ScienceDaily: All - November 04, 2024
Today's top research news
The Salton Sea -- an area rich with lithium -- is a hot spot for child respiratory issues
Windblown dust from the shrinking Salton Sea harms the respiratory health of children living nearby, triggering asthma, coughing, wheezing and disrupted sleep, USC research shows. The problem is likely to intensify in a hotter climate, with evaporation exposing more and more of the lake bed, or playa, leading to more dust events.
Image: Yunpeng Li/Shutterstock.com
Increased rates of severe human infections caused by Streptococcus subspecies
A concerning increase in global rates of severe invasive infections becoming resistant to key antibiotics has a team of infectious disease researchers studying a recently emerged strain of bacteria called Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis. These infections range in severity from strep throat to flesh-eating disease.
Exposure to particular sources of air pollution is harmful to children's learning and memory
A new study involving 8,500 children from across the United States has revealed that a form of air pollution, largely the product of agricultural emissions, is linked to poor learning and memory performance in 9- and 10-year-olds. The specific pollutant, ammonium nitrate, is also implicated in Alzheimer's and dementia risk in adults, suggesting that PM2.5 may cause neurocognitive harm across the lifespan.
AI tackles huge problem of antimicrobial resistance in intensive care
Artificial intelligence (AI) can provide same-day assessments of antimicrobial resistance for patients in intensive care -- critical to preventing life-threatening sepsis.
Scientists examine how wastewater practices in Florida Keys impact water quality
Wastewater contains nutrients that can overfeed algae, leading to harmful algal blooms and pollution issues in the ocean and other waterways. A new study tracked how these nutrients migrate from disposal sites in the Florida Keys, and the results have already informed wastewater practices in the region.