Science from the Tap

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the world as we know it, and we're slowly recovering from its aftermath. But what if viruses aren't the biggest threat to humans? The opening scene from HBO's "The Last of Us" foreshadows a pathogen-driven apocalypse, but not due to a virus. Instead, this one is caused by a fungus.

This episode takes a "deep dive" into the use of wastewater surveillance to monitor the prevalence of the antifungal resistant yeast Candida auris. Although it's quite different from the Cordyceps that wreak havoc in "The Last of Us", this emerging fungal pathogen can still cause dangerous infections and even death in the most severe cases. This study demonstrates how wastewater surveillance can help identify high risk locations that can be prioritized for additional screening and/or public health interventions to prevent further spread of C. auris.

This is an AI-generated podcast created with NotebookLM based on a publication in Environmental Science & Technology. The original article is available here: https://pubs.acs.org/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1021/acs.est.2c07763&ref=pdf

Have you ever bought furniture with stain-resistant fabrics? Or eaten food that was in a fast-food wrapper or cooked in a nonstick frying pan? If the answer is yes, then you may have been exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), at least in the past. These "forever chemicals" were highlighted in Mark Ruffalo's recent movie "Dark Waters", and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) even decided to implement strict drinking water regulations for a subset of these chemicals. But how frequently are they detected in the environment and at what concentrations? And what can we do about them?

This episode takes a "deep dive" into the occurrence and likely sources of PFAS in the Las Vegas Valley watershed. A better understanding of these "forever chemicals" and where they are coming from will help us determine what actions (if any) are needed to mitigate potential effects on public and environmental health.

This is an AI-generated podcast created with NotebookLM based on a publication in Science of the Total Environment. The original article is available here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173361

The severity of a pathogen is often described in terms of a case fatality rate, or the ratio of people who die from the infection and associated disease vs. the total number of confirmed cases. Generally, the numerator (the number of deaths) is relatively easy to determine, but the true denominator can be elusive, as many infections go undetected or unreported. If infection by a pathogen leads to mild symptoms, or no symptoms at all, the true incidence rate will be difficult to determine. At a minimum, this can lead to a public health 'blindspot'/data gap, but it can also lead to inflated case fatality rates for emerging pathogens.

This episode takes a "deep dive" into the use of wastewater surveillance to more accurately quantify the number of COVID infections within a community—in this case in Las Vegas. It also describes how whole genome sequencing of wastewater samples was used to rapidly identify SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, sometimes before they were confirmed in clinical cases.

This is an AI-generated podcast created with NotebookLM based on a publication in Science of the Total Environment. The original article is available here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155410

In March 2020, the lights went out, and the Las Vegas Strip became a ghost town. More than a year later, tourists finally returned to the resorts, casinos, and night clubs as COVID restrictions were lifted and life slowly returned to normal. COVID had different plans, though, as the Delta wave arrived in summer of 2021 before it was rapidly displaced by Omicron leading into 2022.

This episode takes a "deep dive" into the impacts of tourism on wastewater-based epidemiology in Las Vegas. The influx of tourists in the summer of 2021 led to a major surge in SARS-CoV-2 in Vegas wastewater, which made it difficult to accurately assess public health conditions among locals. But the arrival of Omicron actually helped quantify how much of the virus these tourists were contributing to Vegas wastewater.

This is an AI-generated podcast created with NotebookLM based on a publication in JAMA Network Open. The original article is available here: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.0550

Las Vegas is in the Mojave Desert--one of the driest places on the planet. Receiving about 4 inches of rain per year, some people question whether it makes sense to sustain a city whose water supply seems so uncertain. But surprisingly, Las Vegas is a model city when it comes to water conservation and is also one of the most efficient cities in converting its limited water resources into economic output.

This episode takes a "deep dive" into the economic value of water in the United States. It also discusses the concept of GMP/H2O, or the ratio of gross metropolitan product and the amount of water withdrawn by a given metro area. On a personal note, this is one of my favorite publications so far, and it was inspired by reading Freakonomics by Steven Leavitt and Stephen Dubner (check out their Freakonomics podcast) and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (also check out his podcast Revisionist History). These books are great examples of putting a unique, thought-provoking spin on a seemingly mundane dataset. This publication was my attempt at doing the same.

