According to the CDC, less than 33 percent of adults eat the recommended servings of fruit each day in the United States. When it comes to vegetables, Americans are even worse, averaging less than 27 percent. Most adults should consume at least 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables each day, depending on age, gender, and level of physical activity. Eating lots of fruits and veggies has been linked to a better immune system, faster weight loss, and way too many other health benefits...
Next time you make dinner in your crockpot, be sure to follow these crockpot safety tips. The temperature should be at least 140 degrees. Food needs to cook at this temperature or higher to prevent the growth of bacteria. Do not put frozen foods into a crockpot. All foods should be defrosted before cooking, so the temperature can reach 140 degrees as quickly as possible. Do not lift the lid to stir, especially if you are cooking on the lowest setting. Each time you lift the lid, heat escapes ...
As the fish farming industry struggles to become more environmentally friendly, it just gained another problem. Fish food loaded with antibiotic-resistant genes.
For as long as 14,000 years, the First Nations people of the Heitsuk Nation have made their home along the Central Coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Among the territory's inlets, islands, rivers, and valleys lie a clay deposit on the north side of Kisameet Bay, near King Island. For as long as most can remember, the tribe has used the clay as medicine. Now science says microbes that live in that clay may have important antibacterial properties.
The next time you suffer a cut or abrasion, think twice before you reach for the Neosporin. It's time, and mom, tested — you get a cut, you wash it carefully, then apply some triple-threat antimicrobial ointment. You may or may not slap on a band-aid. We won't cover it here, but so that you know, covering the wound with a sterile dressing or band-aid is a good idea.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill that began on April 20, 2010, was the largest maritime oil spill in history. Killing 11 people and discharging 4.1 million barrels of oil and natural gas into the Gulf of Mexico, the event was an unparalleled personal, environmental, and business disaster. It was also the first major oil spill to take place in the deep ocean.
As unappealing as it sounds, transplants with fecal material from healthy donors help treat tough Clostridium difficile gastrointestinal infections. Researchers credit the treatment's success to its ability to restore a healthy bacterial balance to the bowels, and new research has shown that the transplanted bacteria doesn't just do its job and leave. The good fecal bacteria and its benefits can persist for years.
Microbial cells can improve the functionality of clothes in creative and useful ways, including cooling us down during a workout or making clothing glow for better visibility.
On October 17, 1943, a story in the New York Herald Tribune read "Many laymen — husbands, wives, parents, brothers, sisters, friends — beg Dr. Keefer for penicillin," according to the American Chemical Society. Dr. Chester Keefer of Boston was responsible for rationing the new miracle drug, penicillin.
The culprit probably wasn't what doctors were expecting when a 57-year-old man in Hong Kong came to the hospital. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit in critical condition. A clue to the cause of the infection would lie in the man's profession—he was a butcher.
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.
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.
If you want to appreciate the value of microbes, look no further than a chunk of cheese. Because cheese roughly traces back to the Neolithic Era, we might say the earliest cheesemakers were the first humans to manipulate microbes—without even knowing it. Now, thanks to microbiologists and the long tradition of cheesemaking, we know a lot more about the microbes that make our favorite types of cheese possible.
Humanity is standing on an infection precipice. As antibacterial resistant grows, we're running out of options, and a recent scary case of total antibiotic resistance is a frighting view of our potential future. In the end, it was septic shock that took the life of a 70-year old woman with an incurable infection. One of few such cases in the US, her death could nonetheless be the shape of things to come.
We all know you are what you eat—or so the expression goes—but it's good to remember that what you are (at least intestinally) is mainly bacteria. A new study has shown that what you eat, and how your gut microbiome reacts to that food, might be a key player in your risk of developing a certain type of colon cancer—and changing your diet can help decrease your risk.
There are certain foods and beverages that can actually brighten your smile or improve your dental health when you chew or sip them. Once you understand their chemical properties or textures, you can look to items you already have in your cupboards or refrigerator to help keep your teeth looking and feeling their best.
Your refrigerator is designed to keep your food free of mold and bacteria, but they aren't perfect for the task. Storing your good in the refrigerator in the right places will make your fridge much more effective, and this video will show you how to do it.
The Winogradsky column, invented by Sergei Winogradsky, is a device for culturing a large diversity of microorganisms. Pond mud and water are mixed into a column using carbon sources like newspapers and sulfur sources like egg yolks. Left in the sun for a few months, the column becomes a colony rich with microorganisms, bacteria, cyanobacteria, and algae. In this video, scientist Karen Dodson shows you how to make your own.
