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Summary: Retrofitting wireless earbuds to detect neural signals and relaying the data back to smartphones via Bluetooth, researchers say the new earEEG system could have multiple applications, including health monitoring.

Source: UC Berkeley.

From keypads to touch screens to voice commands – step by step, the interface between users and their smartphones has become more personalized, more seamless. Now the ultimate personalized interface is approaching: issuing smartphone commands with your brain waves.

What do you do at different times in the day? What do you eat? How do you interact with your neighbors? These are some of the questions that biologists would love to ask communities of microbes, from those that live in extreme environments deep in the ocean to those that cause chronic infections in humans. Now, a new technique developed at Caltech can answer these questions by surveying gene expression across a population of millions of bacterial cells while still preserving the cells’ positions relative to one another.

The technique can be used to understand the wide variety of microbial communities on our planet, including the microbes that live within our gut and influence our health as well as those that colonize the roots of plants and contribute to soil health, to name a few.

The technique was developed at Caltech by Daniel Dar, a former postdoctoral scholar in the laboratory of Dianne Newman, Gordon M. Binder/Amgen Professor of Biology and Geobiology and executive officer for biology and biological engineering, and by Dr. Nina Dar, a former senior research technician in the laboratory of Long Cai, professor of biology and biological engineering. Daniel Dar is now an assistant professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. A paper describing the research appears on August 12 in the journal Science.

The effects of fracking on nearby water sources may be worse than previously thought, according to a new study that found hydraulic fracturing can alter the composition of surface water and not just groundwater.

The study, published Thursday in Science, is the first to link fracking to small increases in salt concentrations in surface water, particularly during the early stages of production. While the highest salt levels were well below what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers harmful, researchers identified a robust association between new wells and water quality changes, triggering public health concerns.

“Our work provides the first large-scale sample evidence showing that hydraulic fracturing is related to the quality of nearby surface waters for several U.S. shales,” Christian Leuz, co-author of the study and a professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, said in a news release.

Why are products sold that have not been fully tested for safety and public health?


A study led by researchers at the University of Toronto highlights the extensive damage that can be caused by common teeth-whitening agents.

Published recently in Nature Scientific Reports, the study assessed the dental cell damage caused by the use of carbamide peroxide teeth-whitening treatments.

It found that a recommended application of just 10 percent carbamide peroxide gel on teeth (35 percent carbamide peroxide gel can be purchased online) reduces the enamel protein content by up to 50 percent.

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Vitamin K Intake and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in the Danish Diet Cancer and Health Study.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34369182/

Vitamin K2 amounts in food:
Menaquinones, Bacteria, and Foods: Vitamin K2 in the Diet.
https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/50921

Multiple Vitamin K Forms Exist in Dairy Foods.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29955705/

Menaquinone Content of Cheese.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5946231/

Determination of Phylloquinone and Menaquinones in Food Effect of Food Matrix on Circulating Vitamin K Concentrations.

SPACE STATION CREW MEMBER DISCUSSES LIFE IN SPACE WITH MEN’S HEALTH MAGAZINE

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA discussed life and research aboard the space station during an in-flight interview August 18 with Men’s Health Magazine. Kimbrough launched in April on a SpaceX Crew Dragon as part of a planned six-month mission.

Samsung Pay can now store your coronavirus vaccination card on your smartphone in the U.S., thanks to the CommonHealth app on the Play Store.


After Google added support for COVID-19 vaccination cards to Google Pay, Samsung has now announced that it is doing the same with Samsung Pay. Users of the service will be able to load their SMART Health Cards displaying their COVID-19 vaccination status within Samsung Pay. This will allow U.S. consumers to download a verifiable digital version of their vaccination record from pharmacies or health systems and securely store in on their smartphone via the CommonHealth app on supported Samsung Galaxy smartphones.

A pesticide that’s been linked to neurological damage in children, including reduced IQ, loss of working memory, and attention deficit disorders, has been banned by the Biden administration following a years-long legal battle.


Agency officials issued a final ruling on Wednesday saying chlorpyrifos can no longer be used on the food that makes its way onto American dinner plates. The move overturns a Trump-era decision.

The gut microbiota plays an important role in human health and the prevention of disease. As a result, changes in its regular functioning may play a part in some medical conditions, such as irritable bowel syndromeTrusted Source, obesityTrusted Source, and cardiovascular diseasesTrusted Source.


A recent study investigates the connection between high fat diets, gut bacteria, and an increased risk of developing heart disease.