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German company Wasser 3.0, however, thinks it may have found the answer to cleaning up microplastic pollution before it reaches the ocean — using a whirlpool and a specially developed hybrid silica gel. Courtesy Wasser 3.0 gGmbH | Philipp BrüderleThe hybrid silica gel consists of silicone-based chemicals called organosilanes, and is non-toxic, says Schuhen. During a 12-month trial at the Landau site, around 600 pounds of microplastics were removed, says Schuhen. Some scientists have suggested using magnetic fluids to separate microplastics from water or sticky film made of bacteria, but these processes are in their early stages. Schuhen says that Wasser 3.0 is an affordable, scalable and simple solution to the global problem of microplastic pollution.

☆ NAACP says Jackson’s water problems are civil rights issue
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Brad Vest / Getty Images fileThe U.S. Justice Department is working to improve Jackson’s water system. There were warnings the Jackson water system was struggling before it failed. Tate Reeves, a Republican, has blamed Jackson’s water problems on mismanagement by city leaders. Reeves declared an emergency for the water system in late August and brought in out-of-state crews to help make repairs. Before the city’s latest water crisis, though, Reeves expressed his own opposition to state funding for Jackson water improvements, saying he wants to hold down Mississippi’s overall debt level.

☆ Lawsuit says woman gave birth alone on Maryland jail floor
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A woman who said she was left to give birth to her baby alone on the dirty, concrete floor of her jail cell in Maryland filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday alleging that jail nurses ignored her screams and pleas for help for six hours. A fellow inmate, hearing Valentine’s pleas, called Valentine’s boyfriend, who called the jail pleading with staffers to help her, the lawsuit said. The nurses also ignored a concern raised by a jail deputy about Valentine but he did not contact any superiors, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit is similar to one filed in 2019 by a woman who gave birth alone in Denver’s jail the year before, claiming that nurses and deputies ignored her pleas for help for five hours. Previously, decisions about whether to move a pregnant inmate were left to jail nurses but deputies were authorized to call for an ambulance for someone in labor.

☆ ‘I’ve always wanted to be a tree’: Human composting starts to catch on
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

The bill took cues from Washington state, where lawmakers in 2019 became the first in the U.S. to legalize human composting and where a nascent industry is growing. Four Washington state funeral facilities are now licensed to perform natural organic reduction, according to Rob Goff, the executive director of the Washington State Funeral Directors Association. California’s law will give regulators with the state’s Cemetery and Funeral Bureau until 2027 to create regulations for a human composting program. The know-how behind human composting began in ranchers’ fields. Human composting could instead help soils sequester carbon and provide nutrients for plant life.

☆ Pakistan floods: Children face a new disaster -- diarrhea, dengue and other waterborne diseases
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Sophia Saifi Rhea Mogul Anna Coren Sandi Sidhu Javed Iqbal Sameer Mandhro | Sophia Saifi | Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A sick baby waits to be seen at the Mother and Child Healthcare Hospital in Pakistan’s Sindh province. Credit: Javed Iqbal/CNNDozens more children sleep cramped together on beds in the facility’s emergency room; some unconscious from their illness, others crying in pain. And then our patients came in like the floods,” said Dr. Nazia Urooj, physician in-charge at the hospital’s children emergency unit. This is the face of a near unprecedented health crisis unfolding across Pakistan – but for many, help is not arriving. In Sindh, one of the worst-impacted provinces, villages have been completely cut off, making it nearly impossible for families to seek help for their sick children.

☆ 2 companies were fined $325,000 after the EPA said they falsely marketed a pesticide as a weapon against COVID-19
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Zoono USA and Zoono Holdings were collectively fined $325,000. The EPA has reached settlements with the two companies: Zoono USA will pay a $205,000 civil penalty and Zoono Holdings will pay $120,000. Zoono USA and Zoono Holdings are owned by the New Zealand company Zoono Group. "Zoono Holdings takes regulatory responsibilities very seriously and as soon as Zoono Holdings received notification from the E.P.A. Zoono Group, Zoono USA, and United Airlines didn't immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Melting ice in Alaska is forming new lakes full of bacteria 'belching' methane into the atmosphere, NASA scientist warns
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NASA is studying "thermokarsts" in Alaska, lakes that appear as permafrost there thaws. Walter Anthony has been working with NASA's ABoVE project to study Big Trail lake's effect on climate change. "As they decompose it, they are belching out methane gas," she said. Walter Antony is seen in a kayak on Big Trail lake in Alaska. It's only the newer lakes, like Big Trail, which appeared less than 50 years ago, that give off high levels of the gas.

