Some of the (physically) smallest concerns occupying some of science's best minds

[View this email in your browser]( [Open Ars Technica in your browser]( [Ars Orbital HQ] [Nobel winner Dr. Jim Allison, subject of a 2019 documentary on his breakthrough cancer research]( Open your favorite magazine or newspaper or website or newsfeed on any given day, and there's no shortage of stuff to potential worry about. [Global health emergency](. [Giant hack and privacy breach](. [Immense corporate greed and shady action.]( (I mean, all that stuff happened in just the last three days.) In that light, it's easy to see why perhaps some of the (physically) smallest concerns occupying some of science's best minds can get overlooked. But today's research into startling bacteria or troubling animal behavior might be able to prevent tomorrow's tragedies. So for this week's Orbital Transmission, we're highlighting recent research quests that look at some of nature's tiniest threats in the hopes of preventing them from swelling up into something truly sinister. As always, let's all hope [science can save us](. —[@NathanMattise]( [Advertisement]( [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Powered by Live Intent]( [Ad Choices]( Orbital Transmission 08.01.19 [A dead ant that has been taken over by a species of Cordyceps in the Rio Claro Reserve in Colombia.]( This [fungus takes a Mind Flayer approach]( to its ant puppets If you enjoyed The Last of Us, maybe you're aware of the existence of some parasitic fungus that can infect the brain of its host. Luckily, the parasitic fungus in the Cordyceps genus found on spores isn't targeting humans; [instead scientists are looking to study this deadly creature targeting ants](. The spores attach to the ant and germinate, spreading through the host's body via long tendrils called mycelia. Cordyceps essentially turns its host into a zombie slave, compelling the ant to climb to the top of the nearest plant and clamp its tiny jaws in a death grip around a leaf or twig. The fungus then slowly devours the ant, sprouting through its head in one final indignity. Then the bulbous growths on the ends of the mycelia burst, releasing even more spores into the air, to infect even more unsuspecting ants. It's not a great way to go: the entire process can take four to 14 days [Transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of Naegleria fowleri]( Avoiding the ["brain-eating amoeba"]( starts with your nose Last week, a 59-year-old North Carolina man died from an infection caused by the [free-living amoeba Naegleria fowleri, aka the “brain-eating amoeba.”]( Though N. fowleri are rare, they’re almost always deadly, and this tragedy has prompted health officials to call for greater awareness. This scary amoeba is a heat-loving creature, so it historically shows up in summer months. And it typically only turns problematic when it enters through the nasal passage. So to avoid encountering this brain-eating amoeba while swimming, experts recommend trying to avoid warm freshwater sources when possible, opting for well-chlorinated pools and saltwater instead. If you do swim in warm freshwater, try to minimize jumping, splashing, and dunking. And if all else fails, plug your nose, or use a nose clip to avoid getting water in your nasal passages. [The CDC tells you every year: be weary of the public pool (do *not* drink the water)]( In the [CDC's annual public pool pleas]( poop parasites are on the rise Every summer, if you're talking bacteria and such, you're talking public pools. And the CDC [recently released its annual warnings about it](. TL;DR—continue to avoid drinking the pool water. Outbreaks of the gastrointestinal parasite cryptosporidium have been spurting upward since 2009, with the number of outbreaks gushing up an average of 13% each year. The germ spreads via the fecal-oral route and causes explosive, watery diarrhea that can last for up to three weeks. And most victims pick up the infection from recreational waters, such as swimming pools and water parks. The CDC saw 80 outbreaks in 2016, so the organization recommends that if you have diarrhea, you should avoid swimming and stay out of pools for two weeks after symptoms clear. Pools affected by crypto can flush the germ with hyperchlorinating shock treatments. [Haemaphysalis longicornis tick, commonly known as the longhorned tick.]( Experts worry [vampire ticks taking down cows]( could bite us next Ravenous swarms of cloned ticks killed a fifth cow in North Carolina by exsanguination—that is, by draining it of blood—the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services warned recently. And just last month, infectious disease researchers in New York reported the first case of this tick species biting a human in the US. The finding was “unsurprising” given the tick’s ferocious nature, according to Dr. Bobbi S. Pritt, director of the Clinical Parasitology Laboratory in Mayo Clinic. But it’s “extremely worrisome for several reasons,” she wrote. The fear is [human bites could eventually transmit diseases]( potentially deadly ones. So researchers are studying the tick and this recent incident, noting that, “the findings of this investigation suggest that public health messages may need to be changed, at least in certain geographic areas, to emphasize a wider range of potential tick habitats.” The tick, H. longicorni, has populations currently known to exist in Arkansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. [Advertisement]( [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Powered by Live Intent]( [Ad Choices]( [Facebook Logo]( [Twitter Logo]( [YouTube Logo]( [Instagram Logo]( Copyright © 2019 Ars Technica / Condé Nast, All rights reserved. You are receiving our newsletter because you signed up at Ars Technica (). Our mailing address is: Ars Technica / Condé Nast 1 World Trade CenterNew York, NY 10007 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display] [Image not meant for display]                              Â