Earlier this month, South Carolina resident Brent Norman had an especially unlucky time at the beach.
An invasive, dog-killing parasite is now lurking in Southern California. In new research this week, scientists say they’ve confirmed the newfound spread of the flatworm Heterobilharzia americana to the area. The parasite is not thought to be a danger to humans, but it could become an emerging threat to pets and…
A woman’s newly adopted cat may have brought her an unwelcome gift: a bacterial germ that caused her months of diarrhea. In a new case report this month, doctors say that the woman’s bout of recurrent Clostridioides difficile could have been fueled by her cat, who also tested positive for the bacteria. Thankfully,…
The UK is currently dealing with an alarming rise of crypto—the diarrhea-causing intestinal parasite, not the baffling currency. In a report this month, health officials documented a much higher number of cases than expected so far in 2023. It’s not clear yet why crypto is surging in the country, though the increase…
Climate change will make stomach bugs an even bigger problem, a new report has found. The study concludes that expected changes in temperature, precipitation, and humidity will make foodborne infections and toxins all the more common—at least in Germany. That said, other research has indicated that these increased…
Human composting company Recompose is a winner of the 2023 Gizmodo Science Fair for creating a greener death care option.
Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are sounding the alarm over a diarrhea-causing superbug. The CDC’s data shows a noticeable rise in extensively drug-resistant strains of Shigella bacteria over the past half-decade. Though these infections are typically not severe, antibiotics are needed to…
When Howard Fischer eventually dies, he is going to be composted in Seattle. He’ll be wrapped in cloth, placed on a bed of wood chips, and then his family will cover him in alfalfa and flowers. After a ceremony, his body will go into a hexagonal vessel with an internal structure similar to that of a honeycomb, where…
Wathiq Khuzaie/Getty Images
Would you be willing to potentially endure a week’s worth of diarrhea for some cold hard cash? If you said yes, then you’re in luck. Researchers at Emory University are now recruiting healthy volunteers to take part in a trial that will test an experimental oral vaccine against Shigella bacteria, which cause a common…