☆ FDA acknowledges delays in response to baby formula shortage
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration acknowledged Tuesday that its response to the U.S. infant formula shortage was slowed by delays in processing a whistleblower complaint and test samples from the nation’s largest formula factory. It comes nearly eight months after the FDA shuttered Abbott’s Michigan plant due to safety concerns, quickly slashing domestic production within the highly concentrated formula industry. The FDA also faced challenges ramping up its testing capacity for cronobacter, a rare but potentially deadly bacteria repeatedly linked to outbreaks in baby formula. U.S. inventories of baby formula have been improving, hitting in-stock rates above 80% last week, according to IRI, a market research firm. That review is being led by former FDA commissioner Dr. Jane Henney, who led the agency during the final years of the Clinton administration.

☆ We visited Chris Sacca-backed Epoch Biodesign's London HQ. The startup wants to clamp down on pollution with plastic eating enzymes.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Epoch Biodesign, a startup converting plastic to chemicals using enzymes, has raised $14.5 million. Epoch Biodesign uses plastic-eating enzymes as a base and scientifically alters them to produce a specific chemical from the consumed plastic. Epoch Biodesign is also developing enabling technologies to do this cheaper, faster, better, and at greater scale. This is a colony picker, one the machines used test and select Epoch Biodesign's enzymes in the lab. In the long run, Epoch Biodesign expects to license out its technology so it isn't running facilities itself.

☆ Why a top Roche scientist is leaving after 25 years to join a rising biotech startup using fungi to make new drugs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

After 25 years at the pharma giant Roche, the drug hunter Martin Stahl is leaving to join a biotech. CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts — A longtime drug-hunting veteran is leaving one of the largest drugmakers to lead the science division at the biotech startup LifeMine Therapeutics, Insider has learned. FogPharmaThe big draw for Stahl was LifeMine's approach to discovering drugs. With its genetic-database approach, LifeMine hopes to greatly speed up how long it takes to develop fungi-derived drugs. Stahl said LifeMine's approach leaned on nature, rather than medicinal chemists, to design the drugs.

☆ How Dentists Keep Their Own Teeth Healthy
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-08 | by ( Hannah Seo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

How Dentists Keep Their Own Teeth HealthyThey brush, floss and rinse after every meal. Dr. Quinonez and Dr. Tapper try to keep their mouths as pristine as possible at all times. That means brushing first thing in the morning to dislodge “the bacteria that has been sitting in the mouth all night,” Dr. Quinonez said, and rinsing with mouthwash for fresh breath. Then, they brush, floss and rinse after each meal of the day, if their schedule permits.

☆ 3 charts show how extreme climate helped spread 218 infectious diseases, from leprosy to COVID-19
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-01 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

A new study shows extreme weather, ocean changes, and land disruption have already helped spread more than 200 pathogens. That's an extreme case of climate change creating new contact between humans and infectious diseases, but the phenomenon is widespread. Extreme heat waves, for example, can kill off many infectious viruses, bacteria, fungi, and the creatures that spread them. Whatever survives, however, is adapted to extreme heat — including the fever our bodies produce to kill off pathogens. David Ryder/Getty ImagesHumans and their infrastructure are more vulnerable to the devastating impacts of disease when they're compromised by extreme weather.

