All Wastewater & Sanitation articles – Page 2
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NewsBacteria organise themselves into diverse, coordinated communities in order to travel across large distances
A new study examined the migration of microbial communities over long distances, and found bacteria migrate not as solitary swimmers, but in diverse, coordinated communities that also contain viruses and “hitchhiking” microbes that cannot swim on their own.
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NewsWhy plastic lingers: Water chemistry slows nature’s cleanup
In a new study designed to mimic real environmental conditions, researchers found that the chemical makeup of natural waters significantly delays the breakdown of polystyrene, a common plastic used in packaging and food containers. Because sunlight cannot effectively initiate the degradation process, microbes cannot finish the job.
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NewsAntibiotics drive resistance in waterways - even after they break down
Antibiotics continue to drive resistance to bacteria, even after they are broken down in wastewater treatment plants and discharged into rivers and seas, new research published on World Oceans Day has shown for the first time.
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NewsDrug-resistant bacteria found in homes from sewage overflow
A new study shows that sewage overflows in homes can expose people to bacteria that can make them sick, including antibiotic-resistant and multidrug resistant bacteria which can make infections difficult to treat.
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NewsScientists turn microalgae waste into high-performance membranes for cleaner municipal wastewater
A new study reports a sustainable membrane technology that converts microalgae-derived biochar into an advanced material for municipal wastewater treatment, offering a promising route to cleaner water and waste valorization.
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NewsNew study finds neighborhood-level sampling could close equity gap in wastewater disease surveillance
Researchers working with New York State’s wastewater surveillance network found that while the system does a reasonably fair job of including vulnerable populations, it struggles in larger populations when an outbreak is starting, which is when it matters most.
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NewsHospital wastewater reveals drug-resistant fungus strains months before patients show symptoms
A study reveals that sampling raw wastewater closer to the source — sewer lines that directly serve hospitals, retirement homes, and long-term care facilities — allows scientists to detect drug-resistant strains of Candida auris as many as five months before patients begin showing symptoms.
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NewsNew ‘permanently wet’ coating method could transform wastewater treatment by helping bacteria survive better
Living bacteria embedded in coatings could clean wastewater, capture carbon and generate biofuels – if they survive the manufacturing process. Researchers have developed a method that keeps bacteria submerged throughout coating formation, increasing the number of surviving cells by around 500 times compared to conventional approaches.
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NewsStudy is first to detect and track multiple cancer-causing viruses in wastewater
A study is the first comprehensive approach to detect all known cancer-causing or oncogenic viruses concurrently by analyzing viral genomes in wastewater. The work shows that it is feasible to monitor the presence and levels of cancer-causing viruses, enabling the possibility of public health interventions in the future.
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NewsMeasuring SARS-CoV-2 diversity in wastewater improves disease surveillance
Tracking the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater, rather than just viral abundance, dramatically improves the ability to monitor and predict COVID-19 outbreaks, researchers report.
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NewsSunlight and PVC pipes create a hidden driver of antibiotic resistance
New research shows that chemicals leaching from everyday PVC—especially after exposure to sunlight—can dramatically speed up the spread of resistance genes between bacteria. The effect was strongest at low to moderate concentrations, where the leachate triggered bacterial stress responses without killing the microbes.
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NewsFlu signals in wastewater offer an early warning for community outbreaks
A research team has demonstrated that measuring influenza viral RNA in wastewater can be used to estimate community influenza incidence. The approach may help identify outbreak trends about one week earlier than publicly available patient report data.
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NewsNew health security operations center will monitor infectious disease risks during this summer’s World Cup gatherings
With millions of soccer fans set to descend on North America for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, experts from Georgetown University and MedStar Health have launched a pioneering Health Security Operations Center (HSOC) to monitor infectious disease transmission and mitigate global health risks.
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NewsResearchers develop AI tool to predict E. coli contamination in waterways
A new artificial intelligence framework will alert water managers to E. coli contamination risk before anyone falls sick. The AI-powered predictive modeling framework uses environmental and hydrometeorological data to provide early warnings of contamination in recreational waterways.
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NewsHow bacteria ‘chat’ their way to carbon-neutral water treatment
Global climate goals demand that wastewater treatment plants transform their operations. A new review reveals that quorum sensing (QS), the chemical communication system bacteria use to coordinate behavior, could be the key.
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NewsHow river DNA can track fish, frogs, fungi and human feces — all at once
A single scoop of water from an Irish river revealed evidence not only of Ireland’s only frog species, but also signs of the dreaded B. dendrobatidis fungus, marking the first time this devastating amphibian disease has been spotted in the country and exposing a previously unknown risk to Ireland’s frog population.
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NewsResearchers uncover hidden health risks from urban airborne microbes
Researchers have discovered that seemingly insignificant microbial components in the air, including bacteria, fungi, viruses and cellular debris, pose a long-overlooked health hazard. Bacterial endotoxins can trigger inflammatory responses in the human respiratory system in nearly 20% of cases.
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NewsDairy farms in California may transmit H5N1 virus through multiple sources
A new study suggests that avian influenza (H5N1) is transmitted through multiple, previously unknown sources on dairy farms and that some H5N1 positive cows do not show clinical signs of infection.
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NewsIs asphalt bad for our health? And can algae help?
Scientists studying how asphalt emissions impact respiratory health are also working on less toxic, lower-emitting asphalt formulations. One project involves growing a strain of algae that could reduce VOC emissions using wastewater from a treatment plant.
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NewsViruses enhance sulfamethoxazole removal in wetlands by modulating bacteria-phage interactions
A new study examines the role of viruses in sulfamethoxazole (SMX) removal in constructed wetlands. The research demonstrates that the addition of phage-concentrated solutions (PCS) enhances the degradation of SMX by enriching SMX-degrading bacteria.