Species Search Results — Page 5 of 8

News: Out Damn Spot! Researchers Discover Microbes Are the Reason for Stains on Ancient Scrolls

This is a tale about microbes, a man who became a hermit, and the parchment that carries both of their stories.

News: In Love? True Togetherness Means Sharing the Same Microbes

Love is the spice of life — it is also the microbes that couples share through sickness and in health, through the bathroom and in a hallway.

Medical Mystery: Man Catches Zika, but No One Knows How

An older man dies of Zika. A younger man who cares for him catches Zika — but doctors cannot pinpoint how the disease was transmitted. While proximity to the patient is sufficient explanation for the rest of us, for microbe hunters, it is a medical mystery. Why? Zika is not known to transmit from person-to-person casually.

News: Change of Tune? Not Everyone Needs to Finish That Course of Antibiotics

After years of telling patients to finish any prescribed course of antibiotics completely, a group of researchers in the UK say it is no longer necessary, and could even be harmful if we want to preserve the antibiotics we can still use.

News: Bacterial Bugs in Your Eyes Help Fend Off Infection

Not all bacteria in the eyes cause infection. A group of researchers from the National Eye Institue has shown that not only is there a population of bacteria on the eyes that reside there but they perform an important function. They help activate the immune system to get rid of bad, potentially infection-causing — pathogenic — bacteria there.

News: Tougher Than Steel — Tardigrades Will Survive Until the Sun Explodes

Forget the rise of the machines. Tardigrades are set to outlive everything — even the bots. When the last echo of a whisper in a cell phone has long dissipated into space, the water bears will still be hanging out.

News: It's Not All in Your Mind — Gut Bacteria Could Be Influencing Your Emotions

The community of bacteria that lives in our gut has a lot to tell us. It can give clues to what we eat, the environment we live in, and diseases and disorders we may have. Now, scientists have linked these bacterial species to how we feel. A new research study found an association between women's gut bacteria and their emotions.

Heart Patients Beware: More Than One-Third of Bypass Equipment Potentially Contaminated with Deadly Bacteria

More bad news for patients who have undergone heart surgery in the past five years. A new study suggests about one-third of heater-cooler units used in cardiac procedures remain contaminated with a slow-growing, potentially fatal bacteria.

News: 'Useless' Antibiotics Work When Matched Up in Threes

The search is on to find antibiotics that will work against superbugs — bacteria that are rapidly becoming resistant to many drugs in our antibiotic arsenal.

News: New Gut Bacteria Theory Could Revolutionize Our Understanding of Diabetes

Several recent research studies have pointed to the importance of the microbes that live in our gut to many aspects of our health. A recent finding shows how bacteria that penetrate the mucus lining of the colon could play a significant role in diabetes.

News: Have a Dog? Be Careful of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Dangerous to humans and dogs, Rocky Mountain Fever, along with several other tickborne infections, is on the rise.

News: We've Finally Figured Out Why Some Mushrooms Glow

Bioluminescence — the ability of an organism to produce and emit light — is nature's light show. Plants, insects, fish, and bacteria do it, and scientists understand how. Until now, though, we didn't know how fungi glow.

News: Termite Guts May Hold the Key to More Efficient Biofuels

Termite poop and biofuels — what's the connection? New research into termites' intestinal comings and goings describes a process that may speed the development and lower the cost of fuels made from plant matter.

News: How Diet, Gut Bacteria & Time Work Together to Form Your Potbelly

Potbellies don't have to happen as we age, according to two studies done on twins published online in the International Journal of Obesity.

News: Frustrated by Acne? New Research Shows Skin Microbiome Makes a Difference

The squiggly guys in this article's cover image are Propionibacterium acnes. These bacteria live in low-oxygen conditions at the base of hair follicles all over your body. They mind their own business, eating cellular debris and sebum, the oily stuff secreted by sebaceous glands that help keep things moisturized. Everybody has P. acnes bacteria—which are commonly blamed for causing acne—but researchers took a bigger view and discovered P. acnes may also play a part in keeping your skin clear.

News: How Bacterial Cocktails Can Boost Food Supply in a Warming World

Growing populations and higher temperatures put pressure on world food supplies. Naturally occurring soil bacteria may save crops in drought-stressed areas, put more land into crop production, and produce more food.

News: Zika Is About to Explode Again as Mosquito Season Approaches

There could be a fresh outbreak of the Zika virus in the Americas as the weather heats up and the mosquito population blooms.

News: Microbes Lost from Corals Due to Global Warming Cause 90% of Great Barrier Reef to Bleach

The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the largest living system on the planet. Yet more than 90% of the reef is bleaching because of the loss of a tiny algae that lives within the coral.

News: Mass Die-Off of Thousands of Ducks in Idaho Caused by Avian Cholera

Over 6,500 waterfowl—mostly ducks—have died in Canyon County, Idaho, stricken by avian cholera. The outbreak started in February, and before it's over, it may not only be Idaho's largest outbreak, but one of the largest in the country.

News: Sponge Bacteria Clean Heavy Metals & Toxins Like Arsenic from Water, Saving Turtles & Humans Alike

Arsenic occurs naturally in the environment, but it is also one of the most commonly found heavy metals in wastewater, deposited there by inappropriate disposal and arsenical pesticides, for example.

News: Doctors Are Wrong to Call Zika Mild

Even as health authorities describe the symptoms of Zika infection in the general population as mild, a new surveillance study finds serious side effects are more common, and serious, than previously thought.

News: Scientists Are Using the Special Physics of Dragonfly Wings to Create Surfaces That Shred Bacteria on Contact

As drug-resistant bacteria become more commonplace, researchers are looking for new antibacterial strategies to disrupt disease-causing microbes. Some scientists are working to create new drugs, while others are trying out drug combinations. Another group, however, are ditching pharmaceuticals altogether and experimenting with non-drug alternatives.

News: A Rare Disease Outbreak in the Bronx Linked to Eewww Source—Rat Pee

Every year, 100-200 people in the US contract leptospirosis, but usually 50% of the cases occur in Hawaii where outdoor adventurers are exposed to Leptospira bacteria found in freshwater ponds, waterfalls, streams, and mud. That's why it's so alarming that two people in the Bronx have been diagnosed with the disease and a 30-year-old man has died from it.

News: A Beach Infected with Fecal Coliform Can Ruin Your Vacation, but Seagrasses Can Save the Day

Seagrass may help your favorite beach stay a little less toxic. A new study, led by Joleah Lamb, a postdoctoral researcher in the Harvell Lab at Cornell University, found that coastal seagrasses reduce levels of pathogens dangerous to humans and marine organisms in near-shore waters.

News: Use This Type of Repellent to Avoid Mosquitoes—& Zika

Responding to the emergence of Zika in the US, researchers investigated what type of repellent works best to reduce your odds of a mosquito bite from Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species that spreads the Zika virus.

News: Bird Flu Is Circling in China Again—Here's How It Could Develop into an Outbreak

Avian flu is making the news again with new human cases in China reported in January. What does "avian flu" mean to you—and how dangerous is it?

News: Bioprospectors Make Unique Discovery INSIDE a Coal Fire That Makes an Antibiotic Better

Scientists are constantly on the search for new organisms, species, and other types of life. A special group of these researchers, calling themselves "bioprospectors," dive deep into mines to find unique lifeforms with special properties not found anywhere else.

News: Research Published in mBio Shows How Gut Bacteria Can Help Chubby Dogs Live a Better—& Longer—Life

As fun as it is to see Fido's face light up when you feed him table scraps, American dogs are getting fat. The good news is that research is homing in on nutritional strategies to boost canine capabilities to maintain a healthy weight.

News: Augmented Reality Surprised Sundance Film Festival with a Journey into the Human Brain

The largest and arguably most widely known event of its type, especially in the US, the Sundance Film Festival is an annual celebration of independent film—ones made outside the Hollywood system. This year, a new type of experience appeared at the Sundance Film Festival in an installation called "The Journey to the Center of the Natural Machine." This mixed reality presentation offered the user the newest type of storytelling in a long and important line—continuation of the species kind of im...

News: How El Niño—& Climate Change—Kill People with Virus Epidemics

Using mathematical modeling, researchers suggest weather and warming created the "perfect storm" that drove the Zika outbreak in 2016.

News: Even Without Symptoms, Men Could Suffer Lasting Fertility Impacts from Zika

Findings from a mouse study suggest that the Zika virus infection may have serious reproductive consequences for men.

How To: The Science of Sourdough & Why It Tastes So Much Better in San Francisco

As a lover of food, I'm often asked, “If you could only have one food the rest of your life, what would it be?” My answer is always the same: sourdough bread. (Okay, it's not always the same... I usually cheat and say sourdough, fancy cheese, and a good beer.) Admittedly, I'm biased by my own sentimentality. My mother is an expert bread baker, with a major in making sourdough. Her sourdough starter is older than I am, and in all honesty, she's made thousands of loaves, each better than the ne...

How To: Make Your Own Pesto Plus

Among the many gifts that Italy has bestowed upon the world, culinary and otherwise, pesto stands alone. The exact birthplace of pesto, that herby sauce made of pine nuts and olive oil, is an area of Italy called Liguria, whose microclimate is particularly kind to basil, one of pesto's key ingredients.

How To: Get Rid of Spiders Naturally

Spiders are common pests that typically prefer to live outdoors. However, insects and warmth will eventually attract them into our houses. They like to spin their webs in corners, crevices and unused areas of your house. Most species are harmless and even act as a natural repellent for getting rid of other insects. However, in some cases, spiders can be very dangerous. Whichever the case may be, they are scary and people are always looking for natural ways to get rid of them.

How To: Repel Mosquitoes Naturally Using Just Plants & Oils

While we've already covered several good ways to tame the itch of a mosquito bite, you're much better off preventing them from biting in the first place than dealing with the itchy aftermath.

How To: Your Guide to Finding Free Creative Commons Images and Other Media Online

Creative Commons is awesome—really. If an image, video, or audio file is tagged with a CC license, that means you can use it as long as you give appropriate credit to the owner. For bloggers with no money for pricey stock media, it's a godsend. When you license your own media under CC, you can choose how you want it to be used by others and whether or not it can be used commercially.

Robot Basics: Using an H Bridge to Move Your Bot Backwards

I love robots. They have the potential to evolve into Asimovian destroyers of the human species, but have only just mastered the art of cleaning my rug. They have an ever increasing cool factor and a growing number of cheap and simple components that let the hobby roboticist reach for the burning miasmas of plasma. But to get to the stars, we need to start with the basics.