The Monday Morning Stimulus

Medical Express, Coffee drinking habits may greatly impact makeup of gut biome

A large international team of medical researchers has found that people who drink coffee regularly have much more of one type of gut bacteria than people who do not. In their study, published in the journal Nature Microbiology, the group analyzed stool and blood samples from a large number of patients and also studied similar data in large medical databases, looking for impacts of coffee drinking on the gut biome.
. . 
In this new study, the research team sought to learn more about the impact of a single food, or in this case a beverage, on the gut biome. They chose coffee for two reasons: First, because it is consumed by so many people; second, because it is either consumed every day or not at all.

To learn about the impact of coffee drinking on the gut biome, the researchers began by analyzing medical data for approximately 22,800 people living in the U.K. and the U.S. and for another 54,200 people in 211 cohorts. This allowed them to compare stool sample data from people who reported drinking coffee and those who did not, while exploring differences in the gut biome between the two groups.

The researchers found one major difference in the two groups—the population numbers of a bacteria called Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus. Those people who drank coffee regularly had levels as high as eight times those who did not—and the difference held steady for people all around the globe.

The research team acknowledges that they do not know what impact higher levels of L. asaccharolyticus may have on people, but suggest it is likely associated with health benefits that have been attributed to coffee drinking. They suggest there are substantial impacts of a single food or beverage on the human gut biome.

I forgot to send my Rule 5s to the Wombat this week, but he still posted Rule 5 Sunday: Cheerful Bikini anyway. 

Thursday Tanlines

SciTechDaily worries about Tanning’s Hidden Cost: Sun Exposure Can Disrupt Skin’s Microbiome

Researchers have shown that too much sun exposure negatively affects short-term diversity and composition of the skin’s bacterial make-up.

Skin, the largest organ of the human body, is home to a vast array of bacteria, fungi, and viruses – microorganisms that compose the skin microbiota. Among other things, these microbial populations, which are organized in complex community structures, protect against pathogens.

Prolonged exposure to UVR is associated with damage to DNA in skin cells, inflammation, and premature skin aging, yet intentional sun-seeking behaviors remain common.

Due to a lack of studies focusing on how individual behavior influences UVR-associated microbiota shifts, and how this may relate to skin health, researchers in the UK have now examined the effects of sun-seeking behaviors on the skin microbiota composition of holidaymakers.

“Here we show in a cohort of holidaymakers that their sun exposure behavior significantly affects the diversity and composition of their skin microbiota,” said Dr. Abigail Langton, principal investigator at The University of Manchester and corresponding author of the study published in Frontiers in Aging.

“We have demonstrated that the development of a tan is associated with lower Proteobacteria abundance immediately post-holiday. However, the microbiota of all holidaymakers was recovered a few weeks after they stopped spending extended time periods in the sun.”

But what if the bacteria assemblage encouraged by sunlight is actually better that what occurs when you sit around in the dark like a mushroom?

Linked at The Pirate's Cove in today's If All You See….

Can You Catch WuFlu from the Bay?

Probably not, but I'm not going swimming in Back River. Are you safe from coronavirus in Bay waters?

There are plenty of reasons to stay out of some Chesapeake Bay waters, particularly after a heavy rain. When stormwater hits local waterways, it may be carrying bacteria, toxins, animal waste and even raw sewage. Can it carry the coronavirus too?

Some researchers are tracking the virus’ presence in sewage as an indication of how many people might be infected in a given area. They also are hustling to answer a secondary question: If the virus can be detected in sewage, could it also be in waterways that are tainted with sewage after it rains?

The short answer is yes — but probably not in a form that could infect additional people. While the virus that causes COVID-19 can be detected in untreated wastewater, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say “there is no evidence to date” that a person exposed to it in this form can contract the disease.

There are, however, still plenty of reasons to be concerned about swimming or recreating in water that has recently been polluted by sewage or stormwater runoff. As swimming season begins, experts who study waterborne diseases say that catching the coronavirus from water contact is probably among the least of those concerns.

"No evidence to date"? That's comforting.

