Latest news with #coli
Local France
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Local France
Raincheck: Paris shuts Seine swim spots day after reopening
Red flags flew over the three designated swimming zones in the French capital on Sunday, warning would-be bathers that the Seine was off-limits due to water quality concerns caused by the wet weather. The closures came just a day after the river's triumphant reopening , which capped a years-long effort to clean up the Seine, with bathers of all ages diving in for the first time since the practice was banned in 1923. But on rainy days, the mid-19th-century Parisian sewage system often overflows, causing rain and waste waters to pour into the river. To mitigate the risk, city officials said that the Seine would be assessed daily for the the presence of the faecal bacteria escherichia coli (E. coli) and enterococci. Flags inform bathers about pollution levels in the water every day, and if it rains, the sites will likely close the day after, said Paris city official Pierre Rabadan. Another site along the Canal St-Martin in eastern Paris was set to welcome its first swimmers on Sunday but remained closed over the rain, which "compromises water quality", according to the local town hall on X. The seasonal opening of the Seine for swimming is seen as a key legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympics, when open-water swimmers and triathletes competed in its waters, which were specially cleaned for the event. Advertisement Ahead of the Olympic Games, authorities invested approximately 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in improving the Seine's water quality. Record rainfall during the Games led to the cancellation of six of the 11 competitions held on the river. The promise to lift the swimming ban dates back to 1988, when then-mayor of Paris and future president Jacques Chirac first advocated for its reversal, around 65 years after the practice was banned.
LeMonde
06-07-2025
- Sport
- LeMonde
Paris shuts Seine swim spots day after reopening due to rain
Rainfall on Sunday, July 6, temporarily shut down three Seine swimming sites in Paris according to the city hall website, just one day after the river reopened to bathers for the first time in a century. Red flags flew over the three designated swimming zones in the French capital on Sunday, warning would-be bathers that the Seine was off-limits due to water quality concerns caused by the wet weather. The closures came just a day after the river's triumphant reopening, which capped a years-long effort to clean up the Seine, with bathers of all ages diving in for the first time since the practice was banned in 1923. But on rainy days, the mid-19 th -century Parisian sewage system often overflows, causing rain and waste waters to pour into the river. To mitigate the risk, city officials said that the Seine would be assessed daily for the presence of the faecal bacteria escherichia coli (E. coli) and enterococci. Flags inform bathers about pollution levels in the water every day, and if it rains, the sites will likely close the day after, said Paris city official Pierre Rabadan. Another site along the Canal St-Martin in eastern Paris was set to welcome its first swimmers on Sunday but remained closed over the rain, which "compromises water quality," according to the local town hall on X. The seasonal opening of the Seine for swimming is seen as a key legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympics, when open-water swimmers and triathletes competed in its waters, which were specially cleaned for the event. Ahead of the Olympic Games, authorities invested approximately €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) in improving the Seine's water quality. Record rainfall during the Games led to the cancellation of six of the 11 competitions held on the river. The promise to lift the swimming ban dates back to 1988, when then-mayor of Paris and future president Jacques Chirac first advocated for its reversal, around 65 years after the practice was banned.
The Hindu
05-07-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
On early earth, a little heat could have led to more complex life
Before true cells existed on the earth, organic molecules floated freely in water. The first cell membrane created a compartment so that useful molecules like RNA and proteins could stay close enough to interact with each other, leading to more complex biological functions. However, an important question remains: how did the first protocells on early earth bring together all the molecules they needed and set life-like chemistry in motion? According to a new study, simple heat, like the warmth of volcanic rocks, could have done the trick. Putting ingredients together When one side of a small water-filled crack is warmer than the other, two things happen. Warm liquid rises and cooler liquid sinks, creating a gentle loop; second, many molecules drift from the hotter side towards the cooler side. Together, these flows can sweep dissolved molecules downwards and hold them there. The study, authored by scientists from Canada, Finland, Germany, and Italy, was published in Nature Physics. The scientists built small 170-micrometre-thick chambers sandwiched between sapphire plates. The top plate was maintained at 40° C and the bottom plate at 27° C. Then they turned to PURExpress, a cell-free protein synthesis kit made from Escherichia coli bacteria. The kit contains every major part of E. coli's protein-making machinery — DNA, RNA polymerase, amino acids, etc. — in purified form. Before the experiment, the team diluted these contents threefold in order to keep the kit from being able to make proteins. Next, they added a short piece of DNA that coded for a protein called green fluorescent protein (GFP) to each PURExpress mix. GFP fluoresces with a bright green light that can be seen under a microscope. As a result, the mix had a built-in light bulb that reported when and where protein synthesis happened. The authors let the PURExpress mix 'express' itself for around 16 hours both with and without the temperature gradient between the sapphire plates. Then they opened a narrow channel at the top and pumped pure water for up to nine hours or a nutrient feed for up to 22 hours while maintaining the gradient. Right after, the team froze the chambers to preserve their concentration profiles for later study. Then they split the frozen sample into three layers from top to bottom and analysed each slice. Membrane-like sans a membrane They found that there was 25-times more GFP in the bottom layer than in the top. Similarly, key ions including