Latest news with #BrunelUniversityofLondon
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Superbug That Can Feed on Plastic Is Spreading in Hospitals
A nasty bacterial superbug that kills hundreds of thousands of people per year is spreading through hospitals — and it feeds on something surprising, scientists have now found. Researchers from the Brunel University of London have found, per a new study in the journal Cell, that the bacterial Pseudomonas aeruginosa appears to "digest" medical plastic. Associated with more than 559,000 deaths globally per year, this drug-resistant bug is, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, believed to cause other illnesses like pneumonia or urinary tract infections. People often seem to develop it after surgery, but until this study, researchers weren't aware that it might be living or feeding on medical plastics. By analyzing a strain of the bacteria taken from a patient's wound swab, the microbial researchers found that P. aeruginosa seems specifically to survive longer on polycaprolactone, a plastic used in all kinds of medical interventions ranging from sutures, stints, and surgical mesh to wound dressings, drug-delivery patches, and implants. In Brunel University's press release about the "world-first" research, study leader Ronan McCarthy said this finding suggests that medical professionals should rethink how bugs spread throughout hospitals and other healthcare settings. "Plastics, including plastic surfaces, could potentially be food for these bacteria," McCarthy said. "Pathogens with this ability could survive for longer in the hospital environment." The study also, as the professor noted, "means that any medical device or treatment that contains plastic" — including the ventilators some pneumonia patients need and catheters necessary for UTIs — "could be susceptible to degradation by bacteria." Beyond its ability to break down such important medical tools, the researchers also found that the enzyme they isolated appears to grow stronger biofilms, or outer layers that help bacteria resist antibiotics and make them harder to treat, after digesting plastic. Though there will obviously need to be more study to figure out how best to head off this plastic-eating menace, there's a 200-year history of pathogenic adaptation behind P. aeruginosa that suggests it may eventually circumvent any such measures. Still, McCarthy pointed out that scientists "need to understand the impact this has on patient safety." "Plastic is everywhere in modern medicine," he said, "and it turns out some pathogens have adapted to degrade it." More on bacteria: Mysterious Bacteria Not Found on Earth Are Growing on China's Space Station
Newsweek
08-05-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
Deadly Hospital Superbug Could Eat Patient's Dressings, Implants and Sutures
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A potentially deadly hospital superbug is able to feast on and break down medical-grade plastics—including those used to make implants, sutures and wound dressings. This is the conclusion of a study by researchers from Brunel University of London, England, who warn that this trick could allow the bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, to survive longer both within patients and on surfaces around hospital wards. The common hospital-acquired, antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection is known to cause infections in the blood, lungs and urinary tract after surgery. While symptoms can vary depending on the site of infection, they can include pus discharge, aches, cough, fever, tiredness, confusion and shock. Notably, the bacteria is known as a major cause of catheter-related urinary tract infections (UTIs) and ventilator-associated pneumonia—both of which are associated with plastic-based medical equipment. The findings challenge the long-held assumption that pathogens are unable to degrade medical plastics, say the researchers. "Plastic is everywhere in modern medicine—and it turns out some pathogens have adapted to degrade it," said paper author and biomedical researcher professor Ronan McCarthy. He added: "We need to understand the impact this has on patient safety." Pictured: an artist's impression of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria, main, and plastic medical equipment, inset. Pictured: an artist's impression of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria, main, and plastic medical equipment, inset. ivan68 / quantic69/iStock / Getty Images Plus In their study, McCarthy and colleagues isolated an enzyme known as Pap1 from a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that was originally sampled from a patient's wound. In lab tests, the enzyme degraded 78 percent of a sample of polycaprolactone (PCL) within just seven days. PCL is a plastic commonly used in drug-delivery patches, stents, surgical mesh, sutures and wound dressings. This capacity, the team says, allows the bacteria to consume PCL as its sole source of carbon. Moreover, the researchers found that Pseudomonas aeruginosa can use broken-down plastic fragments to form tougher biofilms—coatings of protective slime that can increase antibiotic resistance and make infections harder to treat. With signs of similar enzymes seen in other pathogens, the team fears that other medical-grade plastics may also be vulnerable to becoming a bacterial feast—including such commonly used materials as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyurethane (PUR). These compounds are used, for example, to make bone scaffolds, breast implants, bandages, catheters, dental implants and wound dressings. McCarthy said the findings mean that we need to reconsider how pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa exist in hospital environments. "Plastics, including plastic surfaces, could potentially be food for these bacteria. Pathogens with this ability could survive for long in the hospital environment," McCarthy added. "It also means that any medical device or treatment that contains plastic could be susceptible to degradation by bacteria." Further studies will be needed, the researcher added, to determine how many pathogenic bacterial species use plastic-degrading enzymes, as well as what impacts such might have on their virulence. Going forward, McCarthy concluded, we may need to switch to using different, harder-to-digest plastics in medical applications, alongside factoring in the possibility of plastic-degrading enzymes playing a role in unexplained, long-lasting outbreaks. Do you have a tip on a health story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about superbugs? Let us know via science@ Reference Howard, S. A., Dios, R. de, Maslova, E., Myridakis, A., Miller, T. H., & McCarthy, R. R. (2025). Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates can encode plastic-degrading enzymes that allow survival on plastic and augment biofilm formation. Cell Reports.
