Decrease in Wildlife, Increase in Disease

Back in the old days, rats were primarily responsible for spreading the black plague. Nowadays, new research shows that the increase in rats means an increase in disease and illness among humans. This study was conducted in East Africa, where researcher Hillary Young found a link between the spread in disease and the removal of large animals. Young and her team carried out this research by using electric fences to exclude large animals, like giraffes, lions, zebras and more, from getting into experimental land plots they set up. These land plots lacked the large animals on purpose, which led to a spike in rat population (as there weren’t enough predators to kill them off). With the rat population increasing, the disease risks go up and we humans are much more vulnerable to illness. In the end, this study shows how when wildlife declines, or gets disturbed, we become more vulnerable to disease.

            I found this article to be very well written and interesting. The author has a clear argument, which is that by killing larger animals in the wild, we as humans are putting ourselves in danger. The author holds this argument through statements provided by the researchers. One such statement by Hillary Young includes, "This spike in disease risk results from explosions in the number of rodents that benefit from the removal of the larger animals." The author also argues that this is another reason we should be protecting the large wildlife species. I agree with the author completely. Many of us don’t realize the harm we’re doing by killing large animals. Some people kill for the mere pleasure, to hang a trophy on their wall. What they don’t realize is that they are endangering themselves and other humans around them. This just goes to show what an impact we have on the environment and how harmful microbes can brew from unexpected places.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140429142201.htm

Microbe In Cat Could Be Affecting Your Mind...

Cat lover? You could be infected..

Do you ever feel like your cat is making you go absolutely crazy? Well, new studies suggest that cats may have a large effect on our minds, and microbes happen to play a part in this. A microbe called Toxoplasma gondii, which likes to live in cats, is the cause toxoplasmosis (a disease that is deadly to unborn children). This microbe can come into contact with humans through cat feces, which is why pregnant woman are advised to avoid cats’ litter boxes. Originally scientists didn’t believe that this microbe had much of an effect on humans, but that has recently changed due to a man by the name of Jaroslav Flegr. Flegr has long suspected that this microbe has had an effect on people’s minds, but nobody believed him. Finally, researchers looked into his theory and found surprising results. Through labs, researchers found that when T. gondii infected mice, those mice acted more excited than uninfected mice. The lab work they did suggested that the T. gondii essentially takes over the minds of these mice and makes them more attractive to cats. The reason is because T. gondii can only reproduce inside of cats, so its essential for this microbe to find a way back inside a cat.

            So how does this play a role into people? Well, according to studies, people seem to have more delayed reaction times while running through daily life when they’re infected. There is evidence that T. gondii affects the behaviors and mindsets of men differently than woman.

            This article was extraordinarily well written. It was full of scientific facts and references to scientists and researchers that played a role in this study. However, this study is so new that the information given is almost overwhelming. The author of the article compares this microbe to that of other “mind-controlling” microbes which makes the article much stronger. The author asks questions throughout the article and answers them through scientific data. Personally there is no real way to summarize this article, because it brings up new research, questions and concerns among the scientific community. If you have the chance, I highly recommend you read it!

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/how-your-cat-is-making-you-crazy/308873/

The Most Diverse Gut Microbiota

Researchers have recently discovered a unique microbial community lingering in the guts of African hunter-gatherers. This study began by means to show the difference in gut microbiomes based on location and diet. Researchers took stool samples from Hadza hunter-gatherers, Malawi people, Italians, and people from the USA.  The Hadza people had the most diverse micro biome of them all.

Many of the bacteria found in the gut of the Hadza people had never been seen before by researchers. Some of the bacteria found were in fact associated with diseases that would harm most people, but had no negative impact on the Hadza. The Hadza people mainly eat a diet of roots, berries, and game. Researchers found that the women happened to have more gut bacteria than the men, specific for breaking down roots. The men spend their days hunting, and though they eat the same diet, their gut microbiota still differ slightly. However, in general, these African hunter-gatherers have the most diverse microbiome among other people in the world.

The author of this article, Nick Stockton, presented it very well. Through the use of ethos, Nick backed up all of his information with scientific fact and research. He interviewed the researchers working on this study, including a nutritional anthropologist. He brings up a good point through the voice of a dietary ecologist, stating that we shouldn’t be eating like the Hadza people. The reason for this is because even if we do start eating just roots, berries, and game, our microbiome won’t adjust properly unless we lived in the same environment as the Hadza people.

http://www.wired.com/2014/04/hadza-hunter-gatherer-gut-microbiome/

Sea Otters Can Also Get the Flu..

Do any of you remember the H1N1 (also commonly referred to as the swine flu) virus pandemic in 2009? That same virus that infected millions of people world-wide has been found infecting sea otters. In 2011, researchers in Washington found that the sea otters there were infected with this virus, but they didn’t know how they got infected. In fact, these otters rarely came into contact with humans. Looking back at it, researchers still don’t know how the sea otters got infected. However, these aren’t the only animals that have been infected. Ducks, chickens, pigs, whales, horses and elephant seals have all been identified to carry the H1N1 virus. So what does this mean for other animals? What does this mean for us?     

The H1N1 virus is still affecting us to this day and was in fact in circulation during the 2013-2014 flu season. We know that we can transmit this flu among one another, but with animals to? Chickens, pigs, horses and ducks are commonly around people, so it makes a little more sense that they would contract the virus. However, these sea otters almost have no contact with humans. In fact, a good population of the marine world doesn’t have direct contact with humans. So how could this virus be spreading? The author does not make it clear how these animals are contracting the virus and what it means for them. If a horse can get the virus, then shouldn’t cats and dogs be able to as well? As researchers discover more animals contracting this virus, will they find a pandemic forming within the animal community? I think it’s important that researchers really look into this and discover the reason for this virus in animals, particularly ones in solitude like the sea otters, so they can figure out if it’s going to become a problem or not.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140408213619.htm

Microbes Responsible for Destroying our Sewers?

Concrete Dissolving Bacteria..

          Our sewers are harboring microbes, providing them with damp, humid environments that are well protected. According to researchers, thereare different families of microbes that live in this ecosystem, some of those that actually emit hydrogen sulfide.

 These particular microbes are responsible for the raw, gross smell that comes from our sewers. Meanwhile, a separate family of microbes is turning that hydrogen sulfide into sulfuric acid, which is eating away at the concrete in the sewers. This is essentially how microbes are destroying sewers, eating away at the concrete pipes. Researchers have been looking at ways to solve this, but have not yet come up with anything solid. They think maybe targeting the microbes with bacteriophages or antibiotics could help. However, researchers seem to think that they may be able to fight this problem with the problem itself. Meaning using microbes against microbes and letting them do their own thing. This is essentially what's happening at sewage treatment plants, which is pretty much just relying on microbes to treat our sewage.

          Personally, I think that allowing the microbes to do the treating is the best way. In our field trip to the ABQ water treatment plant, we learned that by using microbes to treat the sewage, we are treating it perfectly. However due to this article, it seems that there are plenty of other places that don't really have proper sewage treatment plans, or really any plans at all. I personally don't quite understand why that is, but a likely reason could be the change in environment. This brings up some questions for me. By treating the water at a treatment plant with microbes, are they killing two birds with one stone by also treating the concrete? Are these interconnected in any way? If our sewages continue to get eaten away at, what will that mean for us in the future? Can microbes save us from themselves?

 

http://gizmodo.com/concrete-dissolving-bacteria-are-destroying-our-nation-1553419185​

Detecting Bacteria In Food?

Detecting Bacteria?

Researchers have recently discovered a reliable method of detecting bacteria in fruits and vegetables. By using an advanced assay platform, researchers believe they have found the best method in detecting any pathogenic bacteria present. This assay essentially “lights up” any pathogenic bacteria that’s present, which notifies the workers of contaminated food. Of course, other factories are required to use bacteria-detection assays for the food industry, but often their assays don’t prove to be as reliable.

What makes this method so unique is how the factory workers do it. They started this process by injecting bacteriophages inside the food products. They take samples of all the products. Then they swab those samples with a sponge, waiting for the bacteriophages to target the bacteria. They run the sample through a machine that is meant to detect any light that is emitted. They track all their findings through the food company, looking and studying contamination patterns.

By detecting the bacteria early on, factory workers can in fact control what food goes to the markets and what doesn’t. This method is really important because it ensures that the food in the market is fresh and free of pathogenic bacteria. Most of us go to the market looking for the best, most fresh vegetables and fruits. Bacteriophages play such a major role in this process that it makes me wonder what else they can do. Their job is to infect bacteria, so the question is, what other bacteria can they infect that would further help us? Could we use bacteriophages in highly pathogenic areas to help clear some of the bacteria? In this instance, a virus is proven to be helpful. It would be interesting to know in what other ways viruses could be helpful with further research and discovery. 

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2014/brighter-future-for-bacteria-detection.html