In urban streams, pharmaceutical pollution is driving microbial resistance

Resilient bacteria might help streams but could threaten human health

(Millbrook, NY) In urban streams, persistent pharmaceutical pollution can cause aquatic microbial communities to become resistant to drugs. So reports a new study published today in the journal Ecosphere. 

Emma Rosi, an aquatic ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and lead author on the study explains, "Wastewater treatment facilities are not equipped to remove many pharmaceutical compounds. We were interested in how stream microorganisms - which perform key ecosystem services like removing nutrients and breaking down leaf litter - respond to pharmaceutical pollution." 

Sun, Wind, and Power Trading

Our power grid works at a frequency of 50 hertz – usually generated by turbines, for example in hydro- or coal power plants, which rotate at a speed of 50 revolutions per second. "When a consumer uses more electrical energy from the power grid, the grid frequency drops slightly before an increased energy feed-in re-establishes the original frequency," explains Benjamin Schäfer from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) in Göttingen and lead author of the study. "Deviations from the nominal value of 50 hertz must be kept to a minimum, as otherwise sensitive electrical devices could be damaged."

One-Step Production of Aromatic Polyesters by E. coli Strains

KAIST systems metabolic engineers defined a novel strategy for microbial aromatic polyesters production fused with synthetic biology from renewable biomass. The team of Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering produced aromatic polyesters from Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains by applying microbial fermentation, employing direct microbial fermentation from renewable feedstock carbohydrates. 

 

Major food retailer's sustainability program drives farmers' environmental practices

In one of the first analyses of a company-led sustainability program in the food and agriculture space, Stanford researchers found a major grocery chain fostered increased adoption of environmental practices at the farm level.

2017 was 3rd warmest year on record for U.S.

2017 will be remembered as a year of extremes for the U.S. as floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, drought, fires and freezes claimed hundreds of lives and visited economic hardship upon the nation. Recovery from the ravages of three major Atlantic hurricanes making landfall in the U.S. and an extreme and ongoing wildfire season in the West is expected to continue well into the new year.

Frog genome mapping sheds new light on environmental contaminants

A University of Victoria molecular biologist has gained new insights into how environmental contaminants may disrupt thyroid systems. The discovery was made while assembling the genome of the North American bullfrog.

Caren Helbing’s findings could help explain the mechanisms of early development, as well as how environmental contaminants cause thyroidrelated diseases and malfunctions.

Powerful Tropical Cyclone Irving Examined With GPM

On Jan. 8, Tropical Cyclone Irving was hurricane-force in the Southern Indian Ocean. The Global Precipitation Measurement Mission or GPM core satellite passed overhead and measured cloud heights and rainfall rates in the powerful storm.

Tropical Cyclone Ava Moving Away from Madagascar

NASA's Terra satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Ava as it continued moving away from the island nation of Madagascar. Ava was located in the Southern Indian Ocean, off the southeastern coast of the country.

NUS Researchers Pioneer Water-Based, Eco-Friendly and Energy-Saving Air-Conditioner

A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has pioneered a new water-based air-conditioning system that cools air to as low as 18 degrees Celsius without the use of energy-intensive compressors and environmentally harmful chemical refrigerants. This game-changing technology could potentially replace the century-old air-cooling principle that is still being used in our modern-day air-conditioners. Suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, the novel system is portable and it can also be customised for all types of weather conditions.

New Study Reveals Strong El Niño Events Cause Large Changes in Antarctic Ice Shelves

A new study published Jan. 8 in the journal Nature Geoscience reveals that strong El Niño events can cause significant ice loss in some Antarctic ice shelves while the opposite may occur during strong La Niña events.