☆ 'Survivor' players reveal what it's really like to compete on the show
▼ + stars: | 2022-03-11 | by ( Meghan Cook | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

Former "Survivor" players told Insider what competing on the reality series is really like. Sleeping arrangements are rougher than viewers might thinkTom Laidlaw and Elaine Stott at camp on "Survivor: Island of the Idols." For more details, read 'Survivor' players reveal how the show chooses their only outfit and what it's like wearing it for up to 39 days. For more details, read 'Survivor' players break down 5 moments they wished aired on the show and 4 they're relieved didn't. For more details, read 'Survivor' players reveal what it was like getting their periods on the island.

Persons: —, Tyson Apostol, Apostol, Goliath, Davie Rickenbacker, he'd, Rickenbacker, Russell Swan, Malcolm Freberg, Andrea Boehlke, Jeff Probst, Probst, Elaine Stott, Stott, Jeff, Greg Gayne, Freberg, that's Mark Burnett, Tom Laidlaw, Lauren, Ashley Beck, Beck, We'd, Karishma Patel, Patel, Parvati, You've, — Beck, Kellee Kim, Noura Salman, he's, Boehlke, that's, Eddie Fox, she's, Tommy Sheehan, Dean Kowalski, Dan Spilo, Jamal Shipman, Shipman, Elaine, they're, vaginas, Aaron Meredith, Monica Culpepper, Gervase Peterson, doesn't, Apostol didn't, I've, Kim, David, Gabby Pascuzzi, Christian Hubicki, Nick Wilson Organizations: Service, CBS, FILA, Getty, Ivy League Locations: Philippines, There's, Fiji, didn't

It takes about 20 aloe leaves to make just one gallon of aloe vera juice. But some aloe products have been found to contain no aloe at all. Narrator: So how are real aloe vera products made? Narrator: A 2016 Bloomberg investigation found that Walmart, CVS, and Target's aloe products contain no evidence of aloe at all. When they "aloe gel," is it a gel that's made from blending up the whole leaf, or is it truly just pure aloe gel?

Persons: Rudy Colón, Ruben Martinez, Aloe barbadensis Miller, They're, Rudy, Mesa, Leonel, what's, Ruben, Jesus Santiago Jaquez, ConsumerLab.com, they're, there's, There's, It's, Tod, Todd, it's Organizations: Universal, Jason, Bloomberg, Walmart, CVS, FDA Locations: Dominican Republic, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Împreună cu Violeta Tărîță, ingineră coordonatoare în Secția Sănătate nutrițională și a copiilor din cadrul ANSP, îți explicăm unele aspecte importante în conservarea alimentelor. PublicitateDe ce nu se pune aspirină în conserveDeja de foarte mulți ani, aspirina nu se folosește în calitate de conservant, explică inginera tehnologă Violeta Tărîță. Dacă vrei, poți să o tai, dacă nu – o pui în congelator cât pentru o ciorbă. Cât păstrăm dulcețurile și compoturileDulcețurile nu se păstrează mult timp – cel mult doi ani și doar în beci. Fotografiile/infograficele de pe platforma moldova.org pot fi preluate în număr de maxim 2 bucăți per material și doar cu menționarea Moldova.org și numele autorului/autoarei.

Persons: murat ., Împreună, Violeta Tărîță, Tușonca Locations: mura, verdeața

☆ O bacterie "miraculoasă" introdusă în țânțari a micşorat cazurile de febră Dengue cu 77%
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-10 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +3 min

Oamenii de știință au folosit țânțari infectați cu o bacterie "miraculoasă", care reduce capacitatea insectei de a răspândi virusul. Febra Dengue nu era o boală cunoscută acum 50 de ani, însă s-a transformat într-o pandemie lentă și numărul cazurilor a crescut puternic. Wolbachia nu rănește țântarul, însă bacteria este găzduită de insectă în aceeași parte a corpului pe unde intră virusul care provoacă febra Dengue. Orașul indonezian Yogyakarta City a fost împărțit în 24 de zone, iar țânțarii au fost eliberați în doar jumătate dintre acestea. Doctorul Yudiria Amelia, coordonatorul programului de prevenenire a bolilor din Yogyakarta City, s-a declarat încâtată de rezultat.