Without washing your makeup brushes, you're just spreading dirt and bacteria, aggravating your skin, and causing makeup to look worse than it should. This how-to video offers some tips for getting those brushes clean. Good brushes are very sensitive, so they require special handling. Learn how to clean makeup brushes by watching this video makeup lesson.
Ultra violet lights can easily be installed in your air handler to reduce the airborne bacteria and molds in your home. Check out this instructional appliance video that shows how easy it is to install one. Just follow the step by step instructions and you'll be able to install ultra violet lights in your air handler.
If there's a sudden hearing loss without an apparent loud noise cause, an ear inflammation may be the culprit. Doctor Katz, Surgeon Director of Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital, explains the varying causes of hearing loss such as inflammation, bacteria, and a virus, and the corresponding treatments for each cause. Watch this video tutorial to learn how a sudden hearing loss without a loud noise cause is treated.
You've heard or read about Salmonella in the media, and its dangers are often blamed on reptiles. What exactly is it? Is it dangerous? Should you be concerned about it? Watch this video for a clear and balanced orientation on this often-misunderstood bacterium.
Laser can refresh your air by kill the bad bacteria and fungus in the air.You can make a cool lamp too. All with the usb power.
Looking for a fast way to thaw your meat without using the microwave? Thawing meat can be unhealthy if you do it without the proper care. Be safe! Here are two techniques that will give you great thawed meat that will be ready for dinner.
Traces of bacteria at a precinct in East Harlem created an all-out scare after doctors diagnosed an NYPD officer with Legionnaires' disease, a deadly infection caused by Legionella pneumophila.
Sourdough is a delightful twist on your traditional bread, but creating and maintaining a sourdough starter can be a headache for many home bakers.
As deeply as smartphones are integrated into our daily lives, it's no surprise that people are finding ways to use them to stay healthy. From detecting cancer and radiation to diagnosing STDs, phones have come a long way, baby.
Thawing frozen food on the countertop or in warm water may put your family at risk from food-borne bacteria. Keep them safe by following these methods.
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.
For a company more associated with debugging computer programs, Google's parent company, Alphabet, is making a name for itself by taking on the real thing — mosquitoes.
The evolution of our infection-fighting systems may have something to teach modern scientists. That's what a group from the University of Granada in Spain found when they studied a protein that's been around for over four billion years. Their work, by senior author José Sánchez-Ruiz and colleagues in the Department of Physical Chemistry, was published in the journal Cell Reports.
An outbreak of anthrax from contaminated meat in Tanzania sickened dozens of people and moves the danger of this deadly bacteria back into focus.
Yes, bubonic plague—the Black Death that killed millions in the Middle Ages— is still out there. It even infects and kills people in the United States. Without treatment, half the people infected die, but the Food and Drug Administration approved ciprofloxacin in 2015 to treat plague, and it has just successfully been used to stop the infection in five people.
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.
If you live with pets, you know where their tongue has been, yet you let them kiss and lick you all they want without even thinking twice about it. I've heard people say that a dog's mouth is very clean, and that their saliva, delivered by licking, can help heal wounds, but is that really true?
A vegetable juicer is a wonderful appliance to have, but if not cleaned properly, juicers can become a breeding ground for germs and bacteria. Learn how to clean and maintain your juicer.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that 73,000 people contract E. coli O157:H7 each year. The primary source of these illnesses is ground beef that has been improperly handled and cooked. Watch this video to learn how you can avoid the spread of this bacteria.
A nice juicy, grilled slab of meat is every man's idea of a perfect dinner. The flaming fire, the torched meat and the smell of charred delight, but barbecuing can be really unhealthy, mostly for the prostate. So, what better time to learn how to grill your meats to prostate perfection than November… um… Movember?
It's only normal to snack on a few french fries every once in a while when you're on a diet, but it's still important to hold yourself accountable, even when you cheat just a little bit. MyFitnessPal, for both Android and iOS devices, has a database of nutritional information to help keep track of the meals you eat, but it also has a way to add calories on the fly without digging for data.
Type 1 diabetes is an attack on the body by the immune system — the body produces antibodies that attack insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas. Doctors often diagnose this type of diabetes in childhood and early adulthood. The trigger that causes the body to attack itself has been elusive; but many research studies have suggested viruses could be the root. The latest links that viruses that live in our intestines may yield clues as to which children might develop type 1 diabetes.
