SAN ANTONIO —
Viruses on your shower head and toothbrush
Viruses that have never been seen before are now being found on shower heads and tooth brushes.
Luckily, these new viruses microbiologists found in this new Northwestern-led study don't impact humans negatively. They actually fight off bacteria.
According to Northwestern Now the microorganisms collected in the study are bacteriophage, or “phage,” a type of virus that infects and replicates inside of bacteria.
Researchers are still trying to figure out more about these microorganisms but they have found one cool thing about these "phage." They have a potential use in treating antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.
“The number of viruses that we found is absolutely wild,” said Northwestern’s Erica M. Hartmann, who led the study, which was published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiomes. “We found many viruses that we know very little about and many others that we have never seen before. It’s amazing how much untapped biodiversity is all around us. And you don’t even have to go far to find it; it’s right under our noses.”
The impact of having a sweet tooth
Enjoying your favorite sweet treats could lead to some potential risks with your health, researchers say, and it's not just diabetes.
Researchers at the University of Surrey are finding the intake of sweets like cake and candy can put people at a higher risk of developing depression, diabetes, and of suffering a stroke.
"The foods that you like or dislike seem to directly link to your health. If your favorite foods are cakes, sweets, and sugary drinks, then our study's results suggest that this may have negative effects on your health. We found that the sweet tooth group are 31% more likely to have depression. We also found that the sweet tooth group had higher rates of diabetes, as well as vascular heart conditions, compared to the other two groups."
Fly brains
Scientists are looking into how animals keep track of where they are.
There's been a theory circulating for decades which was based on brain recordings from rodents, networks of neurons called ring attractor networks maintain an internal compass that keeps track of where you are in the world.
An accurate internal compass was thought to require a large network with many neurons, while a small network with few neurons would cause the compass’s needle to drift, creating errors.
Then researchers discovered an internal compass in the tiny fruit fly.
"The fly’s compass is very accurate, but it’s built from a really small network, contrary to what previous theories assumed,” says Janelia Group Leader Ann Hermundstad. “So, there was clearly a gap in our understanding of brain compasses.”
