Polish designer Roza Janusz has found a way to create fully edible, fully biodegradable food packaging out of a bacteria fermentation process. To produce the material, she starts with a kombucha SCOBY (aka symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) whi…
View More This fully edible food packaging material is the product of bacterial fermentationCategory: Bacteria
Scientists learn bacteria in your gut can produce electricity
Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, say that certain bacteria found in our bodies can produce an electric current. They figured this out after noticing that a bacteria that makes us sick also had similar properties. The discovery …
View More Scientists learn bacteria in your gut can produce electricityWe are closer to making a ‘universal’ blood type
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Researchers have been trying to make a “universal” blood type that anyone can receive, and it may be a reality soon — thanks to some researchers at the University of British Columbia, and to the bacteria in your guts. Read more…
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View More We are closer to making a ‘universal’ blood typeScientists made an awesome error that could save our planet from plastic hell
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A team of researchers from Britain’s University of Portsmouth and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory made an enzyme that can eat up plastic bottles. They were playing around with a known enzyme made by a bacteria that can break down plastic, and just so happened to make the enzyme even better. Read more…
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View More Scientists made an awesome error that could save our planet from plastic hellWe may have a new weapon to fight dangerous superbugs (and we’re gonna need it)
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There is a version of the near future where antibiotic resistant bacteria become more deadly than cancer.
A study released back in 2016 predicted that, if left unchecked, these types of bacteria could claim more than 10 million lives a year by 2050. Cancer currently kills 8 million people annually.
In the U.S. alone, antibiotic resistant bacteria already kills 20,000 people per year and infects millions more, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
It’s obvious that something needs to be done to mitigate the potential catastrophe, but so far an answer has been out of reach. Read more…
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We’re doing a really bad job of washing our hands, say government scientists
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After watching people prepare turkey burgers and salads in a variety of different kitchens, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers concluded that hand cleansing etiquette in America is pathetic.
A government report released on June 28 found study participants in kitchens where they were actively being watched failed to properly wash their hands 97 percent of the time.
This is especially poor cleaning behavior for the kitchen, where microbes can easily cross-contaminate food with the help of our hands.
“You can’t see, smell or feel bacteria. By simply washing your hands properly, you can protect your family and prevent that bacteria from contaminating your food and key areas in your kitchen,” Carmen Rottenberg, Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety at USDA, said in a statement. Read more…
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View More We’re doing a really bad job of washing our hands, say government scientistsThe CDC is terrified of these germs, so it’s trying to contain them
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can’t stop microbes from mutating and becoming resistant to even our strongest drugs. But it is working harder than ever to come up with an effective containment strategy to stop the spread of thes…
View More The CDC is terrified of these germs, so it’s trying to contain themFinding alien life probably won’t drive us into panic and chaos
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On a humid summer’s day in 1996, President Bill Clinton appeared on the South Lawn of The White House and announced that NASA had discovered what looked to be fossilized bacteria on a Martian meteorite.
It was unprecedented for a President to publicly address potential evidence of alien life — and on television. But the American public didn’t react to the unexpected announcement with panic, fear, or social upheaval.
“You didn’t see droves of people abandoning their religion, spouses, or jobs,” said Michael Varnum, an assistant professor of psychology at Arizona State University, in an interview. Read more…
More about Space, Science, Aliens, Bacteria, and Alien Planets
The Microsopic Freaks Crawling All Over Your Body Right Now
Read more…More about Bacteria, Parasites, Mashable Reels, Culture, and Animals
View More The Microsopic Freaks Crawling All Over Your Body Right Now3D printer uses living bacteria as ink, and could one day be used to treat burn wounds
Scientists from ETH Zurich invented a 3D printer ink that has the ability to incorporate living bacteria. “Flink” has the potential of many beneficial applications ranging from toxin detection in water tanks to skin replacement. Read more…More abou…
View More 3D printer uses living bacteria as ink, and could one day be used to treat burn woundsThat ‘alien’ bacteria on the Space Station? It’s probably not aliens.
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By now you should know that it’s (almost) never aliens.
Still, earlier this week, Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov told the Russian state news agency TASS that he had collected bacteria from outside of the International Space Station (ISS) that was from “outer space” — meaning that it’s of alien origin.
When contacted, the Russian space agency Roscosmos did not refute Shkaplerov’s claims. Instead, it shared two previous stories from TASS, one of which stated that the exterior of the Space Station might serve as a “temporary custodian of biomaterial of extraterrestrial origin.” By this rationale, perhaps bits of space rock or dust from a comet containing alien microbes could have smacked against the station — and stayed there. Read more…
More about Space, Science, International Space Station, Roscosmos, and Bacteria
View More That ‘alien’ bacteria on the Space Station? It’s probably not aliens.uBiome launches an at-home women’s health test for HPV, STI’s and bacterial vaginosis
SmartJane is a new women’s health test out from uBiome today that promises to check for 23 vaginal flora as well as 11 strains of the human papilloma virus and a string of sexually transmitted diseases like Chlamydia and gonorrhea from the comfort of your own home.
uBiome, which launched in 2012 to sequence and study the human microbiome, is best known for its at-home gut health test… Read More