How do you get bacteria to solve math problems for you? Placing them in a life and death situation is one way. In order for them to be able to withstand the drugs, researchers injected these tiny life forms with proteins that will act like variables in an equation. Learn more in the full article up next.

When we think about improved quality of living, we also think about safety and security from diseases. But as it turns out, the more that  humans depend on modern medicine, the more they become more and more susceptible to diseases. Increased contact with wildlife resulting from increasing population also contributes to deadly outbreaks as well. Read more about it in the full article.

E. coli is definitely one of the deadlier diseases in our time. But thanks to the efforts of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a few labs dedicated to the cause, we may be able to find out just what can be done to stem the rising number of infections. The full details after the jump.

It is common knowledge that if you leave a wet sponge out in the open too long, it becomes a veritable colony for germs like E. coli and for viruses, protozoan parasites, and bacterial spores.

It doesn't sound too bad, until we mention that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that 76 million Americans get sick annually, with a further 5,000 dying from food poisoning due to these microbes.

Now, while most people would think that a quick trip to the dishwasher is enough to cure the problem, researchers have found an even easier way to kill 99 percent of the microbes infesting this cleaning tool - nuke it.

"People often put their sponges and scrubbers in the dishwasher, but if they really want to decontaminate them and not just clean them, they should use the microwave," said Gabriel Bitton, the environmental engineering professor who led this study at the University of Florida.

The research group tested this remarkably simple but effective method of sterilization by placing a household sponge in an equally common household microwave. According to their results, two minutes was enough to kill all the aforementioned germs, with a further four to 10 minutes needed to kill all remaining spores. No further comments if standing close to the oven can cause cancer.

The study and its results are currently published in the Journal of Environmental Health.

Innovative Biosensors has developed an E. coli test that indicates the presence of the deadly bacteria in less than four minutes, instead of the usual two to three days. The process uses genetically-engineered cells taken from the immune system which make infected cells glow blue.

Aside from its speed, the E. coli O157:H7 Detection Kit is sensitive enough to detect even a minute number of the bacteria. E.coli has been proven to cause illness even in small amounts. According to the company, the test is tailor-made to detect only E.coli, eliminating the possibility of getting false positive results.

E. coli O157:H7 Detection Kit can be used for testing ground beef and fresh vegetables and fruits. It can also be applied in food and meat processing plants.

The presence of E. coli bacteria in organically grown spinach caused one death and affected more than a hundred people in 23 states.

Lettuce is now the new spinach, no thanks to the recent E. coli outbreak. The incident with the contaminated pre-packaged greens is causing the disgraced spinach to slowly disappear from restaurants, salad bars and groceries in North Carolina.

Since Natural Selection Foods LLC recalled its line of fresh spinach last week, restaurants have shifted to Romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce and other greens. Before the recall, a restaurant said that customers consumed about seven cases of baby spinach leaves each week.

The origin of the E.coli that caused the outbreak remains unknown. Some researchers say that the bacteria could be inside plant tissues where no amount of washing the vegetable could remove it. So far, no incident of E. coli infection has been reported in NC.

But Popeye and fellow spinach addicts can still get their fix from quiches and dips which are made from frozen spinach.

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a veggie native to central and southwestern Asia and was first cultivated in southwestern Asia. It was known to the Chinese as 'the herb of Persia' as far back as the year 647. Although real spinach is nothing like the canned spinach that helped Popeye save perpetual victim Olive Oyl from Bluto, it still packs a large nutritional value. It's a rich source of Vitamins A, C and E, and antioxidants.

Scientists are saying the deadly E.coli bacteria can be found not only on the surface of the vegetables but inside plant tissues as well. This means that, if contaminated with the pathogen, no amount of washing can remove them from foods such as spinach and lettuce.

The bacteria, according to the research, enters through the water absorbed by the plant root. Because the usual source of E.coli are organic fertilizers containing animal manure, this may have a significant impact on the growing organic food sector.

At least 114 victims in at least 21 states were brought down by E.coli after eating raw spinach from a California company that produces organic fresh vegetables.

