Slap me some skin...

Have you ever wondered how medically safe it is to shake hands?

In a report by NBC News, British researchers conducted a study of the transmission of microbes during handshakes, high fives, and fist bumps, and it should be no surprise that the fist bump seems to transfer the least.

So should we adopt the fist bump as more than just a greeting between friends? I can see the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies "bumping on the deal" in the future.

Click here to read the article.

Ice Ice Baby...

Ok, I apologize for the pun there, but I found this article which I thought would be a good one to read as you start to study the types microbes in detail. The article "This Is What Lives Under Antarctic Ice" by Lisa Raffensperger for Discover Magazine, reports on a study of the microbial ecosystem 2600 feet deep into the Antarctic ice. Can you believe that almost 400 species of microbes were discovered thriving there. As you read the article, I invite you to think about microbial structure and physiology and how it connects to these guys living in an environment that is inhospitable for most organisms.

Click this link to read the the article.

How Did They Know??

Did you ever wonder how researchers know so quickly that Ebola was going to be a major outbreak? It turns out that being connected to a World Wide Web has its advantages in the area of epidemiology. As with Google's Flu Trends website that has been running for several years recording and predicting flu outbreaks, computer analysis of Internet reports, have again been useful in  predicting a "mystery hemorrhagic fever" a week before the spread began.

In the article, "How an algorithm detected the Ebola outbreak a week early, and what it could do next" on the TechRepublic website, author Lyndsey Gilpin discusses HealthMap, which is described as "a data mapping tool that detects and tracks diseases across the world."

Read the article to learn more about Healthmap and the Ebola Epidemic: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-an-algorithm-detected-the-ebola-outbreak-a-week-early-and-what-it-could-do-next/

Don't Fart Naked Around food!

In the article, "Do farts carry germs? Well, it depends on whether you are wearing pants." from the Discover.com Seriously Science Blog, an operating room nurse questions whether or not passing gas during surgery would compromise the sterile nature of the operating room. As you guessed, a curious doctor set up the tests and made a determination that I think you'll find interesting.


Link to the article: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/2014/08/27/farts-carry-germs-depends-wearing-pants/#.VA3RsZRdV8F

Is the current Ebola outbreak the "Big One"?

In the article, The Ebola Outbreak: 'A Dress Rehearsal For The Next Big One'. National Public radio interviews author David Quammen about his book, Spillover, which discusses many zoonotic diseases such as Ebola.

One of the major questions asked is, "Do you think this Ebola outbreak is the next 'big one'?". It is definitely worth a read and a listen as the audio transcript is included in the article.

Link to article: http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/08/05/338059797/the-ebola-outbreak-a-dress-rehearsal-for-the-next-big-one