Your Toothbrush Is a Laboratory

Yet, these areas, hard hit by climate-change fueled disasters, have been attracting new residents. The metro area around Tampa and St. Petersburg has grown by almost 40 percent since 2000, adding one million people, according to CBS News. In Asheville, North Carolina, which was inundated by Hurricane Helene, the population has grown by 13 percent in the same period. According to the New York Times, Florida added more than three million people, and North and South Carolina added another 2.5 million since 2000.

These aren’t the only disaster-prone areas that have grown. According to research last year by economists from Carnegie Mellon University, CUNY, and Pennsylvania State University, counties in the U.S. that are at a higher risk from climate change-related disasters, including hurricanes and wildfires, have experienced disproportionately faster growth, particularly in the South and West.

The researchers noted that many people in the country live in high-risk areas and are not retreating from them. For example, about 40 percent of people are living in coastal counties, which can experience high-tide flooding, sea level rise, and hurricanes. They say there has also been new construction and land use growth in areas at high risk of wildfires. In all, the populations of high-risk places grew over the last 30 years about three percent faster than those areas that are at low-risk.

Experts who spoke to the New York Times said that the decisions people make about where to relocate are driven not by the risk of potential disasters, but rather by cost of living and lifestyle, such as sunnier climates. The risks of hurricanes and wildfires are far down their list of concerns.

National sanctuaries protect biodiverse habitats and cultural resources, as well as support local economies by promoting research, recreation, and tourism. The Chumash sanctuary is the nation’s 17th such site. Others are also on the Pacific coast, in the Great Lakes, along the Atlantic, and in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Chumash Peoples have lived along the California coast for at least 13,000 years. The name “Chumash” describes several coastal native groups who spoke similar languages. According to a release from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the new sanctuary will recognize the natives’ connection to the area and involve them in its management.

The boundary of the sanctuary extends nearly 60 miles from the shore and to a depth of more than 11,000 feet. The sanctuary includes kelp forests, underwater mountains, rocky reefs, and more than 200 shipwrecks. NOAA said that the boundaries for the sanctuary would not include areas where offshore wind turbines are currently planned to be built or where wind energy transmission cables are expected to be authorized.

Those fears are not unfounded. In 2020, 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse at the Port of Beirut in Lebanon exploded, killing more than 200 people and injuring over 6,000. The disaster is considered one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, and the Ruby may be carrying more than seven times as much of the compound.

On August 22, the Malta-flagged ship began its journey from the Russian port of Kandalaksha headed for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.  Soon after departure, it ran aground during a storm, which damaged its hull, propeller, and rudder. Now, the vessel finds itself at the center of a geopolitical storm. Distrust of Russia has meant that several NATO states, including Norway, Sweden, Lithuania, and even Malta won’t allow the Ruby to dock and make repairs, fearing, according to the New York Times, that the ship could be a Trojan horse and potential act of Russian sabotage.

Newsweek notes that the ship also has expired seafarer employment agreements and deficiencies regarding International Safety Management. Currently, the Ruby is stranded 14 miles off the southeastern coast of the UK. The ship’s owner maintains that media reports are unfounded and have had a prejudicial effect on the vessel's ability to transfer the cargo to another ship so it can be repaired.

Yes, according to new research, some of the most biodiverse places containing hundreds of viruses—are on toothbrushes and showerheads—essentially wet environments where microbes can thrive. But don’t panic, the researchers from Northwestern University say. These microbes are bacteriophage, or “phage,” a type of virus that targets bacteria, not humans.

Phage are not well understood but researchers are excited about their potential to treat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. In fact, the team noticed a high number of mycobacteriophage among their samples, which go after mycobacteria germs that cause diseases like leprosy, tuberculosis, and chronic lung infections. One day, they hope to use phage found on plumbing fixtures to clear pathogens out of a person’s plumbing.

Lead author, Erica M. Hartmann used DNA sequencing to identify the viruses living on samples collected and found more than 600 different ones with no two samples alike, and most of which never seen before. The study was an offshoot of previous research called “Operation Pottymouth” in which Hartmann and her colleagues at the University of Colorado Boulder investigated whether a flushing toilet might allow aerosol particles to land on a toothbrush. Short answer, no.

The team wants us to chill and embrace our microbe friends. They’re everywhere, and the vast majority will not make us sick. If we attack them with disinfectants, the more they are likely to develop resistance or become more difficult to treat.

The new findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiomes.