PL | EN

Mystery diseases: superbug, “whisky fungus” and herbicides

Construction of a warehouse owned by Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey will be halted in Tennessee. According to local residents, a “whisky fungus”, i.e. Baudoinia compniacensis, formed from evaporating alcohol fumes, is spreading around the buildings. This fungus grows on surfaces near bakeries and distilleries around the world. Locals are calling on the company to install air filters to combat the problem.

According to US experts,  the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa heralds the arrival of an era in which antibiotics no longer work, and harmless infections spiral out of control. The bacterium has a rare gene that protects it from almost all commonly used antibiotics. At least 58 Americans in 13 states have been infected due to the use of eye drops contaminated with it called “EzriCare”, available over-the-counter in the US and manufactured in India by Global Pharma Healthcare. At least one person has died, and at least five have suffered permanent vision loss.

In recent years, dozens of people in the Canadian province of New Brunswick have developed a number of worrying symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases. Local neurologist, Alier Marrero, has asked the Canadian government to conduct environmental tests that he believes will show the presence of glyphosate and other herbicides that can harm the human brain. In New Brunswick, forestry companies often use glyphosate to reduce vegetation growth.

Read also
AI in the electricity industry, steel production and child adoption
AI in the electricity industry, steel production and child adoption
ScottishPower Energy Networks uses artificial intelligence to locate better potential power grid faults caused by severe weather, mobilise engineers and keep equipment ready to solve problems even before they occur. The “Predict4Resilience” project estimates the possibility of failure up to a week in advance, considering historical and current weather forecasts. New York-based Fero Labs is […]
Can psychedelics treat PTSD and climate change anxiety?
Can psychedelics treat PTSD and climate change anxiety?
Previous research has already shown that psilocybin and MDMA (ecstasy) found in mushrooms are safe and effective for treating PTSD, depression and alcoholism. However, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved them. And can psychedelic therapy help with fear of climate change, i.e. ecological anxiety and climate sadness? They differ from […]
Sustainable construction of skyscrapers and the Bologna tower
Sustainable construction of skyscrapers and the Bologna tower
The Sara Cultural Center in Skellefteå, Sweden, is one of the tallest wooden buildings in the world and an experiment in sustainable architecture. The building is approximately 80 m high, has 20 floors and is made of wood from local forests. The project is “carbon negative” – 5,631 t of CO₂ generated during logging, transport […]
AGOA in Uganda, visa chaos in South Africa, and business development
AGOA in Uganda, visa chaos in South Africa, and business development
South Africa, where ⅓ of the population is unemployed, risks losing investment due to the “chaos” of the visa process and system failure. European companies warn about the lack of qualified employees, threatened development plans and the inability to create new jobs. In South Africa, there is a great need for, among others, engineers, scientists, […]
Asia: lethwei martial art in Myanmar and the successes of Afghan cricket
Asia: lethwei martial art in Myanmar and the successes of Afghan cricket
A national sport is developing in the Irrawaddy region of Myanmar, in a delta surrounded by the Bay of Bengal, isolated from other parts of the country and the ongoing civil war there. It’s lethwei, a brutal martial art called the “art of the nine limbs” because every body part can be used in an […]
Previous issues