News: Organic or Not, Your Produce Is Loaded with Bacteria, Inside & Out
We know that healthcare-related facilities can be fertile ground for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but recent research suggests your produce aisle might be too.
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News: Gut Bacteria Cocktail May Protect Cancer Patients & Pregnant Women Against Listeriosis
Listeria monocytogenes bacteria don't play fair. Healthy people can usually handle the food-borne infection, but the bacterial infection hits pregnant women, fetuses and cancer patients very hard. Interestingly, a new study found that other bacteria may help prevent Listeria infections in those people.
NR50: Next Reality's 50 People to Watch: Amitt Mahajan
From Farmville to selling a company to Google, Amitt Mahajan has been through the startup ringer. Now, as managing partner with Presence Capital, he's funding the future of augmented and mixed reality.
News: Ebola Survivor May Hold Key to Curing All Types of Ebola Infections
Even though the Ebola virus was discovered as recently as 1976, over 30,000 people have been infected since, and half have died a horrible death. Since there's no way to cure the infection, the world desperately needs a way to prevent it — and the five similar viruses in its family, the ebolaviruses.
News: Bacteria-Killing Viruses Can Help Us Take Down Superbugs
Fighting fire with fire, scientists are harnessing the adaptability of helpful microbes to challenge the adaptability of deadly microbes. What are we talking about? Hunting with phages — viruses that attack and kill bacteria.
News: Glowing Bacteria Can Help Locate Devastating Hidden Land Mines
Devastating and deadly, land mines are a persistent threat in many areas of the world. Funding to clear regions of land mines has been decreasing, but new research may offer a less dangerous method of locating hidden, underground explosives by using glowing bacteria.
News: Compound in a Frog's Defensive Slime May Treat Your Next Flu Infection
Our quest to find novel compounds in nature that we can use against human diseases —a process called bioprospecting — has led a research team to a small frog found in India. From the skin slime of the colorful Hydrophylax bahuvistara, researchers reported finding a peptide — a small piece of protein — that can destroy many strains of human flu and can even protect mice against the flu.
Natural Solution: Extract Synthesized from Maple Syrup Boosts Efficiency of Antibiotics
In the ongoing search to find better ways to use antibiotics, an extract made from maple syrup has some surprisingly important medical benefits.
News: Unexplained Link to Hepatitis Infections Could Inform Parkinson's Mysterious Causes
Two viral liver diseases could help us find the path toward the cause of Parkinson's disease. Researchers from the University of Oxford and UCL Institute of Neurology in London have reported an association between hepatitis B and C infections and an increased risk of Parkinson's disease. Their findings were published early online in the journal Neurology.
News: Stealthy Bacteria Is Unexpected Cause of UTIs That Keep Coming Back
Most females have had at least one urinary tract infection in their lifetimes. Recurrent UTIs are particularly problematic in young, sexually active women, where about 80% of the infections are caused by the bacteria Escherichia coli, better known as E. coli.
News: Your Doctor May Start Giving You Penicillin Even if You're Allergic
A new study has found that up to half of people who think they have a penicillin "allergy" can still receive the drug, and other antibiotics with similar structures, without any negative reactions to the meds. Why? Because they're not really allergic, doctors say.
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: 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: Cats May Drive You Crazy, but They Won't Make You Mentally Ill
Even if your cat drives you a little nuts, don't worry, because a new study says that cats pose no risk to your mental health.
How To: Tell if You Have a Cold or the Flu
Have the sniffles? Yes. Does your head hurt? Yes. Coughing? Yes. Could you have influenza? Yes. How do you know the difference? With these symptoms, you could also have a cold.
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.
Bye Bye, OJ: How a Blue-Bellied Insect Helps Bacteria Kill Off Citrus Crops
A tiny louse is responsible for decimating the citrus industry. Diaphorina citri, the louse in question, better known as the Asian citrus psyllid, harbors and spreads the "Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus" bacteria that causes citrus greening disease.
News: Researchers Have Just Discovered How a Hospital Fungus Forms Slime, Becomes Drug Resistant & Kills Patients
It hasn't even been eight years since Candida auris was discovered—cultured and identified from the ear canal of a patient in Japan—and now it's drug-resistant, setting up residence in hospitals, killing patients, and wreaking havoc across the globe.
News: New Study Says Stopping Slimy Biofilms Could Save Thousands a Year from Legionnaires' Disease
In the summer of 1976, 4,000 American Legionnaires descended upon the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for a four-day convention. Several days later, many of the attendees experienced symptoms of severe pneumonia. By the beginning of August, 22 people had died. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that about 180 people were sickened and 29 people died before this mysterious outbreak burnt out.
News: Dangerous Bacterial Films Communicate with Electric Pulses, Which Means We Could Zap Them to Interfere
Lighthouses and signal fires may have been the first social media. Without the ability to share language, a distant light meant "humans here." A new study from the University of California, San Diego, finds that bacteria can also send out a universal sign to attract the attention of their own, and other bacterial species.
HPV: Almost Half of Adult Men in US Have This Cancer-Causing STD
Despite the availability of a vaccine against it, almost 50% of men aged 18-59 in the US are infected with the human papillomavirus (HPV). Why?