This is an AI-generated podcast created with NotebookLM based on a publication in Water Policy. The original article is available here: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2011.047

On February 7th, 2010, Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints defeated Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV. The game was played in Miami--more than 2,500 miles away from the Las Vegas Strip. So how did this game affect wastewater in Las Vegas?

This episode takes a "deep dive" into the effects of a special event--in this case, Super Bowl Sunday--on wastewater flow rates and its composition. Specifically, the episode discusses the significant spike in wastewater flows immediately prior to the game and how cocaine appears to be the recreational drug of choice on Super Bowl Sunday compared to a 'normal' weekend in Las Vegas. If you listened to the other podcast on wastewater surveillance of illicit drugs, you know this "Super" spike in cocaine wasn't isolated to 2010.

This is an AI-generated podcast created with NotebookLM based on a publication in Water Research. The original article is available here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2011.07.020

Unsheltered homeless individuals represent a highly vulnerable population, particularly when it comes to infectious and chronic disease. This is obviously due to the lack of shelter but also because of challenges in seeking and receiving adequate healthcare services. Also, unsheltered individuals are often missed when it comes to traditional public health surveillance. Wastewater surveillance has been shown to be an effective tool for assessing public health conditions in a community, including when there’s insufficient clinical testing. So can environmental surveillance fill a similar gap when it comes to unsheltered individuals?

This episode takes a "deep dive" into the use of environmental surveillance—or sampling from untreated environmental waters—to assess public health conditions among unsheltered homeless individuals. A previous podcast focused on the water quality “fingerprint” of unsheltered homelessness, but this one explains what that “fingerprint” tells us about the level of COVID-19 in that community.

This is an AI-generated podcast created with NotebookLM based on a publication in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. The original article is available here: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.3c00938

Are the implications of unsheltered homelessness confined to this vulnerable population, or is it a wider problem that affects the broader community? This episode takes a "deep dive" into the nexus of public health, environmental health, and unsheltered homelessness in Las Vegas. Specifically, this episode highlights the environmental "fingerprint" of unsheltered homelessness and the potential effects on the environment and even drinking water quality.

This is an AI-generated podcast created with NotebookLM based on a publication in Science of the Total Environment. The original article is available here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156714

For more info, check out this short documentary that was created in tandem with the scientific study: https://youtu.be/-8QlaDOcSuo?si=0qkAngZcukCaorN-

For people needing assistance, help is available through Shine A Light, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to providing resources to unhoused individuals: https://www.shinealightlv.com

Despite being described by some as "toilet to tap", indirect (IPR) and direct potable reuse (DPR) systems are capable of producing some of the highest quality drinking water on the planet. These systems involve advanced treatment of recycled water (wastewater) to augment conventional drinking water supplies, particularly in areas suffering from water scarcity or water quality impairment. But does one size fit all when it comes to potable reuse implementation?

This episode takes a "deep dive" into potable reuse in Las Vegas, including how it's currently done and whether it makes sense to do it differently. Basically water is really heavy! So does it make sense to constantly lift water all the way from Lake Mead into Las Vegas, or should we reuse it over and over again before sending it back to Lake Mead?

This is an AI-generated podcast created with NotebookLM based on a publication in AWWA Water Science. The original article is available here: https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1153

Is the opioid epidemic worsening? Is fentanyl continuing to pour into the community, or is the supply drying up? And how do special events like the Super Bowl and March Madness affect drug consumption in Las Vegas?

This episode takes a "deep dive" into how wastewater surveillance was used to assess illicit drug consumption in Las Vegas. This emerging public health tool can help identify high risk locations for overdoses and evaluate the efficacy of drug policies and interventions.

This is an AI-generated podcast created with NotebookLM based on a publication in Science of the Total Environment. The original article is available here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168369