Escherichia coli is one of the main species of bacteria that live in the lower intestines of mammals. The bacteria are necessary for the proper digestion of food and are part of the intestinal flora but only one strain (E. coli strain O157:H7) out of thousands causes illness in humans.

Last saturday spinach was pulled from grocery store shelves due to an E. Coli bacteria outbreak that has already killed one person and caused 100 others to be hospitalized. Natural Selection Foods LLC, issued the recall of its packaged spinach products throughout Canada, Mexico, and the US as a precaution.

Officials stress that as the investigation continues, other brands may be implicated, not just those made by Natural Selection Foods. Some retailers and some consumers feel that the contamination issue has just been blown out of proportion. Still, most feel quite upset and prefer to stay cautious. Some consumers are even afraid of buying other green leafy products like lettuce.

Despite the scare, the United Fresh Produce Association is mighty impressed with the way Natural Selection Foods handled the situation. President Tom Stenzel had this to say:

"The FDA investigation and the voluntary action taken by Natural Selection Foods LLC help narrow concern about any continuing risk, and begins to ensure that product that may be potentially contaminated is removed completely from the food supply."

Pop-eye the Sailor was mighty worried. Bluto had no comment.

Popeye and other fans of spinach won't find this news delighting. The Food and Drug Administration of the United States have issued out a warning against this leafy green veggie as it is suspected to be a carrier of the E. coli virus.

Following the outbreak that has so far killed one person and making ill nearly a hundred more, the company Natural Selection Foods (carrying Earthbound Farm and other brands) has voluntarily recalled their products containing spinach. The FDA, however, stressed that the bacteria had not been isolated in Natural Selection Food products but that the connection was established by patient accounts of what they had eaten before falling ill.

According to the warning, people should not eat any prepackaged spinach, whether sold in bags or clamshell boxes. Because the exact extent of the contamination is yet unknown, it is best to avoid spinach altogether for now. And washing contaminated spinach won't get rid of the virus, either, though thorough cooking can kill it. But still, it's indeed better to be safe than sorry, so why bother risking it?

Of the nearly 100 victims of the virus, 29 have been hospitalized, with 14 of them having kidney failure. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of Friday the outbreak had grown to include at least 19 states namely: California, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Wisconsin accounted for about half the cases, including the single death.

The E.coli has several strains, with most strains being harmless and thriving in the intestines of healthy animals as well as humans. The particular strain that produces a toxin and can thus cause sever illness is the E. coli 0157:H7. Infection can be had by eating meat, especially ground beef, that is rare or undercooked. Drinking unpasteurized milk or juices, and drinking or swimming in sewage-contaminated water can also cause infection. The bacteria also lives in an infected person's stool and may be spread from person to person.

While most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, there are some, regardless of age, who develops a form of kidney failure, which often leads to death.

Officials encourage those who has gotten sick after eating raw packaged spinach to consult a doctor. "At this point, we are focused on the issue of the spinach. As we learn more, as we go further, we will alter or change that recommendation (avoiding spinach)," said Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, acting commissioner for the FDA.

Cow and chicken dung has long been used as fertilizer - but human sewage?!?

With an exploding population, it may be an idea whose time has come - and British scientist Michael Rogers and his colleagues at London's Imperial College are saying it may not be as harmful as it seems.

The main concern has been a strain of bacteria known as E. Coli, recently implicated in a spate of food-borne illnesses in the U.S. earlier this week. The scientists are now saying that the bacteria may actually die off relatively quickly when sewage sludge is applied to crop fields.

Until 1998, the U.K. dumped 25% of its sewage sludge into the North Sea. 50% was spread on farmland, and only 10% was incinerated or put into landfills. That increased to 20% when the EU banned the dumping of sludge into oceans.  Rogers has discovered that the levels of E.Coli drop significantly when the sludge is spread onto fields. At the annual meeting of the UK Society for General Microbiology, Rogers reported that "Within 70 days, they went down to as little as 10 bacteria per gram, from 100,000 per gram initially."

Farmers in Great Britain can feel better about using sewage sludge to improve soil quality. It's being experimented with in the US as well, specifically in Iowa. Considering what comes out of Congress every year, there should be no shortage of material to work with...