Rising Air Pollution Helps Deadly Bacteria Build Resistance to Antibiotics

Particulate pollution is worsening a crisis in antibiotic resistance that is already killing an estimated 1.3 million people per year, concludes a new study that spanned more than 100 countries and nearly two decades.

The analysis by researchers from China and the United Kingdom, published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal earlier this month, “indicates that increased air pollution is linked with rising antibiotic resistance across every country and continent,” The Guardian reports. “It also suggests the link between the two has strengthened over time, with increases in air pollution levels coinciding with larger rises in antibiotic resistance.”

Air pollution was already recognized as the biggest environmental risk to human health, with long-term exposure linked to chronic conditions like heart disease, asthma, and lung cancer. Now, the new research shows the risk of antibiotic resistance being amplified by air pollution of all kinds—like emissions from fossil-fuelled power plants and refineries and gas stoves, and particulates and other pollutants in wildfire smoke.

“Evidence suggests that particulate matter PM 2.5 can contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes, which may be transferred between environments and inhaled directly by humans,” The Guardian writes. So “controlling air pollution could greatly reduce deaths and economic costs stemming from antibiotic-resistant infections.” |Read more https://www.theenergymix.com/2023/08/28/rising-air-pollution-helps-deadly-bacteria-build-resistance-to-antibiotics/|

#environment #AirPollution #health #antibiotics #genes #humans

Abrupt Late-Summer Shift: Polls Now Put CPC in Majority Territory

These polls came after Léger, Abacus Data, and the Angus Reid Institute measured 7- to 10-point leads for the Conservatives in July and early August. As for the Nanos weekly tracking (details not discussed here to respect Nanos’ paywall), it fell generally within the same ranges all summer long, except for last week’s update which saw a modest tightening of national numbers (CPC 34, LPC 30).

Hence, data collected in the past weeks have caused a rare abrupt shift in the 338Canada polling average.

For the first time since the height of the SNC-Lavallin affair in 2019, the Conservatives find themselves in majority territory in the weekly 338Canada projections.

Today’s update has the Conservatives projected leading in 178 electoral districts, against only 105 for the Liberals. The Bloc Québécois (32), the NDP (21), and the Greens (2) remain close to their respective 2021 tally. |Read more https://www.338canada.ca/p/abrupt-late-summer-shift-polls-now|

#polls #conservative #PierrePoilievre #majority #cdnpoli #politics

Canada’s critical infrastructure an ‘almost certain’ target for cybercrime

Canadians are increasingly targets of ransomware attacks, with organized cybercrime activity posing a threat to national security, economy and critical infrastructure, officials are warning.

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security released a report Monday, saying that over the next two years, “financially-motivated cybercriminals will almost certainly continue to target high-value organizations in critical infrastructure sectors in Canada and around the world.”

In particular, the agency categorized ransomware — in which digital files are held hostage or encrypted until a fee is paid — as the “most disruptive” form of cybercrime facing Canada.

Canadian retailers and institutions have been among those hit in a wave of recent ransomware attacks.

Book retailer Indigo, grocer Sobeys, oil and gas producer Suncor Energy Inc., and Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children have all been victims of ransomware attacks over the last year.

Cybersecurity officials are warning that more incidents could occur in the future and will “jeopardize national security, public and environmental safety, and the economy.” |Read more https://globalnews.ca/news/9923433/cybercrime-canada-report/|

#cybersecurity #ransomeware #cybercrime #cdnpoli #retailers #politics