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ScienceHealthMeasles Is Back With a Vengeance, Killed 200,000 in 2019
A new report from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlights a bleak reality: Measles, the highly contagious but vaccine-preventable viral illness, infected at least 860,000 people and killed over 200,000 worldwide in 2019—a roughly 50% jump in deaths from 2016. Sadly, the covid-19 pandemic is likely to make … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHuman HistoryScientists Reconstruct ‘Lola’ After Finding Her DNA in 5,700-Year-Old ‘Chewing Gum’
Scientists in Denmark have squeaked out an entire human genome from a prehistoric piece of “chewing gum.” Made from birch tar, the 5,700-year-old gum also contained evidence of diet and disease and is providing a remarkable snapshot of life during the early Neolithic. Lola was a Neolithic female who lived in Denmark some 5,700 years … Continued
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ScienceSpace & SpaceflightThe International Space Station Is a Cesspool of Bacteria and Fungi, Study Finds
An extensive survey of bacteria and fungi on surfaces inside the International Space Station has revealed an astonishing number of microorganisms living among the astronauts—the health impacts of which aren’t entirely clear. Since it was first established in 1998, the International Space Station has been visited by hundreds of astronauts (227 to be exact). These … Continued
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ScienceHealthCleaning Your Baby’s Pacifier by Sucking on It Prevents Allergies, New Research Suggests
It’s a scene parents and caregivers are all too familiar with: an infant’s pacifier falls to the floor. When this happened with my first born, I rushed to clean the soiled soother by boiling it in water or carefully washing it in the sink. But by the time my second child was born, I was … Continued
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ScienceHealth
Scientists Peer Inside the Disgusting Cloud of Living Things That Surrounds You Daily
From the minute we’re born, we’re surrounded by a swarm of things not visible to the human eye—dangerous pathogens, harmless microbes, and a wide assortment of chemicals. A new study out of Stanford University seems to illuminate this hidden world, and the results are admittedly both cool and terrifying. Typically, when scientists want to know … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
Jet Hand Dryers Are Basically Germ Cannons, Study Finds
It’s long been suspected that hand dryers, especially those quick-drying ones that blast hot air known as jet dryers, are actually way worse at keeping our hands and bathrooms free of disease-causing germs. Worryingly, they could even be spreading illness in hospital bathrooms, new research suggests. Researchers in the UK, France, and Italy teamed up … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
For Some People, Taking Probiotics May Actually Harm Normal Gut Bacteria
A pair of new studies published Thursday are the latest to suggest probiotic supplements might not be as universally useful as their proponents believe. In a series of experiments involving mice and healthy human volunteers, the Israeli researchers found that probiotics only sometimes do what they’re advertised to do: change the makeup of our gut’s … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
You Don’t Even Want to Know the Results of This Airport Germ Study
New research identifies the various ways in which we’re most likely to come into contact with communicable diseases at airports. Turns out that toilets are surprisingly clean, but the same cannot be said for those plastic bins used at airport security, which are absolutely covered in viruses. Airports are stressful even in the best of … Continued
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ScienceHealth
Hong Kong Subway Study Shows How Quickly Bacteria Travel Across a City
If you’re one of the billions of people worldwide to use mass public transit regularly, you’re sharing a lot more than a commute with your fellow passengers, suggests a new study published Tuesday in Cell Reports. You’re also sharing and swapping the teeming microbes that call our bodies home. Researchers in Hong Kong—home to a … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealth
For the Love of God, Keep Your Literal Ass Away From the Pool When You’re Sick
Given that summer is somehow only a short while off for Americans, here’s a timely reminder courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Please, we beg you, keep your disgusting butt away from the swimming pool or hot tub if you’re feeling the least bit like you might have diarrhea. On Thursday, the CDC … Continued
By Ed Cara -
Tech News
Houseflies Are More Capable of Spreading Disease Than We Realized
It’s never a nice feeling to watch a fly land on your next bite of food, but as new research shows, you may be justified in wanting to toss that delicious morsel in the garbage. New research published in Scientific Reports shows that two common flies—houseflies and blowflies—are capable of carrying hundreds of different bacteria—a … Continued
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Tech NewsSploid
A seemingly never ending microscopic zoom reveals the gross tiny germs
BoingBoing says this crazy zooming GIF is that of an amphipod. Or well, it starts with an amphipod and then moves into diatom and then reveals the bacterium. Which, well, cool. But also totally gross to imagine all the little invisible critters and germs on any given surface at any given time. SPLOID is delicious … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
This Water Bottle Filters All Germs As You Drink
Worry about dirty water when you’re traveling, biking or hiking and don’t want to fuss with a complicated, heavy filter or pollute the taste of your drinking water with chemical treatments? This new Naked Filter from Liquidity promises to remove “99.9999%” of bacteria and protozoa as you sip. There’s obviously already a ton of water … Continued
By Wes Siler -
ScienceHealthA Jacket That Protects You From Germs on Public Transit
The growing bedbug issue on New York’s subways sounds pretty awful, but you know what’s worse? All the parasites and invisible germs you don’t see while taking public transit. You might as well be rolling around in a petri dish when you step on a bus, unless you’ve got protection. Say, gallons of hand sanitizer, … Continued
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io9
This Is How Ridiculously Fast Viruses Can Spread In The Workplace
How long does it take a single virus to spread around a busy facility? As new research points out, disturbingly quickly. Using tracer viruses, researchers from the University of Arizona in Tucson found that the contamination of just a single doorknob or table top can result in the rapid dissemination of viruses throughout office buildings, … Continued
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io9
Behold the Scough, the miraculous germ filtering scarf
Tired of the disgusting masses hacking their lung butter all over your face? Sick of inhaling poisonous chemicals during your daily commute? Then you need the Scough — part scarf, part medical filter mask. Now you can say “away germs” discreetly, while maintaining your keen fashion sense. First, check out this video collection of the … Continued
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Tech NewsScience Says Not to Wash Your Chicken Before You Cook It
Here’s something to bring up the next time you’re eating after being a winner winner: you don’t actually have to wash the raw chicken with water before you cook it. In fact, science is saying that it’s definitely worse to wash a chicken with water because you might spray all kinds of bacteria from the … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
Your Next Smartphone Screen Will Be Able to Disinfect Itself
Your phone is filthy. Anything that’s getting rubbed by your grimy little fingers on a ridiculously regular basis is going to be far from pristine. But Corning can help. Its newest revision of Gorilla Glass is not only ridiculously resilient, it also kills pesky germs all by itself. Corning discussed its upcoming display tech at … Continued
By Eric Limer