BBC News
07-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
More than 100 chemicals polluting South harbours
Researchers have found more than 100 unique chemical pollutants in two UK harbours, raising concerns about their impact on analysis of seawater, seaweed and shellfish from Langstone and Chichester harbours found chemical pollutants surged more than 100-fold after sewage found 105 unique pharmaceuticals, pesticides and illegal week Environment Agency data showed raw sewage was released into England's rivers and seas for a record 3,610,000 hours in 2024. The researchers were from Brunel University of London, the University of Portsmouth and Imperial College London, working with citizen scientists from the Clean Harbours study took 339 samples from 21 spots in the harbours, both Sites of Special Scientific Interest, during the spring and autumn of can slip through some wastewater treatment plants throughout the year but the autumn sampling coincided with rainy days, which caused combined sewer overflows (CSOs) to drive sewage into surface waters. "CSO discharges were an obvious source of chemical pollution in these waters," said Dr Thomas Miller from Brunel University of London, who led the study. "Our study found that some chemicals increased by over 100-fold in water after these discharges, making them a high risk to aquatic wildlife." An insecticide regularly used on domestic pets in flea and tick medication, Imidacloprid, was the highest risk based on levels found in surface water."Out of so many chemicals detected, the presence of pet tick and flea treatments in the harbours was especially concerning," said Dr Leon Barron, from Imperial College London."We urgently need to reassess the practice of blanket preventative treatment of our dogs and cats to help bring the risk down."The team's work will be published in the journal Environment International on Alex Ford, from the University of Portsmouth, added: "The impact of these contaminants we are yet to fully understand, but it's clear from our data that they increase substantially under storm events which discharge untreated sewage." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Independent
23-02-2025
- Science
- The Independent
You've probably never been worried about sinkholes – here's why you should be
Sinkholes are no longer rare – it's time to ask what's making them worse. For most of us, sinkholes are the stuff of science fiction movies – terrifying, but rare. That illusion collapsed this week in Godstone, Surrey, when two five-metre-deep holes suddenly opened up in a residential street, forcing the evacuation of 30 homes. Experts suspect a water main burst beneath the road and eroded the soil, in combination with the fact that the region's underground soils were once the home to the town's sand quarry. Dr Philip Collins, deputy dean of the College of Engineering at Brunel University of London, explained quite simply that the underlying sand likely became very 'weak when it becomes wet' and that, combined with some clay-rich layers in the Godstone sand, that likely would 'heave and shrink over time'. The reason behind the formation then may be very localised. But as scientists investigate, the incident serves as a reminder that sudden ground collapses are not as rare now as they once seemed. Around the world, sinkholes are appearing more frequently, and there is a budding understanding of how climate change might be driving these formations, with changing rainfall conditions, both when the underlying soil is too wet and too dry. In January 2021, a sinkhole in Naples swallowed a hospital car park, causing power outages and temporary disruptions at the Ospedale del Mare, which had a Covid-19 recovery unit. In 2022, sinkholes swallowed roads and farmland in parts of China, including Guangxi and Hunan. Scientists have linked increasing sinkhole activity in some regions to changing rainfall patterns and groundwater depletion. In May 2023, a long-dormant sinkhole in Daisetta, Texas, first formed in 2008, suddenly expanded overnight by 150 feet, raising concerns for nearby homes and infrastructure. From Europe to the US and Asia, sinkholes are appearing in new areas, and this seems to be happening with greater frequency, as extreme weather and human activity make the ground more unstable. Sinkholes happen when underground layers of soil or rock weaken and collapse, often due to shifts in water levels. Picture a sponge drying out and shrinking, then suddenly being soaked with water. It softens, buckles, and caves in. Climate change is intensifying both extremes – droughts that deplete underground reservoirs and storms that overwhelm the land with too much water too quickly. In north-eastern Spain, researchers found a consistent link between sinkholes and drought periods. When underground aquifers dry up, air pockets replace