stories of note from this week
Does Alzheimer’s start in the gut? One of the advantages of being an independent blog is that we can consider all points of view. Recently, we’ve followed the trope of viruses and neurogenerative diseases. But there is another out there. Changes in the gut, and its associated biome, may also be implicated. Here’s the Conversation
Wye did this happen? The UK suffers from a Government addicted to a deranged philosophy of deregulation and growth at all costs. Which is how the once beautiful River Wye was destroyed by uncontrolled farming paractices up in its catchment area. Our main man George Monbiot has been banging on about this for years, but now his message is getting through as this piece from the I shows
Antibiotic resistance: it’s depressing Oh, that pesky Law of Unintended Consequences! Looks like all those antidepressant pills could be fomenting increased antibiotic resistance, as if we didn’t have enough problems along these lines already. Here’s Nature Briefings
Antidepressants might contribute to antibiotic resistance, alongside antibiotics overuse. In a laboratory study, five common antidepressants increased the mutation rate of Escherichia coli and triggered cellular defence mechanisms that make the bacteria better able to survive subsequent antibiotic treatment. Researchers now need to assess whether these mechanisms drive resistance in disease-causing bacteria in a real-world scenario.Nature | 5 min read
Reference: PNAS paper
Go wild in the countries There’s nothing better for the soul than a nice long walk in the country of by the sea. Except it gets a bit depressing when someone has gone and built houses all over it. But can this trend be reversed? Can we open up our wild spaces again, and let the planet breathe? The BBC considers:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63955526
Who’s writing this blog? Can you tell whether it’s us or Chat GPT? There’s a distinct queasiness going on here, as it seems inevitable that computers may replace every useful human activity. Writing and journalism are just one more victim. Try this from the Guardian
Fry and Laurie Before they were famous for many other things, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie used to put out a droll series of sketches mocking those shows and about hard talking, hard talking business folk. We thought you might want to see one for old times. Yes, overseas readers-Doctor House is really English
#ecocide #george monbiot #alzheimer’s #gut microbiome #antibiotic resistance #depression #rewilding #ai #chat gpt
Learning, Science and Society 