Writing in Environmental Engineering Science, researchers used a model of the human gut to test how exposure to three different nanoparticles (NP) that are commonly used in consumer products – zinc oxide, cerium dioxide, and titanium dioxide – affects the make-up of the bacterial communities in our gut (known as the microbiota). “Understanding the interactions between NPs and bacteria in an …
Viruses: You’ve heard the bad — here’s the good
“The word, virus, connotes morbidity and mortality, but that bad reputation is not universally deserved,” said Marilyn Roossinck, PhD, Professor of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology and Biology at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park. “Viruses, like bacteria, can be important beneficial microbes in human health and in agriculture,” she said. Her review of the current literature on beneficial viruses …