News: Rat Breeders in Illinois Are Just the Latest Victims of Unappreciated Hantaviruses That Infect Humans
A recent pathogen outbreak in Illinois is just one of many outbreaks of an underappreciated, but serious, viral infection passed from rodents to humans. These hantaviruses have been cropping up more frequently in the last decade or so, giving us more reason to clean out our dusty attics, basements, and garages.
News: Gut May Hold Key to Infectious Brain Diseases
Specialized cells in the lining of the gut may provide a key to preventing an infectious brain disease caused by misfolded proteins.
News: Extreme Cave-Dwelling Bacteria Found to Be Resistant to Antibiotics
One thousand feet under the ground, extremophile microbes that have not seen the light of day for four million years are giving up some fascinating facts to scientists who go the distance.
News: 'Vampire' Bacteria May Lead Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance
New weapons are needed to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Instead of drugs, scientists have discovered in an animal study that they may be able to harness vampire bacteria to vanquish pneumonia.
News: 3 Reasons to Be Worried About the Coming Flu Season
With the height of the flu season ahead, there are some good reasons to keep a flu vaccination in mind.
News: Google's New Self-Driving Car Spinout Waymo Debuts Their Fleet of 100 Chrysler Pacificas
Last week it was announced that Waymo, the former Google Self-Driving Car project, had graduated from Alphabet's X innovation center. This graduation had been in the cards for many months with senior members of the project team and X hinting that it would be soon.
News: Massive 13-Pound Kit Kat Puts Your DIY Candy Bars to Shame
Breaking off a piece of that Kit Kat bar gets a lot more difficult when the whole thing weighs 13 pounds.
News: The Culinary World Is Embracing Ants & You Should, Too
If you're grossed out by anything creepy, crawly, and with more than 4 legs... then stop being so close-minded and eat some bugs already, dammit.
Halloween Food Hacks: 7 Grotesque Goodies Guaranteed to Gross Out Your Guests
There are two types of Halloween lovers: Those who like culturally-relevant costumes and serving precious ghost cupcakes, and those who live to freak their friends the hell out in the most disgusting way possible.
How To: 10 Things Google Assistant Can Do to Make Your Life Easier
By combining years of web search advancements, natural language processing, and even DeepMind's artificial intelligence, Google Assistant hopes to change the way you interact with your devices. If you're familiar with Google's previous services, Google Assistant is like Google Now, Voice Search, and Now on Tap rolled into one service, with an extra layer of personality added on top. The end result is one central location for all of your Google needs, be it web search, screen search, playing m...
News: Samsung's TouchWiz Updates Aren't as Bad as You Think
Smartphones have been around for nearly a decade now, so we've had plenty of time to develop preconceptions and bias. People that have never owned an iPhone will tell you that Apple devices are restrictive and bland, while others might say that stock Android is boring compared to manufacturer skins like HTC's Sense, despite never having owned a Nexus or Pixel.
How To: Turn Anything in Your Pantry into a Bomb Appetizer with This Simple Formula
You never know when the mood for a party will hit, and lazy summer days are perfect for hosting impromptu gatherings in the backyard. That's why it's always important to be prepared with plenty of drinks, cool snacks, and ingredients for crowd-pleasing appetizers.
How To: Vegans Rejoice! Finally, a Damn Good Substitute for Bacon
Seaweed isn't just for rolling sushi anymore. The food science world is introducing chefs and home cooks to dulse (rhymes with pulse), kale's wacky seaweed cousin that tastes surprisingly like bacon and may even be the next big superfood.
How To: Clone Shake Shack's Bacon CheddarShack Burger
Most people I've talked to agree that Shake Shack has mastered the upscale, fast food hamburger quite well. So when a new burger comes out on the ultra-popular fast food chain's menu, you've got to take notice—even if you live nowhere near one.
How To: Take Your Brownies to the Next Level with Add-Ins & Toppings
The decadent, chewy, fresh-from-the-oven brownie is a classic American dessert. US History Scene states that the first brownies ever made were a result of socialite Bertha Potter Palmer's request of her chef at Chicago's Palmer House Hotel in 1893 "to create a dessert that could be tucked into a box lunch for ladies to eat while attending the Columbian Exposition."
How To: Use This Map to Find PokéStop Locations in Pokémon GO
If you want free Poké Balls and eggs when playing Pokémon GO, you can find them at PokéStops in variation locations around your city, which are marked with towering blue icons on your map. Once you're at Level 5, they'll also grant you Potions and Revives to help you in your battles against other trainers, so they're definitely something you should be visiting whenever you can.
How To: Get Chris' Outrageous Cheesecake Without Going to the Cheesecake Factory
Chris' Outrageous Cheesecake, a decedent combination of chocolate cake, brownies, cheesecake, and coconut-pecan frosting, is easily one of The Cheesecake Factory's most popular desserts. But, the price of fulfilling your cravings for this addictive treat can get up there (at about $8 a slice), and when you eat it at the restaurant you likely are limited to only one small piece.
How To: This Brilliant Red, White & Blue Cake Holds a Flaky Surprise Inside
This Fourth of July, go beyond cherry pie, strawberry shortcake, and those gimmicky red, white, and blue cupcakes. Instead, wow your friends and family with this delicious, patriotic honeycomb cake made of puff pastry, whipped cream, and fresh fruit — no artificial coloring needed! Don't Miss: