Bacteria // Current TV

The 25 Surprisingly Germiest Places you Encounter Everyday

Whether germs, bacteria, or straight out viruses, they can be found everywhere in... more

eva2
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Sharing DNA with our tiny enemies

Viruses and bacteria are probably responsible for many portions of our DNA. We've... more

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Medicine Meets the Creative World of Sci-Fi

NerdcoreLearning is launching a very special fantasy game, called "The Healing... more

NerdcoreVixter
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Food Dropped On The Ground: Still Worth Recycling?

Are you still practicing the 5 second rule and chucking more "dropped eats"... more

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Bacteria Make Mexican Waves: video report of original research that was just published in NATURE!

By synchronizing our clocks, we can coordinate our activities with people around the... more

GrrlScientist
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Bacteria Are Capable of Complex Decision-Making

It's not thinking in the way humans, dogs or even birds think, but new findings... more

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2 years ago
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Help STOP GE trees in 2010

As we ring in the New Year, I am writing to give you a quick update about the progress... more

JanforGore
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2 years ago
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4 comments

Making art from bacteria

Primate phylogeny - E. coli on coloured agar Art and science collide on a website... more

ironicbliss
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2 years ago
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Rock-Breathing Bacteria Could Generate Electricity

A discovery by scientists at the Univ. of East Anglia could contribute to the... more

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Transgene from GM Corn Found in Soil-Dwelling Animals

Despite evidence that transgenes (from species other than the "engineered" species) in genetically modified (GM) plants can persist in the soil, little research has been done to determine the extent of such contamination. This is an important issue because environmental contamination by transgenes "hazardous implications for environmental health, including human safety," according to Canadian scientists who recently tested various soil-dwelling animals for the transgene (responsible for resistance to the herbicide glyphosate) present in GM Roundup Ready® corn.

They collected the animals in May, August, and October (macroarthropods and nematodes) or in May and August (microarthropods and earthworms) from a field of Round-up Ready® corn.

The transgene was present in all types of animals on all collection dates, with the exception of nematodes collected in August. About 81% of nematodes collected in October tested positive for the transgene.

More than one-third of microarthropods (thrips, collembolans, and mites) tested positive. And slightly more than 10% of macroarthropods (mostly various insects) and earthworms tested positive.

Concentrations of the transgene tended to decrease in nematodes and earthworms and to increase in arthropods during the growing season. Levels of the transgene in the soil (free of plant tissues) were usually considerably lower than levels in the animals. The scientists who conducted this experiment rather matter-of-factly note: "Whether the presence of transgenes in the soil food web presents a risk for soil animals is not known."

We admit to being quite astounded by this statement, which appears to indicate that GM crops are being used far and wide without a clear understanding of their effects on the environment!

The bottom line is that (for the first time after years of commercial cropping of GM plants) there is "evidence for large concentrations of transgenic DNA in animals from the food web associated with RoundUp Ready® corn.

This indicates that the transgene does not significantly degrade within the food web.

Further, the guts of these animals may provide opportunity for genetic transformation into native soil bacteria." And that last "opportunity" might lead to movement of transgenes into non-GM plants and ultimately pose risks to human health.

It could very well be the case that the commercialization of GM crops will produce animals containing genes that could do great harm to humanity. A perhaps enormously problematic can of worms (and bugs), indeed!

Reference: Miranda M. Hart (Dept. of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, CANADA N1G 2W1), et al., "Detection of Transgenic cp4 epsps Genes in the Soil Food Web," Agronomy for Sustainable Development 29(4), October/December 2009, 497-501. (EDP Sciences, 875 Massachusetts Ave., 7th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139.)Despite evidence that transgenes (from species other than the "engineered"... more

JanforGore
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Food Safety 101 (MWV33)

Whether you are making lunch for work, school or a summer picnic, knowing what food to... more

csuspect
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2 years ago
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How Viruses Destroy Bacteria

Viruses are well known for attacking humans and animals, but some viruses instead... more

Simon_Ruymaekers
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2 years ago
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Are we smarter than bacteria?

Are we that much different from any other life form? Do we all meet the same fate?

loupetho
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2 years ago
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Pfizer Vaccine Halted After Baby Deaths

"The Dutch health institute RIVM has stopped the distribution of a batch of... more

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2 years ago
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Researchers reveal key to how bacteria can clear mercury pollution

A new discovery by scientists at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Oak Ridge... more

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2 years ago
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Dangerous microbe thrives in shower heads

Shower heads are a perfect environment for a dangerous bacteria related to... more

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2 years ago
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Dangerous staph germs found at West Coast beaches

Dangerous staph bacteria have been found in sand and water for the first time at five public beaches along the coast of Washington, and scientists think the state is not the only one with this problem.

The germ is MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus – a hard-to-treat bug once rarely seen outside of hospitals but that increasingly is spreading in ordinary community settings such as schools, locker rooms and gyms.

The germ causes nasty skin infections as well as pneumonia and other life-threatening problems. It spreads mostly through human contact. Little is known about environmental sources that also may harbor the germ.

Finding it at the beach suggests one place that people may be picking it up, said Marilyn Roberts, a microbiologist at the University of Washington in Seattle.

"We don't know the risk" for any individual going to a beach, she said. "But the fact that we found these organisms suggests that the level is much higher than we had thought."

She presented results Saturday at an American Society for Microbiology conference in California. Last year, her team reported finding a different type of bacteria, enterococci, at five West Coast beaches. And earlier this year, University of Miami researchers reported finding staph bacteria in four out of 10 ocean water samples collected by hundreds of bathers at a South Florida beach.

Many communities also commonly restrict bathing at beaches because of contamination with fecal bacteria.

In the new study, researchers tested 10 beaches in Washington along the West Coast and in Puget Sound from February to September 2008. Staph bacteria were found at nine of them, including five with MRSA. The strains resembled the highly resistant ones usually seen in hospitals, rather than the milder strains acquired in community settings, Roberts said.

No staph was found in samples from two beaches in southern California.

People should not avoid beaches or be afraid to enjoy them, scientists say.

"It's probably prudent to shower when you come out" to lower the risk of bacteria staying on the skin, said Dr. Lance Peterson, a microbiologist at NorthShore University Health System in Evanston, Ill.

"Make sure you get all the sand off," and cover any open cuts or scrapes before playing in the sand, Roberts added. Digging in the sand or being buried in it seems to raise the risk of infection, she said.Dangerous staph bacteria have been found in sand and water for the first time at five... more

Future_America
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2 years ago
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Super Honey Helps Fight Off MRSA Superbugs

Honey lovers, you have a whole new reason to feel dedicated to the sweet sticky stuff.... more

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2 years ago
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Prospector's Health Tonic Tricks (they didn't have no vaccines)

Naturally Repair: Diabetics, Parkinson's, Multiple Sclerosis and... more

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2 years ago
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Rosetta Stone of bacterial communication may have been found

"Quorum sensing is a cell-to-cell communication mechanism that enables bacteria... more

johnadam33
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2 years ago
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