the missing water, leaving the surface fragile. The next heavy rain, instead of replenishing the ground, saturates the weakened soil and triggers collapses. A similar pattern has been observed in Florida, where hurricanes bring record-breaking rainfall after months of dry conditions, causing land to crumble weeks after the storm has passed. Following Hurricane Ian in 2022, sinkholes began appearing across central Florida, swallowing roads and backyards long after the floodwaters had receded. Unlike hurricanes or wildfires, sinkholes do not come with forecasts or evacuation warnings. We can't monitor them like we do the weather. For the most part, like they did this week, they open without notice. This makes them extremely dangerous in urban areas where underground infrastructure and ageing roads combine with a drought or over-extraction of underground water. And after this week, they now take up way too much rent-free space in my head. The financial cost of these disasters is rising as well. In the US, sinkhole-related damage now exceeds $300 million annually. In China's Shaanxi province, more than 20,000 sinkholes were recorded between 2000 and 2020, a number that continues to grow as rainfall patterns shift. In the Middle East, excessive groundwater extraction has led to increased sinkhole activity in Iran, Jordan, and the Dead Sea region, where over 6,000 sinkholes have formed due to falling water levels. This is part of what climate change looks like. It might not be the part you thought to expect and may not have directly contributed to this week's sinkholes in Godstone, but it is increasingly part of the patchwork of climatic uncertainty. We are not just at risk from heatwaves and melting ice caps, but changes in rainfall patterns literally seep into the soil and make the very ground we walk on increasingly unstable. Although there are multi-input efforts to model and improve geological stability around the world, it's still very hard to predict or prevent sinkholes from forming. We can, however, start treating them as a symptom made potentially worse and far more common by our much larger addiction to burning fossil fuels and our general neglect of the uniquely changing Earth around us, both above our heads and below our feet.
Globe and Mail
19-02-2025
- Climate
- Globe and Mail
Sinkhole opens up on the main street of an English village
A large sinkhole that appeared on Monday night is seen in Godstone, England, on Feb. 18. Jonathan Brady/The Associated Press Residents in an English village were kept out of their homes Wednesday as experts tried to shore up a large sinkhole that swallowed up parts of the main street up to the edge of at least two residential buildings. Surrey County officials declared a major incident Tuesday after the hole opened up on Godstone High Street in the town about 20 miles (32 kilometres) south of London. The sinkhole likely was caused by a water main that burst under the road, said Philip Collins, the deputy dean of engineering at Brunel University of London. Residents of about 30 buildings were evacuated Tuesday because of fears the collapse could rupture gas pipes and cause an explosion. Homes in the area lost their water supply for more than a day. 'It's an absolute nightmare. Dreadful,' said Tracey Jones, whose daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter were evacuated. Structural experts were trying to figure out how to keep people and property safe and repair the damage, said Carl Bussey, the Surrey County Council assistant director for safer communities. Collins, who is an expert in geology and geotechnical engineering, said water pressure from the broken main probably washed away soil beneath the road and led to the collapse. He said the soil likely washed into sewers, which could cause other problems. 'One of the contributing factors is the local geology, which is sand, and the former land use which is a sand quarry that was located immediately to the west of the sinkhole,' Collins said. 'Sand can be strong when compacted as the particles are packed together, but weak when it becomes wet, and particularly if there is a lot of water under pressure.' The village is home to a series of caves left from a stone quarry that was in operation until the end of the 19th century. A spokesperson for the county said the mines weren't near where the collapse occurred. But Collins said an ordnance survey map from 1868-69 shows an entrance to a subterranean sand pit near the sinkhole. 'While this has been infilled, it may have left a legacy of deeper, weaker soil,' he said. SES Water has not commented on the cause of the break or the sinkhole. It said it had restored water to residents Wednesday. The company could not be reached by phone after-hours Wednesday and did not immediately respond to an e-mail from the Associated Press seeking comment.
