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Microbes, Bacteria, Viruses

An illustration of Legionella bacteria, the cause of Legionnaires' disease

Why Reports of Legionnaires’ Disease Are on the Rise in the United States

Though less common than in the past, Legionella bacteria and other dangerous pathogens still lurk in drinking water

A 14th-century latrine in Riga, Latvia

New Research

Archaeologists Mine Medieval Toilets for Traces of Gut Microbiomes

New techniques could help researchers understand human diets in different times and places

As countries in the Northern Hemisphere enter flu season, experts are looking to patterns from Southern Hemisphere nations as a source of cautious optimism.

Covid-19

What to Expect When Covid-19 and the Flu Season Collide

Experts weigh in on the necessary steps to ensure a mild flu season during the pandemic

Poachers are considered unlikely culprits because the dead elephants retained their ivory tusks, which fetch top dollar on the black market.

Toxic Algae Caused Mysterious Widespread Deaths of 330 Elephants in Botswana

Officials say the pachyderms were killed by blooms of the organisms, which polluted pools of drinking water with neurotoxins

A miniature version of the Hampton Court hedge maze is one of the most complicated mazes the amoebas solved.

New Research

A Mini Version of Britain’s Royal Hedge Maze Is No Match for Amoebas

The study demonstrates how cells navigate the human body to provide immunity or carry messages

University of Arizona leaders were able to prevent a potential Covid-19 outbreak by testing wastewater.

University of Arizona Stops a Covid-19 Outbreak by Following the Feces

After wastewater monitoring detected the virus in a dorm’s sewage, the school discovered and quarantined two asymptomatic infections

A robotic arm places a container with three panels of bacteria outside the International Space Station.

Scientists Discover Exposed Bacteria Can Survive in Space for Years

An experiment conducted outside the International Space Station leads to a controversial theory about how life might travel between planets

Everyone, it seems, has tried sourdough during the lockdown. But that ubiquitous jar of starter contains a dynamic microbial ecosystem that scientists are only beginning to understand.

The Scientific Secrets Behind Making Great Sourdough Bread

Scientists explain how simple steps can change a starter’s microbial community and allow bakers to up their game

A customer talks to a waiter in a mask while eating his meal at a table divided with transparent panels in Bangalore, India.

Covid-19

What Scientists Know About Airborne Transmission of the New Coronavirus

Aerosol experts, from engineers to doctors, weigh in on the ability of tiny droplets to transmit the virus that causes COVID-19

Alvin, a remotely operated submersible, drills for samples of the deep sea floor in 2014.

Deep-Sea Microbes Exert the Least Amount of Energy Possible to Survive

Giving a whole new meaning to doing the “bare minimum”

Bald's Leechbook, a tenth-century medical text that contains Anglo-Saxon medical advice and recipes for medicines, salves and treatments

This Medieval Potion Kills Stubborn Bacteria

“Bald’s eyesalve” is effective against numerous strains of bacteria—and could help treat diabetic foot and leg ulcers

A boy has his temperature checked as he receives a free COVID-19 test in Los Angeles.

Covid-19

What Scientists Know About How Children Spread COVID-19

As communities struggle with the decision over whether to open up schools, the research so far offers unsatisfying answers

Yosemite Valley seen from the Tunnel View lookout point in the Yosemite National Park, California on July 08, 2020. The park's sewage has now tested positive for the presence of the novel coronavirus, suggesting that some of its visitors over the Fourth of July weekend were infected.

Yosemite Sewage Tests Positive for Coronavirus

Test results suggest there were dozens of visitors carrying the novel coronavirus in the park over the Fourth of July weekend

How will SARS-CoV-2 evolve?

Covid-19

How Viruses Evolve

Pathogens that switch to a new host species have some adapting to do. How does that affect the course of a pandemic like COVID-19?

Together, COVID-19 cases in California, Florida and Texas accounted for one-fifth of new cases in the world and one-third of new cases in the United States on Monday, July 13.

California, Texas and Florida Emerge as COVID-19 Hotspots

Combined, the three states accounted for nearly 20 percent of the world’s new cases on earlier this week

Our bodies carry many bacteria and fungi, not all of them harmful.

What Quarantine Is Doing to Your Body’s Wondrous World of Bacteria

The germs, fungi and mites that grow on our hands, face, armpits and elsewhere have become stranded during the age of social distancing

This month's selections include Clean, Memory Drive and Uncrowned Queen.

Books of the Month

An Uncrowned Tudor Queen, the Science of Skin and Other New Books to Read

These five July releases may have been lost in the news cycle

A worker disinfects a hog pen in Suining in southwest China's Sichuan province in February 2020.

New Swine Flu Strain With Pandemic Potential Isn’t Cause for Alarm

The findings are a reminder not to forget about seasonal viruses, but also shows that virus surveillance systems work

Specimens like these at Dublin’s Natural History Museum contain valuable information about the evolution of pathogens and host organisms.

Covid-19

How Museum Collections Could Help Scientists Predict Future Pandemics

The broad array of animal specimens could allow researchers to identify likely pathogen sources, hosts and transmission pathways

A woman wearing a mask walks the Brooklyn Bridge in the midst of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on March 20, 2020 in New York City.

Covid-19

A Virus Study You’ve Never Heard of Helped Us Understand COVID-19

What Columbia University researchers learned when they tried to get a complete picture of how respiratory viruses spread across Manhattan

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