Jan 16 In the Alaskan tundra, scientists dig up dirt on future climate change By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy For thousands of years, Arctic grasses and plants have taken carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When the plants die, they are frozen in the tundra soil, making a vault of trapped carbon. As the planet warms, the vault is opening,… Continue reading
Oct 22 Watch Ebola sounds scary, but these diseases are the real health threat By PBS News Hour Ebola remains at the forefront of public safety concerns, but there are a number of illnesses that pose a far greater health risk. Hari Sreenivasan speaks to Dr. William Schaffner, the chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt… Continue watching
Aug 14 Study finds fivefold increase in superbug infection rate By Charles Pulliam-Moore A recent study by Duke University found that carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), a superbug with a mortality rate of nearly 50 percent, is on the rise. Continue reading
Jun 11 Suffocating cells for science By Jenny Marder If you believe that all living things need oxygen to breathe, you’re not only wrong, but hopelessly human-centric. But don’t be too hard on yourself. Most mammals are biased toward multicellular organisms. It’s true that humans, along with mammals, birds,… Continue reading
May 02 Nanosponges soak up superbugs and even snake venom in your blood By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy Drug-resistant bacteria are difficult to treat, even deadly. But instead of pummeling the bugs with drugs, what if you could soak them up with a sponge? That's what engineer Liangfang Zhang at the University of California San Diego is trying… Continue reading
Apr 23 Can we save our body’s ecosystem from extinction? By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy The sheer amount of bacteria in and on your body weighs three to four pounds, the same weight as the human brain. But overuse of antibiotics is threatening the microbes our guts need, and possibly giving rise to modern plagues. Continue reading
Dec 16 Watch FDA examines safety and effectiveness of antibacterial soaps Recent research suggests that chemicals in antibacterials soaps can interfere with hormone levels and spur the growth of drug-resistant bacteria, prompting the FDA to propose new rules for manufacturers to prove their products are more effective than regular soap and… Continue watching
Oct 22 Watch How societal, economic factors play into rise of drug-resistant bacteria How societal, economic factors play into rise of drug-resistant bacteria… Continue watching
Oct 22 Watch Excerpt from FRONTLINE’S ‘Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria’ Excerpt from FRONTLINE'S 'Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria'… Continue watching
Jun 21 Watch Carl Zimmer on Bird Flu and Beyond Hari interviews Carl Zimmer on his book, "A Planet of Viruses."… Continue watching