Phage therapy was once used to treat bubonic plague. Now with bacteria evolving resistance to more and more antibiotics, phage therapy is drawing a second look from researchers - sometimes with a novel twist. Instead of simply using the phages to kill bacteria directly, the new strategy aims to catch the bacteria in an evolutionary dilemma, one in which they cannot evade phages and antibiotics simultaneously. read more
It was one of the most shocking and disturbing lines in the modern history of presidential politics: During his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday night, former President Donald Trump made a wild assertion about Springfield, a small city in Ohio that has recently seen an influx of migrants. The trouble first began more than two months ago, when Republicans - including Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) - began zeroing in on the town. read more
The accusation that Haitian immigrants in a small Ohio city are abducting and eating their neighbors' cats and dogs relies not on one falsehood but on a web of them. When we are willing to see children terrorized rather than stop telling lies about their families, we should step back, forget about our dogs and cats for a moment, and ask who abducted our consciences. That's especially true for those of us who, like me, claim to be followers of Jesus of Nazareth, who told us that on the Day of Judgment, "people will give account for every careless word they speak" (Mt 12:36). read more
Adam Serwer: Republicans have said that Kamala Harris was chosen "because of her ethnic background," that she's a "DEI hire" who "gets more favorable treatment because of her race and gender." But to the extent that the candidates are running on unearned advantages related to personal biography, this better describes Trump and Vance than it does Harris, who worked her way up from local to state to federal office over the course of decades. read more
Harris's "digital rapid response" operation and all-Gen-Z TikTok team are tapping the trends and rhythms of internet culture to create an online presence that's unique in presidential politics. read more
More than 70 percent of hospital-acquired bacterial infections in the United States are resistant to at least one type of antibiotic. And some pathogens, such as Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella - classified by the World Health Organization as some of the biggest threats to human health - are resistant to multiple antibiotics. In 2019, antimicrobial resistance was linked to 4.95 million deaths globally, heightening the call for more effective treatment options.As Trump has now sucked all the oxygen out of the endless news cycles, here's a topic completely politically neutral. Obviously I'm no virologist, but antibiotic resistance is something with the potential to touch any of us at any time if we're exposed to a bacterial infection. Based on the article - with its simplified explanation above - the research being done indeed looks promising in addressing the potential ticking timebomb of medicine losing the ability to kill certain bacteria now resistant to our current collection of antibiotics.
One of the ways that bacteria can evolve resistance to antibiotics is by using structures in their membranes that are designed to move unwanted molecules out of the cell. By modifying these "efflux pumps" to recognize the antibiotic, bacteria can eliminate the drug before it poisons them.
As it turns out, some phages appear to use these same efflux pumps to invade the bacterial cell. The phage presumably attaches its tail to the outer portion of the pump protein, like a key slipping into a lock, and then injects its genetic material into the cell.
Treating a patient with phages and antibiotics simultaneously could trap bacteria in a no-win situation: If they evolve to modify their efflux pumps so the phage can't bind, the pumps will no longer expel antibiotics, and the bacteria will lose their resistance. But if they retain their antibiotic resistance, the phages will kill them, as Turner and colleagues explained in the 2023 Annual Review of Virology.
We're settling for garbage to avoid settling for ----.
Her record is garbage?
Kamala Harris would be among the most qualified presidents in recent U.S. history. Why is she unliked?Well we know who you are, don't we?
.... No matter what anyone thinks of Harris' race or gender, she is clearly qualified to be president. She's experienced and seasoned. You may disagree with her political positions, which is reason enough to reject her as a candidate. But to view her as unqualified for the presidency is to deny reality. And that reality is the one that some Americans with racist and sexist attitudes refuse to accept.
For those who don't know, Kamala Harris was actually in the crowd in 2007 when Barack Obama made his entrance speech announcing his 2008 presidential run from Springfield, IL.. She was inside his campaign team and knocked on doors in Iowa before their Caucuses.
In 2003 she was elected district attorney of Alameda County and re-elected in 2007. In 2008, she announced her run for state attorney general in 2010 which she won by .1 point. She was re-elected to that position in 2014 and when Barbara Boxer announced her retirement, she ran to fill that spot as US Senator in 2016 and became the first Indian and 2nd AA woman elected to that position.
In 2019 - as you already know - she announced a presidential run of her own in a crowded field of 25 Democrats from which Joe Biden eventually emerged as the nominee and tabbed Harris to be his running mate and they won. She's served as VPOTUS since 2021.
And that takes us to today, where she was thrust into the 1st seat after Biden's disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump in late June, starting her own campaign from scratch on July 21st when Biden publicly stepped aside and 30 minutes later endorsed his loyal VP to become the new nominee - something that officially happened when Democratic delegates remotely elected her as the Party's choice for POTUS.
Kamala has been elected to offices 7 times without a loss. Only those ignorant of her political history would ever have believed the negative narratives the GOP forced into the zeitgeist ignoring the political acumen she undeniably has to have risen as she did. Harris is one of the most experienced candidates for POTUS in history as it regards years of government service. In total, she has 34 years of service, from assistant DA all the way to VPOTUS.
NOTHING she's showing the world today is a surprise to those who knew her and followed her career, which has always been on an upward trajectory. Trump indeed met the very person best equipped to use his own pathological traits and tendencies against him in a way and manner that no other politician has been able to before. And the reason why wasn't just a matter of usual politics. What she achieved was extraordinary based on who she faced and how she utterly dominated him to the point he will not face her on a debate stage again.
Dems call for the assassination of Trump
Name names or be prepared for the consequences.