The Impact of Plastics and Bacteria on Our Health

Today, you’ll learn about a breakthrough in our understanding of the behavior and abilities of bacteria, the queen ants that cannibalize their sick larvae and recycle it, and how tiny shards of plastic are finding their way into our brains.  

Bacteria Behavior 

• “New discovery of how bacteria navigate their environment could change how we treat infection.” University of Sheffield. 2024.  
• “Individual bacterial cells can use spatial sensing of chemical gradients to direct chemotaxis on surfaces.” by James H.R. Wheeler, et al. 2024.  

Ant Cannibals 

• “Ant queens cannibalize [sic] their sick offspring - then ‘recycle’ them.” University of Oxford. 2024.  
• “Ant queens cannibalize infected brood to contain disease spread and recycle nutrients.” by Flynn Bizzell & Christopher D. Pull. 2024.  
• “Black garden ant.” The Wildlife Trusts. N.d.  

Brain Plastic 

• “Tiny shards of plastic are increasingly infiltrating our brains, study says.” by Sandee LaMotte. 2024.  
• “Bioaccumulation of Microplastics in Decedent Human Brains Assessed by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.” by Matthew Campen, et al. 2024.  

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