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Bugs on Drugs: Devastating Effects of Pharmaceutical Pollution

An international team of researchers detected a vast sixty-nine pharmaceutical compounds in stream insects. When these insects emerge as flying adults, they can pass these drugs further to spiders, fish, birds, bats, and other streamside foragers. This way, drug pollution moves up food webs and in some cases exposes even top predators to therapeutically-effective doses. Read more

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Genetically Engineered Viruses Seek and Destroy E. coli in Drinking Water

Food scientists from Cornell University have developed a test for rapid detection of E. coli in drinking water using genetically-engineered bacteriophages. It can be administered locally in hard-to-reach areas around the world and provides results within hours. Obtaining quick and accurate results is a current bottleneck in preventing infection and could save many. Read more

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Water on Mars: Chasing Our New Home

Surface features such as canyons and valleys on the “Red Planet” suggest an abundance of liquid water in its geological past. Water vapors on Mars were first detected in the early 60s followed by observation of water-rich ice patches decades later, but it was not until 2011 that Lujendra Ojha, a Nepali undergraduate student, spotted signs of possible water flows on our neighboring planet. Read more

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Nose That Smells Bacteria in Water

Researchers from Seoul National University have developed a so called “bioelectronic nose” which works like a human nose and can detect bacteria in water.

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