those of magnesium (30x) and potassium (7x) and phosphate ions (70x) had accumulated more at the bottom than at the top. They team also found that DNA, RNA building blocks, and amino acids had become concentrated at the bottom. Once these molecules were crowded together, the previously inactive PURExpress mix had switched on gene expression. The team found that the mix was manufacturing GFP only in the chamber with the temperature gradient, not in the chamber without. In fact, even when water flowed overhead for nine hours, more than 95% of the GFP was trapped while small amounts of phosphate waste diffused out, displaying membrane-like selectivity without an actual membrane. For added measure, the team also modelled the heat, flow, and diffusion and found that they reproduced the 3D concentration profiles of various molecules. Thus, according to the study,just a rock crack exuding heat could have gathered different types of biomolecules together and kickstarted protein synthesis. Over time, cell membranes let early cells set up ion gradients, i.e. different ion concentrations inside versus outside. When ions flowed back through primitive channels, the flux could power the first molecular machines. Keep it simple The researchers wrote that the phenomena they've proposed could be playing out around hydrothermal vents. This will need to be checked. National Centre for Biological Sciences professor Shashi Thutupalli also said the phenomena described in the study 'would rely on some steady gradient. Whether the timescale of the temperature gradients in nature are similar to those in the study needs to be checked.' He also said he was curious whether all kinds of molecules would move in response to the temperature gradient. 'In my opinion, I don't think we'll ever exactly figure out what exactly happened on early earth. But one takeaway is that maybe the start of life needn't have been very complicated or specialised,' Dr. Thutupalli said. For example, a March 2025 study in Science found that when neutral water is sprayed, it creates oppositely charged microdroplets that cause an electrical discharge, instigating chemical reactions around them.
Euronews
27-06-2025
- Health
- Euronews
How can you stay safe from E. coli amid a deadly outbreak in France?
A 12-year-old girl died in a food poisoning outbreak that has sickened about two dozen people in northern France. The outbreak, which appears to be linked to meat contaminated with the bacteria E. coli, has affected 24 children and one older person in the Saint-Quentin area since June 12. According to the regional health authority, nine patients – including the girl who died – developed hemolytic-uremic syndrome, a serious condition that can cause anaemia and kidney damage. As of Thursday, 10 people were still hospitalised. Here's what we know about the outbreak and how to keep yourself safe from E. coli. How were people infected with E. coli? French government agencies are investigating the origins of the outbreak. They believe it is linked to six butcher shops that may have sold contaminated meat, the regional government said on Thursday. Scientists are analysing samples from the butcher shops and patients to confirm where the bacteria came from. They expect to have answers in the coming days. Although most of the cases involve children, officials do not believe that school meals are to blame. How is France responding to the outbreak? The butcher shops under investigation have been temporarily closed, and prosecutors in Saint-Quentin and Paris have launched a legal probe into the outbreak. French authorities also issued public alerts about events where the shops sold meat in recent days, including a football tournament, a basketball festival, and a school fair. They advised people who have shopped there since June 1 to throw out any food, clean their refrigerators, and seek medical help if they develop symptoms such as bloody, mucousy diarrhoea. What are the symptoms of E. coli poisoning? Most strains of E. coli (Escherichia coli) are harmless, but some produce Shiga toxins that can make people sick, according to France's food safety agency (ANSES). Most people experience mild diarrhoea and stomach pain and tend to recover within a week. However, E. coli infection can also cause severe complications such as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which occurs when small blood vessels are damaged and form clots that can hurt the organs. In 2023, 143 children in France developed HUS, with most cases among toddlers under the age of three, ANSES said. Symptoms can appear within 10 days of eating contaminated food, and include bloody diarrhoea, fever, vomiting, and stomach pain, cramping, or bloating. Signs of HUS-induced anaemia or kidney damage include easy bruising, loss of colour, fatigue, unusual bleeding, high blood pressure, and swelling of the legs, feet, or ankles. Kidney failure can be life-threatening, but most people who receive treatment for E. coli poisoning or HUS will recover. How can people protect against E. coli infection? Wash your hands with soap and water after using the toilet and before and after preparing food. Thoroughly cook your meat, wash your vegetables, and store and prepare raw foods separately from cooked foods, according to the regional government's alert. People should also refrigerate leftovers quickly and reheat them to kill off any bacteria. Meanwhile, children under the age of 5 should not drink raw milk or untreated water, for example, from a stream or well.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Nursery school shuts due to E. coli outbreak
A Belfast nursery school has closed for a "deep clean" following an E. coli outbreak. The Public Health Agency (PHA) confirmed it was investigating and managing an outbreak of "Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC)" linked to the nursery. The PHA did not name the school but said it had shut voluntarily for cleaning and to allow all staff and pupils to be tested for the infection. STEC symptoms can include diarrhoea, stomach cramps and fever but most people recover within five to seven days. However, a small proportion of patients, mainly children, can develop a serious life-threatening condition which can lead to kidney failure. The PHA said it was "working closely with the nursery to ensure all infection control measures are in place" and was continuing to monitor the situation. It explained "diarrhoeal illnesses can be easily spread from person to person in nursery settings due to the close contact between children and staff". The outbreak was first reported by Belfast Live on Tuesday morning.
