In this study, the authors address the concerns of heavy metal contamination in industrial and feedlot water waste. They test whether added probiotics are capable of taking up heavy metals in water to attenuate pollution.

We hypothesize that berberine has broad-spectrum antibacterial properties, along with potency that is comparable to current broad-spectrum antibiotics that are commercially available. Here, we screened berberine against four strains of bacteria and evaluated its antimicrobial activity against five broad-spectrum antibiotics from different classes to better quantify berberine’s antibacterial activity and compare its efficacy as an antibacterial agent to the broad-spectrum antibiotics. Our results indicated that berberine had strain-selective cytotoxic effects and was significantly less potent than most of the broad-spectrum antibiotics

Machine learning algorithms are becoming increasingly popular for data crunching across a vast area of scientific disciplines. Here, the authors compare two machine learning algorithms with respect to accuracy and user-friendliness and find that random forest algorithms outperform logistic regression when applied to the same dataset.

In this study, the authors were interested in developing a hydrophobic surface that will extend the lifespan of metals by reducing water exposure and other damage. The used a zinc coating on steel to pursue this effort.

This study investigates the presence of alkaloids in a variety of medicinal plants using the Marquis reagent. They reveal some surprising results and how useful the Marquis reagent is.

Air pollution has detrimental effects on both the environment and humans. Here, researchers use graphene oxide to filter particulate matter from the air. Graphene oxide filters performed better than commercially available filters, effectively removing particulate matter from the air.

Arabadopsis, “the fruit fly of plants”, is an easy to grow plant system for genetic manipulation. Here, researchers tested the effects of varied light conditions on plants with specific mutations in the light sensing pathways.

The authors investigated an important parasite-host relationship between the raccoon roundworm and the raccoon to understand how parasite prevalence is affected by location. They found that the parasite infection was more prevalent in raccoons found closer to human dwellings, though the number of roundworm eggs was not significantly different. These results are important human health, since roundworm infection is lethal to humans and can be transmitted from raccoons to humans - the authors suggest that more research into this parasite and awareness of its prevalence is needed to prevent disease.

Human intelligence is correlated with variation in the protein neuroplastin-65, which is encoded by the NPTN gene. The authors examine the evolution of this gene across different animal species.

The authors test the effects of the pesticide captan on the growth of gut microbiome bacteria including Bacillus coagulan and Escherichia coli.