Persons: Katie Anders, Anders, Bacteria, Doctorul Yudiria Amelia, David Hamer Organizations: BBC, Universitatea din Locations: Yogyakarta City, Indonezia, City, New England, Universitatea din Boston

☆ Mușcătura de căpușe la copii; Medic infecționist: „Poate cauza boli grave”
▼ + stars: | 2021-05-24 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +9 min

Sursa foto: kidadl.comMușcătura de căpușe la copii; Medic infecționist: „Poate cauza boli grave”Venirea sezonului cald presupune ieșiri mai frecvente în aer liber, plimbări în parc, în pădure sau câmp. Alături de bucuria timpului petrecut afară apare și riscul de fi mușcat de căpușă. Această maladie se manifestă la om în urma unei înțepături sau mușcături a unei căpușe contaminate și a unui contact direct om-insectă de 17h - 48h”, a spus medicul infecționist. De asemenea, trebuie verificate hainele și corpul copiilor, dar și a blănii animalelor de companie. Stadiul I presupune depistarea precoce a bolii care durează 1-4 săptămâni din momentul înțepăturii.

Persons: Mariana Avricenco, Mariana, căpușe Locations: borelioza, Lyme, Crimeea, Congo

☆ How long humans could survive in space without a spacesuit
▼ + stars: | 2021-05-13 | by ( Rob Ludacer | David Anderson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

You could only last 15 seconds without a spacesuit — you'd die of asphyxiation or you'll freeze. Narrator: What would happen if you went to space without a spacesuit? The vacuum of space will pull the air from your body. So if there's air left in your lungs, they will rupture. Either way, your body will remain that way for a long time.

☆ Cercetătorii vor să elimine microplasticele poluante cu ajutorul unor bacterii
▼ + stars: | 2021-04-28 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +2 min

Sursa foto: libertatea.roCercetătorii vor să elimine microplasticele poluante cu ajutorul unor bacteriiMicrobiologii au găsit o modalitate pentru a îndepărta microplasticele poluante din mediul înconjurător, cu ajutorul bacteriilor, scrie The Guardian. Cercetătorii de la Universitatea Politehnică din Hong Kong (PolyU) vor să folosească această proprietate a bacteriilor pentru a recicla microplasticele din apa poluată. Ele se dispersează în apele reziduale și ajung în ocean, fiind ingerate de animalele marine. Cu toate că sunt o reală problemă, oamenii de știință nu au găsit până acum nici o modalitate durabilă de a elimina microplasticele. Experimentul a fost însă realizat în laborator, nu în condiții reale, în ocean sau canalizare.

Persons: Lang Liu, Liu, dr . Joanna Sadler Organizations: Universitatea Politehnică, Universitatea din Locations: Hong Kong, Universitatea din Edinburgh

☆ Oamenii de știință au creat un organism sintetic unicelular care se poate multiplica la fel ca unul biologic
▼ + stars: | 2021-03-30 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +3 min

Strychalski şi colegii ei doresc să construiască senzori vii care să poată realiza măsurători din mediul ambiant, monitorizând aciditatea, temperatura şi nivelurile de oxigen. Până să ajungă acolo, cercetătorii trebuie să descifreze misterele celulei la nivel fundamental, înainte de a încerca să le manipuleze în organismele obţinute sintetic. Prin crearea liniei celulare JCVI-syn3.0 cercetătorii au dorit să afle ce gene sunt absolut esenţiale pentru supravieţuirea şi funcţionarea minim-normală a unui organism unicelular, şi respectiv care dintre gene sunt de prisos. După ani de muncă, cercetătorii au obţinut linia celulară JCVI-syn3A, formată din celule ce conţin un total de 492 de gene. Şapte dintre aceste gene au o importanţă critică pentru un proces normal de diviziune celulară.

