Human Exposure and Public Health

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Contagion: Staying Safe While Species Share Spaces

October 2, 2022October 2, 2022 Cypress Novick 0 Comments Climate Change, disease ecology, human health, infectious diseases, land use, public health, viruses, Zoonoses, Zoonotic

As climate change pushes species around the world together, cross-species viral infections become a growing concern.

Cities Environmental Science Human Exposure and Public Health

Microfiber, major problem

September 13, 2022September 13, 2022 Sam Schurkamp 0 Comments microfibers, microplastics, plastic pollution, Pollution

Microfibers are getting into our lakes and oceans. With the help of new technology and a little community effort, we may be able to stop them.

Human Exposure and Public Health Remediation

A New Compound Makes Waves for Oil Spill Clean Up

September 1, 2022August 31, 2022 Andrea Valcarcel 0 Comments bioremediation, chemical engineering, clean up, human impacts, human risk, marine biology, marine remediation, Oil, oil spill

Phase-Selective Organo-WHAT? Scientists are studying complex chemicals called Phase-Selective Organogelators (or PSOGs) to better understand their ability to clean up oil spills. These chemicals create a gel when added, in small quantities, to crude oil. The use of these chemicals could be a game changer when it comes to remediating marine oil spills. It would facilitate the way these disasters are handled, shortening the time it’s left affecting the organisms that live and interact in marine ecosystems

Animal behavior Human Exposure and Public Health

Into the Brains of Mosquitoes – Finding out how they find us

August 20, 2022August 20, 2022 Brandi Pessman 0 Comments brains, Humans, mosquitoes, odors, viruses

It’s all fun and games outdoors until mosquitoes crash the party. Female mosquitoes need protein-rich human blood for energy to produce eggs. While an itchy bump follows most bites, some can transfer harmful viruses, like Zika and dengue. Mosquitoes are experts at finding human hosts, and now scientists have discovered how. Mosquito brains may give insights into new strategies to control mosquitoes and the diseases they carry.

Animal behavior Case Studies Environmental Science Human Exposure and Public Health

Parasite Problems Call for Microbiome Maintenance

August 2, 2022September 12, 2022 Cypress Novick 0 Comments coevolution, evolution, Infection, microbiome, parasitism

How the bacteria living inside of us may protect us against harmful infections.

Animal behavior Case Studies Environmental Science Human Exposure and Public Health Science through time

Freezing Frogs Help Preserve Human Organs for Transplant

June 2, 2022June 2, 2022 Cypress Novick 0 Comments biotechnology, human health, Medicine, organ transplants, public health, temperature resistance

Primary Source: Al-Attar R, Storey KB. Lessons from nature: Leveraging the freeze-tolerant wood frog as a model to improve organ

Environmental Science Human Exposure and Public Health

Disease Vectors and Pests: How Genetically Modified Insects Could Affect the World

May 1, 2022April 28, 2022 Andrea Valcarcel 0 Comments disease ecology, gene drive, Gene editing, genetics, infectious diseases, pests, vectors

Genetic modification is a reality, now more than ever. Yearly, there are more than 2.8 million deaths due to diseases spread by insects. So, what if we genetically modified insects so they don’t pose such a big threat towards human and agricultural health? And what would the long-term outcome be of such modifications? Will the mutations spread uncontrollably through wild populations? Well, that is for us to see and scientists to consider.

Ecosystems Environmental Science Human Exposure and Public Health

Freshwater ecosystems need our help, and citizen science could be part of the solution

April 8, 2022April 8, 2022 Etienne Herrick 0 Comments aquatic, citizen science, freshwater

Freshwater resources around the globe are becoming increasingly degraded. Although humans are a major cause of this problem, they can also be part of the solution, especially when we all work together to tackle environmental issues. One way we can do this is through citizen science, where scientists and members of the public work together to perform research and advance scientific knowledge. Read on to learn more about freshwater citizen science, its benefits and challenges, and how you can get involved!