Environment – Fob Blog

Environment

More than 100 bacteria species can flourish in microwave ovens

Even the microwave oven in your kitchen is not immune to bacteria. The irradiating environment within a microwave oven might seem inhospitable to microbes. But swabs from microwave ovens in several different locales identified over 100 bacterial strains, researchers report August 7 in Frontiers in Microbiology. This is the first time that scientists have documented […]

A whitish growth of Corynebacterium matruchotii bacteria

Environment

Some bacteria in your mouth can divide into as many as 14 cells at once

Among the more than 500 species of bacteria that thrive in the human mouth, one seems to play by its own rules. Rather than reproducing by splitting itself in two, like most bacteria do, Corynebacterium matruchotii divides into as many as 14 cells simultaneously, researchers report in the Sept. 10 Proceedings of the National Academy […]

A health care worker wearing medical protective gear checks on a young boy at an mpox treatment center.

Environment

Even as vaccines for mpox reach Africa, questions remain about the virus

When the virus that causes mpox jumped onto the international stage in 2022, countries around the world, including the United States, turned to vaccines targeting the closely related smallpox virus to curb its spread. Yet it wasn’t until 2024 that Africa, the continent where the virus emerged and first began spreading among people, received its […]

Yotam Ophir looks at the camera with a slight smile. He is standing in front of a bookcase full of books of different sizes and colors. Ophir has short, dark hair and has short beard and mustache.

Environment

This researcher studies how misinformation seeps into science and politics

TV stars and terrorists may appear to have little in common. But after watching YouTube videos by members of a violent terrorist organization, Yotam Ophir realized the two groups deploy similar tactics to connect with remote audiences. The terrorists dressed casually, stared straight at the camera when talking and narrated their pasts in gripping, plot-driven […]

Dionna Williams is smiling at the camera. They have short, dark hair and are wearing orange-rimmed eyeglasses and white lab coat. They are standing in a lab with their arms crossed.

Environment

HIV and illicit drugs are a bad mix. This scientist found an unexpected reason why

It was as a Ph.D. student that Dionna Williams realized the fundamental flaws in how medical science treats people who have HIV and also use illicit drugs or misuse prescription drugs. People in this group often have worse outcomes than people with HIV who don’t use these drugs. Drug use and addiction have been linked […]

Environment

Extreme heat and rain are fueling rising cases of mosquito-borne diseases

Extreme Climate Survey Scientific news is collecting questions from readers about how to navigate our planet’s changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can lead to extreme weather events? The extreme heat and rain are scary enough on their own, and it’s getting hotter with climate change. But […]

A row of fossilized teeth partly sticking out of dirt and rocks

Environment

Ancient DNA reveals a previously unknown lineage of Neanderthals

Extreme Climate Survey Scientific news is collecting questions from readers about how to navigate our planet’s changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can lead to extreme weather events? The possibility of an isolated long-term Neanderthal population in southwestern Europe supports the idea that these hominids “most likely […]

A pile of light brown roots of the ashwagandha plant on a white background

Environment

Can taking ashwagandha supplements improve health?

Extreme Climate Survey Scientific news is collecting questions from readers about how to navigate our planet’s changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can lead to extreme weather events? “There are a lot of scientific research studies on it,” says Yufang Lin, an integrative medicine specialist at the […]

Andrea Gomez is standing in an office, softly smiling and staring at the camera. She has dark hair that comes just above her shoulders and is wearing off-white button-up jacket.

Environment

A cell biologist is investigating the balance of brain flexibility, stability

Extreme Climate Survey Scientific news is collecting questions from readers about how to navigate our planet’s changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can lead to extreme weather events? Gomez’s research spans from tiny channels — for example, tiny channels called synapses that sprout between nerve cells — […]

Freek van Ede is facing the camera with a slight smile on his face. He has brown hair and full brown beard. He appears to be wearing a collared button up shirt, but we can

Environment

By studying the eyes, a researcher explores how the brain sorts information

Extreme Climate Survey Scientific news is collecting questions from readers about how to navigate our planet’s changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can lead to extreme weather events? Van Ede thinks of the brain as an organ of reception. Whether we’re riding a bike, driving a car, […]