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On Clostridium difficile and fecal transplants
by Josh Clark | November 11, 2011
Remember the MRSA scare of a couple years ago? Remember, it was before the swine flu scare but after the SARS and avian flu scares. For those who can’t recollect, MRSA is a potentially fatal, antibiotic-resistant staph infection, essentially a superbacterium that a lot of researchers believe is the result of the overuse of things like antibacterial soap and the misuse of antibiotic medications. One of the things that made it so frightening was that otherwise healthy people were catching it in hospitals.
Think about all of the preening and flirting we exert in order to obtain it, not to mention the relationship factors and potential baby-making that may go along with it when it finally happens. To evolutionary biologists, it’s an extremely inefficient design compared to asexual reproduction since we squander so many resources for sex, and they’re only now figuring out why sex exists.
There are now three companies, with three different technologies, that are claiming they can eliminate fossil fuels and replace them with something green and much less expensive. We have already talked about Joule Unlimited, which claims it can use modified E. coli bacteria to create diesel fuel at a $30/barrel equivalent price: The impossible has [...]
The Milky Sea: The Other Milky Way
by Amanda Arnold | November 9, 2010
“At first sight, the ocean seemed lactified,” wrote Jules Verne in his 1869 science fiction novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.” Lactified? Yep, that was Verne’s cute way of saying the ocean looked milky. And he wasn’t the first person to describe a “sea of milk” in the Indian Ocean. Since the 17th century, sailors have reported sightings of strange, milky-white waters, stretching as far as the eye can see. For the most part, these reports were shrugged off as tall tales. But it turns out the milky seas are real.
Scott writes in with this question:
“I’ve often wondered why half and half needs to be refrigerated, but the little containers of half and half found at many coffee shops and hotels state, “no refrigeration required.” I’ve looked closely at the labels and they claim to be real half and half. What do they put in these little containers that allow them to go forever without refrigeration?”
Bacterial life is one of the most hardy life forms on Earth. But the impressive talents of bacteria aren’t limited to durability. Tune in to learn more about the strange bacterial ability to sense quorums and communicate with other bacteria.
The smell of rain is often linked with spring, and it’s been alluded to in poems, songs and stories for centuries. But what exactly causes this distinctive smell? Tune in and find out.
The Five-Second Rule: To Eat or Not to Eat
by Charles W. Bryant | February 17, 2009
The cookie is on the kitchen floor and it’s decision time. Is there any scientific truth to the five-second rule? Chuck investigates and finds some interesting studies about this well-entrenched social code.
Cavities are formed by bacteria that excrete an acid onto the enamel of a tooth. Learn more about cavities and bacteria in this HowStuffWorks podcast.
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