Recent Rains Overwhelmed New Anacostia Sewage Tunnel

New Sewer Tunnel Kept 3.3 Billion Gallons Of Sewage Out Of Anacostia River. Why Isn’t It Any Cleaner?

The Anacostia River was supposed to get a lot cleaner this past summer, after DC Water completed a major new sewer tunnel. But water testing shows bacteria counts were, in some cases, higher in the summer of 2018 compared to 2017.

What happened? The short answer: rain. Lots and lots of rain.

D.C.’s combined sewer system mixes stormwater and sewage in the same pipes. When storms fill up those pipes, the system is designed to overflow into the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers and Rock Creek. The water utility is under a consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency to stop dumping into the waterways. The first major part of that project went online in March. So far, the new tunnel system has captured and treated 3.3 billion gallons of combined sewage and stormwater — the equivalent of 5,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The tunnel is performing better than expected, preventing 89 percent of overflows, compared to the 81 percent DC Water expected.

“We’re pretty happy with the performance of the tunnel so far,” says John Cassidy, program manager with DC Water’s Clean Rivers Project.

Still, the tunnel was no match for what Mother Nature had in store. Year-to-date, 2018 is Washington’s second-rainiest year on record (trailing 1889 by a fraction of an inch). And the rain has tended to come in big bursts — which are more likely to overwhelm the drainage system and cause overflows. There was so much rain that 300 to 400 million gallons spilled into the Anacostia despite the new tunnel (this is still less than one Olympic-sized poolful).

 When I worked in the Anacostia River, we had to get Hepatitis A shots. I still would.

How Does the Rain Affect the Oysters?

They're already wet, but it certainly makes life a little safer for a few of them: Southern Maryland waterway reclassified for shellfish harvesting

The Maryland Department of the Environment has reclassified a portion of the Wicomico River in Charles and St. Mary’s counties for shellfish harvesting. About 2,470 acres of the river have been reclassified from approved to “restricted,” meaning the area is closed to shellfish harvesting.

The change – which is effective today, Monday, November 5 – is due to recent evaluations showing unacceptable bacteria levels in portions of the waterway. The Department of the Environment conducts regular surveys to identify potential pollution sources near shellfish harvesting waters, but the cause of an increase in bacteria levels is not always known and no specific cause has been identified for the increased levels in these areas.

Shellfish are filter feeders with the ability to filter water and get food from microscopic organisms in the water. If the waters have elevated bacteria levels, the risk is greater that pathogens may be present, and this filtering process can then concentrate any disease-causing organisms. Oysters and clams are often eaten raw or partially cooked and must come from waters that are within acceptable bacteria levels.

Actually, the tests are for coliform bacteria, which suggest fecal contamination, which is often increased after a major rain or runoff event. The Bay, and even clean seawater in general, are loaded with bacteria of many types, including some potentially nasty ones, but runoff from sewage and septic systems and pet waste certainly raises the chances for catching something.

The Department of the Environment monitors bacteriological water quality and conducts pollution source surveys to determine which areas are safe for the harvesting of shellfish. The department is required to close areas that do not meet the strict water quality standards for shellfish harvesting waters and it has a longstanding policy to reopen areas to shellfish harvesting when water quality improves.

These actions are necessary to protect public health by preventing harvest from the areas affected and ensure Maryland remains in compliance with the National Shellfish Sanitation Program.

Information on shellfish harvesting areas is available on the department’s website. These designations apply only to the harvesting of molluscan shellfish (oysters and clams); they do not apply to fishing, crabbing or swimming. Consumption advisories for recreationally caught fish and crabs can also be found on the department’s website.

This was before the rains we had over last night and today, so the chances of this clearing up soon seems small.

Storms Lead to Beach Closings

More Beaches Closed After Week-long Storms

Five Anne Arundel County beaches are closed for swimming, days after the heavy rainstorms that sent runoff and debris down the Bay from the Conowingo Dam.

