UNICEF estimates that over 2.2 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean drinking water. Micro-organisms are responsible for a host of waterborne diseases, but simultaneously offer solutions in purifying water and improving sanitation. Biofertilizers offer promising solutions for reduced nutrient runoff and wastewater recycling. As well as applying microbes to combat the problem, applied microbiologists can use their knowledge of health and disease to reduce cases of waterborne disease.
Researchers are developing a flexible online tool for navigating information used in the fight to save children from deadly diarrheal diseases by identifying transmission hotspots and accelerating the deployment of treatments and new vaccines.
Read storyIn a mouse study, researchers tested a vaccine against the bacterium that causes melioidosis and found it was highly protective against the disease, which is endemic in many tropical areas.
A new analysis of zooplankton in western Lake Erie shows that their biomass and seasonal behavioral patterns have been drastically altered by human-driven changes in water temperature and food webs.
Applied Microbiology International’s not-for-profit open access journal Sustainable Microbiology is to run a themed collection on ’Eco-Friendly Microbial Technologies for Water Treatment’.
Scientists sampled the ice-covered (in 2019) and ice-free (in 2020) winter waters of Lake Erie to learn how diatoms are responding to changing environmental conditions.