Persons: Elizabeth Strychalski Organizations: Agerpres, National Institute, NIST

În timp ce experiența infecției Covid-19 la pacienții cu TBC rămâne limitată, se anticipează că persoanele bolnave de TBC și Covid-19 pot avea rezultate mai slabe la tratament, mai ales dacă tratamentul pentru TBC este întrerupt. TBC rămâne unul dintre cei mai letali criminali infecțioși din lume. TBC multidrogrezistentă (MDR-TBC) rămâne o criză de sănătate publică și o amenințare la adresa sănătății. Mortalitatea prin tuberculoză pentru anul 2019 a constituit 5,9 la 100 mii populație (209 cazuri), comparativ cu 2018 – 6,5 la 100 mii populație (232 cazuri). În anul 2019, rata tuberculozei rezistente la medicamente a constituit 18,6% printre cazurile noi și 39,3% printre cazurile de tratament repetat.

Locations: Moldova

☆ Cele mai letale pandemii din istoria umanităţii
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-05 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +10 min

De-a lungul istoriei pojarul a provocat moartea a 200 de milioane de persoane ca urmare a inflamaţiei pulmonare sau a meningelui. Aşa-numita "gripa spaniolă" din 1918 a provocat tot atâţia morţi ca Primul Război Mondial, iar unii experţi asigură că acest conflict mondial s-a încheiat din cauza epidemiei. Infecţia cu virusul imunodeficienţei umane (HIV) a fost raportată pentru prima dată în anul 1981 în Statele Unite. Până în prezent, SIDA a provocat moartea a 25 de milioane de persoane şi rămâne un mare risc pentru societate. A fost cea de-a treia pandemie de gripă din secolul XX şi s-a declanşat în 1968, când a provocat moartea a aproape un milion de oameni.

Persons: -, Mongolii, Pandemia, OMS Organizations: Agerpres, OMS Locations: Ruse, Spania, Europa, Crimeea, Islandei, Statele Unite, Africa, Asia de Sud, Haiti, Hong Kong, China, Sankt Petersburg, deşi

☆ O noua boala ia amploare in...
▼ + stars: | 2020-11-05 | by ( ) www.realitatea.md time to read: +1 min

Peste 6.000 de persoane din oraşul Lanzhou, capitala provinciei Gansu din nord-vestul Chinei, au fost testate pozitiv pentru bruceloză, a anunţat guvernul local. Focarul de îmbolnăviri a apărut după ce o bacterie a fost scăpată anul trecut dintr-un laborator al unei companii bio-farmaceutice care produce vaccinuri pentru animale, relatează Reuters. Noua cifră arată aproape o dublare a cazurilor - de la 3.245 de rezultate pozitiv la 14 septembrie. În consecinţă, sterilizarea a fost incompletă iar bacteriile au fost încă prezente în emisiile de gaze ale companiei - uzina bio-farmaceutică din Lanzhou pentru creşterea animalelor. Biroul sanitar din Lanzhou a declarat că bacteria a provenit în general de la oi, bovine şi porci.

Persons: Reuters Organizations: Global Times Locations: Lanzhou, Gansu, Chinei, Bruceloza

According to the report, 49% of those purchases under $10 were in cash. However, according to new data from Square, which creates mobile payment technology, the use of cash is declining. According to the report, in 2015, consumers paid with cash for 46% of transactions under $20. In 2019, consumers paid with cash for only 37% of transactions under $20. Here are 10 reasons why America should go cashless post-coronavirus — and five reasons why we shouldn't.

Persons: Ted Rossman, It's, — Locations: America

☆ Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop must stop making bogus claims about its $66 'vaginal eggs' because of a legal settlement. Here's the real science.
▼ + stars: | 2018-09-05 | by ( Hilary Brueck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

A "vaginal egg" will not balance your hormones, regulate your menstrual cycle, or help with bladder control. On Tuesday, Goop settled a lawsuit brought by the Santa Clara District Attorney’s office and others that alleged the company's claims about its "vaginal eggs" were hogwash. Candace Lowry/YoutubeThe statement added: "Goop provides a forum for practitioners to present their views and experiences with various products like the jade egg. I need to start my jade egg practice," she said with a laugh. Jen Gunter, a California-based obstetrician and gynecologist, wrote a widely cited blog post in 2017 about why Goop's vaginal jade eggs are a bad idea.

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