The health department is seeing high bacteria results in water samples. On Thursday the Anne Arundel County Department of Health issued advisories for people to avoid direct contact with the water in five locations:

• Atlantic Marina Resort on the Patapsco River in Pasadena
• Bay Ridge Beach at Bay Drive in Annapolis
• Chesapeake Bay Foundation Beach in Annapolis
• Beverly Beach in Edgewater
• Sandy Point South Beach at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis

Sandy Point's beaches were already closed for swimming due to large amounts of debris that washed up.

The health department says people should avoid swimming, water skiing, or any other direct water contact. Signs have been posted at all of the beaches. If you do come in contact with the affected water, wash well with soap and warm water immediately. Clothing should also be washed.

The advisories will remain in effect until new water sample tests show acceptable bacteria levels.

For the most recent water quality report and bacteria counts, click here and scroll down.

So far, all the Calvert County beaches, including ours, still test clean.

Poles Invent Pussy Beer

A promotional video shows a model in underwear
 with her name on a beer bottle
(Image: CEN/THE ORDER OF YONI)

Vagina beer made with 'essence of hot underwear models' goes on sale for first time

A beer made from the 'vaginal lactic acid of hot underwear models' has gone on sale in Poland. The vagina beer has been launched by a brewery known as "The Order of Yoni" from the Polish capital city of Warsaw. Yoni is the Sanskrit word for female genitals.

Customers can now buy the beer and taste the 'essence' of good looking models at various pubs after its debut on July 28 in the city of Katowice. The brewery's website colourfully describes the sensations customers might expect from the beer saying: "Imagine the woman of your dreams, your object of desire. Her charm, her sensuality, her passion. "Now you can try how she tastes, feel her smell, hear her voice. "Now imagine her giving you a passionate massage and gently whispering anything you'd like to hear. "Now free your fantasies and imagine all of that can be encompassed in a bottle of beer."

The beer is made from the 'vaginal lactic acid of hot
 underwear models' (Image: CEN/THE ORDER OF YONI)

However, one of the first customers who tasted the beer, Grzegorz Majewski, was not over impressed, saying that at 25 zloty (£5) a beer costs the same as a normal bottle of wine. He said: "People will try it out of curiosity, but I don't think it will be a regular addition on the table for beer lovers."

A promotional video made for the beer shows a large brown bottle with a sticker being peeled back showing a photo of a model in underwear with the name Pauline.

The reality of how the beer is made is much more mundane than you might think:

(Image: CEN/THE ORDER OF YONI)

The founder of the company, Wojtek Mann, described the process in which a gynaecologist took smears from their two models, Paulina and Monika, and had the lactic acid bacteria isolated in a lab.

The website describes the process somewhat ambiguously saying: "The secret of the beer lies in her vagina."Using hi-tech microbiological techniques, we isolate, examine and prepare lactic acid bacteria from the vagina of a unique woman."

Amidst concerns about the hygiene implications of the beer, the Order of Yoni reassured consumers the ladies had been totally checked before having the smears and the scientific process they use to isolate the bacteria removes all possible unsavoury elements.

If that either excites you, or disgusts you, you haven't taken microbiology 101, and you probably shouldn't think about where the bacteria come from that make yogurt, pickles or sauerkraut.

Wombat-socho has "Rule Five Sunday: Summer Event Silliness" published on time and within budget.

Can Lizard Blood Save Our Lives?

It's doubtful, but: The Blood of Komodo Dragons Could Help Us to Slay Antibiotic Resistance

Protein fragments in the blood of Komodo dragons have antimicrobial properties that help them resist toxic bacteria, and they could be used to develop new drugs to counter antibiotic resistance, researchers have found.

The Komodo dragon is the world's largest lizard, growing up to 3 metres (9.8 feet) in length and weighing up to 70 kilograms (154 lbs). It lives on five small islands in Indonesia, where its massive size and sharp teeth enable it to feast on prey as large as water buffalo – but there's another, less obvious reason why you definitely don't want to get bitten by one.

Previous research has found that the mouths of Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) contain up to 57 kinds of dangerous bacteria.

