened.

News: What Are Superbugs? Everything You Need to Know About Antibiotic Resistance

Joe McKenna died when he was 30 years old. A young married man with his future ahead of him, he was cleaning up the station where he worked as a fireman. Struck by a piece of equipment fallen from a shelf, Joe complained of a sore shoulder. Over the next week, Joe worsened and ended up in the hospital. Chilled, feverish, and delirious, his organs shut down from an infection we'd now call septic shock.

News: 10 Terrifying Diseases You're Going to Be Hearing a Lot More About

You may not have heard of visceral leishmaniasis, onchocerciasis, or lymphatic filariasis, and there is a reason for that. These diseases, part of a group of infections called neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), impact more than a billion people on the planet in countries other than ours. Despite the consolation that these often grotesque illnesses are "out of sight, out of mind," some of these infections are quietly taking their toll in some southern communities of the US.

May 21st: End of the World or Zombie Apocalypse?

Could the world really be coming to an end tomorrow? Presuming you believe the biblical prediction from 89-year-old Harold Camping, May 21st, 2011 is undeniably Judgment Day. If you have confidence in that prophecy, you're probably not even reading this because you're too busy either A) preparing for the Rapture or B) sitting in your backyard bunker hoping to outwit annihilationism.

How To: Survive a Zombie Apocalypse

What should you do in case of a major zombie outbreak? Many of the best survival techniques follow the same logic as to how you should prepare for major natural disasters; stock up on food and medical supplies, have an escape route, and form a community of people you can work with. When you're dealing with the flesh-eating undead, it also helps to invest beforehand in full body armor, weapons, and basic parkour lessons so that you know how to scale walls and jump across buildings when a horde...

News: Boob Support = Life Support

Dr. Elena Bodnar proposes a silly idea. Why not wear a bra that double as a gas mask? No point in being ill equipped (in the event of fires, terrorist attacks, dust storms or a swine flu outbreak). The instructions are simple: In the event of an emergency, remove bra.

Next Page