Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) has a mortality rate of up to 30% in developing countries. The purpose of this experiment was to determine if enzymatic and volatile compound-based approaches would perform more quickly in comparison to existing S. aureus diagnostic methods and to evaluate these novel methods on accuracy. Ultimately, this device provided results in less than 30 seconds, which is much quicker than existing methods that take anywhere from 10 minutes to 48 hours based on approach. Statistical analysis of accuracy provides preliminary confirmation that the device based on enzymatic and volatile compound-based approaches can be an accurate and time-efficient tool to detect pathogenic S. aureus.

In a world where plastic waste accumulation is threatening both land and sea life, Green et al. investigate the ability of mealworms to breakdown polystyrene, a non-recyclable form of petrochemical-based polymer we use in our daily lives. They confirm that these organisms, can degrade various forms of polystyrene, even after it has been put to use in our daily lives. Although the efficiency of the degradation process still requires improvement, the good news is, the worms are tiny and themselves are biodegradable, so we can use plenty of them without worrying about space and how to get rid of them. This is very promising and certainly good news for the planet.

Large corporations often are known for their financial power, but what social and environmental power and conscious do they have? The more responsible corporations are in relation to environmental, social, and governance criteria the better they do fiscally.

Here, seeking to better understand the effects of altered day-night cycles, the authors considered the effects of an altered photoperiod on Daphnia magna. By tracking possible stress responses, including mean heart rate, brood size, and male-to-female ratio they found that a shorter photoperiod resulted in altered mean heart rates and brood size. The authors suggest that based on these observations, it is important to consider the effects of photoperiod alterations and the stress responses of other organisms.

Environmental disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill can be devastating to ecosystems for long periods of time. Safer, cheaper, and more effective methods of oil clean-up are needed to clean up oil spills in the future. Here, the authors investigate the ability of natural ocean algae to process crude oil into less toxic chemicals. They identify Coccochloris elabens as a particularly promising algae for future bioremediation efforts.

In this article the authors looked at how temperature was impacted when alumnium was added in various forms to aqueous copper(II) solutions. Their study investigates the impact of surface area on chemical reactions.

The authors compare RNA expression profiles across three human cell types following infection with MERS-CoV

Here the authors test the ability of the bacterium Bacillus subtilis to degrade the polyethylene from plastic waste in various aquatic environments. They determined that degradation can occur among all samples while it was the highest in fresh water and lowest in ocean water.

PVC is a widely used plastic that poses harmful health hazards when burned. In this study, the authors ask whether or not burned PVC (PVC char) affects bacterial transformation.

As levels of food waste continue to rise, it is essential to find improved techniques of prolonging the shelf life of produce. The authors aimed to find a simple, yet effective, method of slowing down spoilage in tomatoes. Linear regression analysis revealed that the tomatoes soaked salt water and not dried displayed the lowest correlation between time and spoilage, confirming that this preparation was the most effective.