It's not entirely clear, where this bacteria come from. More recently, scientists have suggested that it stems from Komodo dragons drinking from sewage-contaminated water sources.

Well, they do eat a lot of rotten meat, since their method of killing big prey involves biting it, and letting the bacteria (and the venom they have) give the prey a bad infection. Given such a method of feeding, it would be important to be relatively immune to infection by the bacteria in your prey.

Now researchers have figured out how these lizards became resistant to having such deadly bugs in their mouths.

A team from George Mason University took blood from Komodo dragons, and analysed it to see if they could find traces of what's called cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs).

These protein fragments are produced by nearly all living creatures, and work as an essential part of our innate immune system. Previous research by the team in 2015 had identified these peptides in alligator blood.

Gators aren't particularly closely related to the dragons, each representing very different branches of the reptilian lines. How far does this spread?

"It's that part of your immune system that keeps you alive in the two or three weeks before you can make antibodies to a bacterial infection," biochemist Monique van Hoek said at the time.

"It's part of your generalised immune response to the world."

So this is not really novel to Komodo Dragons, although it may well be better developed in some reptiles.

The team synthesised eight of these peptides, and tested them against two particularly nasty kinds of bacteria that have been labelled 'superbugs': Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus, aka MRSA.

Of the eight synthesised peptides, seven were effective at killing both bacteria in lab-grown cultures, while one was only effective against P. aeruginosa.

I suspect Komodo Dragons make very poor experimental test animals. Even if a reptile is useful in research, perhaps a less obnoxious species could be used.

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup" and links. Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Massachusetts Girl" ready at The Other McCain.

Could Fish Medicine Save Your Life?

This forgotten WWI antiseptic could be the key to fighting antibiotic resistance

An antiseptic used in WWI hospitals has been revived after seven decades, and is showing great promise in preventing the common cold, and could be the key to fighting antibiotic resistance - one of the biggest ever threats to global health.

The simple antiseptic, made from coal tar, was replaced by penicillin after the war, and fights both viral and bacterial infections in an entirely different way - one that could prevent pathogens from mutating to outsmart our medications.
. . .
Called Acriflavine, the antiseptic is derived from coal tar, and comes in the form of a reddish brown or orange powder.

It was first used in the early 1900s as a topical treatment to prevent flesh wounds from getting infected, and was widely used in hospitals and homes to treat everything from urinary tract infections and gonorrhoea until the 1940s, when penicillin came to the fore.

It’s now been more than 70 years since penicillin became the most important tool we have to fight bacterial infections, and its days appear to be numbered.

Many of the deadliest pathogens in the world have managed to mutate into forms that our penicillin-based drugs can’t recognise or destroy, and now antibiotic-resistant bacteria kill roughly 700,000 people each year around the world.

In addition to common hospital superbug, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), experts are now concerned that gonorrhoea is about to become resistant to all remaining drugs, and there are already resistant strains of tuberculosis, pneumonia, and E. coli being circulated.
. . .
So what makes Acriflavine a better fit than penicillin for our very serious superbug problem?

Gantier and his team revisited the drug that showed so much success in the early 20th century, because until now, no one had investigated how it actually works.

"Early scientific literature notes its antibacterial qualities in test tubes, but its very effective action on the skin has never been fully defined," Gantier told Bill Condie at Cosmos.

The team investigated its behaviour in human cell cultures, and figured out that it binds to the DNA of the patient to kick the immune system into action when a viral infection was taking place.

At the same time, the antiseptic also binds to viral DNA in the body, slowing the spread of viruses as the immune system prepares itself.

If you Google acriflavine, you will soon see that one of  it's major uses these days is as a fish medicine. Back in my teen years, when I worked in a tropical fish store, we used to make an all purpose "fish tonic", which consisted largely of methylene blue and acriflavine. The blue and the yellow acriflavine made it a lovely green color.  We had a huge (OK, maybe 500 g) bottle of powdered acriflavine, and the medicine was made up by adding a teaspoon or so of each (no measurements actually involved), plus a little salt and some other secret (but probably ineffective) ingredients into a gallon jar, mixing it, and bottling it. A few teaspoons would turn a tank green for a couple of days, until the dyes were degraded or absorbed. It was remarkably effective for a large number of fish diseases.

Once when I had a smashed finger nail that was starting to go bad, I drilled a hole in the nail to let out the pus and flushed it with the TNT special tonic (TNT aquarium was the name of the fish store). It stopped the infection in its tracks, at the cost of a green finger tip for a few days.

I'm surprised a DNA intercaliting agent is being considered for internal use, though. They are general presumed to be carcinogenic based on the possibility of DNA damage.

Eat Shit, Lose Weight?

New freeze-dried 'poo pills' could be the answer to obesity

SCIENTISTS are set to test freeze-dried pills containing the faecal matter of healthy and lean donors in a bid to tackle the obesity crisis.
Twenty obese volunteers will be taking part in the research and each will be receiving capsules that include several grams of stool from slim donors.

The pills will be taken every week for six weeks without making any changes to their normal diet and exercise habits while researchers track any changes.

These health and weight recordings will be taken at three, six and 12 months, with the potential to continue further depending on the success of the trial.
 . . .
The method has been tested in a number of animal studies and some anecdotal data in humans and has proved effective.

Previously, researchers took the gut microbes from a set of twins, one slim, one obese, and transplanted them into two sets of microbe-free mice.

The mice were on the same diet but those who got the obese twin's microbes became plumper, while the mice who received the lean twin's microbes remained slim.

Why would you think that a small dose of oral bacteria from a slim donor would overwhelm the huge population of bacteria already present in the gut?

Answering Life's Big Question, One at a Time

Why Do Your Dog's Feet Smell Like Popcorn? Basically the same reason mine smell like bad cheese. It's the bacteria:

Many dogs' feet do smell like popcorn! Mind blown.
More accurately, they smell a little closer to corn chips, hence the nickname for the condition: "Frito Feet."

You know, I'd never thought about it that way, but they do!

So why does it happen? The skin of most animals is home to a lot of microbes. As Bill Bryson puts it in A Short History of Nearly Everything, "If you are in good health and averagely diligent about hygiene, you will have a herd of about one trillion bacteria grazing on your fleshy plains—about a hundred thousand of them on every square centimeter of skin." Dog feet are a great place for bacteria and yeast to take up residence because there's a lot of moisture and little to no air circulation in the folds and pockets of skin between the toes and foot pads. Bacteria flock there and reproduce with exuberance.

The world looks a whole lot different to a microbiologist.

All these microorganisms emit their own distinct odors (they're what give us BO), and the popcorn/corn chip smell on some dogs' feet could be due to yeast or Proteus bacteria. Both are known for their sweet, corn tortilla–like smell. Or it could be Pseudomonas bacteria, which smell a little fruitier—but pretty close to popcorn to most noses.

Hat tip to Ace's ONT. Wombat-socho brings the grand Rule 5 roundup with "Rule 5 Sunday: Rebel Girls."

Closing the Bay Continues

 A few days ago, I reported on a beach closure on the Chesapeake Bay caused by excessive bacterial contamination.  At the time, I predicted the heavy rains we were experiencing at that time would likely cause more.  I would like to say "I told you so!"

Bacteria Closes 3 Anne Arundel Co. Beaches 

The Anne Arundel County Health Department is warning swimmers to stay out of the water at three beaches after tests show high bacteria levels.

Officials announced Monday that they are closing Beverly Beach on the Chesapeake Bay near Mayo, London Towne at Arundel Road Beach on the South River in Edgewater and Upper Magothy Beach on the Magothy River in Severna Park. The closures come after high bacteria readings were found in water samples for two consecutive weeks.

Health officials say they don't know yet what caused the high readings, but waterfowl, rainfall, water temperature and tidal action can contribute. The advisory remains in effect until tests show acceptable levels.

Anyone who has come in contact with the water is advised to wash with soap and warm water immediately.

I always carry a bucket of warm water and a bar of soap when I visit the beach, don't you?