It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Thursday, September 10, 2026
Heatwaves inhibit antibiotic resistance in soils, but at a price
Extreme heatwaves disrupt life in soil. Soil bacteria that produce and resist antibiotics switch into survival mode, temporarily reducing the number of resistance genes. At the same time, heat and drought are causing significant damage to soils and ecosystems, especially in cold, wet regions such as the Netherlands. This is evident from a large-scale European study by soil ecologist Franciska de Vries (University of Amsterdam) and colleagues.
According to De Vries, many people are unaware that soils form an important reservoir of both antibiotics – which we can extract – and resistance genes. ‘In the soil, there is a kind of “war” going on: bacteria both produce antibiotics and arm themselves against them with resistance genes,’ she explains.
At warm temperatures and in wetter conditions, the number of resistance genes increases. Bacteria then become insensitive to antibiotics and can pass this trait on to other bacteria. It becomes problematic when those genes end up in pathogenic bacteria that infect humans or animals.
It has often been assumed that climate change accelerates the spread of resistance genes. But what happens during extreme weather conditions such as heat, drought and floods that occur not slowly, but suddenly?
Soils from across Europe
‘Before we got to that specific question, we first wanted to understand in general how soil organisms respond to extreme weather conditions,’ says De Vries. ‘Soils, for example, are very important for sequestering CO₂. What happens to this function during extreme weather?’
With her colleagues, she collected soils from all over Europe: ‘From Iceland to Greece and from Sweden to Spain and even the Russian steppe.’ The researchers exposed these soils to extreme conditions in climate chambers: severe drought, flooding, alternating frost and thaw, and a short but intense heatwave.
Hot soils can handle more than wet, cold soils.
The researchers turned out to be very good at predicting how certain soils react to extremes. ‘Quite logically, hot soils can withstand heat better than cold and wet soils like those we have in Sweden, Iceland and the Netherlands,’ says De Vries.
‘Soils from warm, dry countries are already accustomed to heat and drought,’ she adds. ‘The soil organisms there remain relatively stable when the weather becomes extreme. In cold, wet soils, bacteria and fungi are disrupted much more quickly by heat and drought. Those soils then lose their functions, such as CO₂ storage, more easily. And it is primarily these areas that are warming up significantly.’
What do climate extremes do to resistance genes?
In a new collaboration and using new DNA techniques, the question subsequently arose as to what effect these extreme conditions have on the type and quantity of resistance genes in soils. And whether this is also accurately predictable.
Droughts, floods and freeze-thaw periods were shown to cause only mild changes in the resistance repertoire. Moreover, these responses were reasonably predictable based on climate and soil type.
Heatwaves, however, stood out. The reactions that arose from them were the least predictable, and bacteria really struggled. ‘They exchange fewer resistance genes and produce fewer antibiotics,’ says De Vries. ‘That was very surprising: just like plants, they also go into survival mode. And after such an extreme, those genes don't grow back quickly either.’
Location proves decisive
Geography proved to be the most important indicator. ‘Where the soil comes from is more important than what extreme weather is unleashed upon it,’ says De Vries. ‘Wet soils find it much harder to cope with drought and heat, whereas we saw much larger quantities of resistance genes in countries like Greece and Spain.’
Not necessarily good news
At first glance, it could appear to be good news that heatwaves temporarily reduce the amount of resistance genes in the soil. However, De Vries warns, the heat and droughts are also causing significant damage to soils and ecosystems. The temporary dip in resistance therefore does not mean that the health risks from antibiotic resistance disappear.
‘We now know that climate extremes do not always affect antibiotic resistance in the same way,’ De Vries concludes. ‘That knowledge helps us more easily predict where the real risks lie and to tailor policy and monitoring specifically to particular soils and regions.’
New research finds that probiotic supplement use has surged in the United States, while the consumption of microbiome-supportive foods has remained virtually unchanged.
Over the same span, fiber intake did not meaningfully change, while the average consumption of high microbial foods rose slightly.
“We have known that probiotic supplement use is increasing across all ages, but this is the first time we have looked closely at it in relation to other microbiome-focused health behaviors,” said Kira L. Newman M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and lead author on the paper.
“Dietary fiber and fresh produce have well-established health benefits for the gut microbiome. However, our findings suggest that people are not making changes to what they eat, even though an increasing number are concerned enough about their microbiome to take a probiotic supplement.”
The study authors used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
From 2009 to 2023, the proportion of people under 20 taking a probiotic rose from 0.63% to 5.58%.
Among people over 20, the percentage increased from 1.8% to 6.96%.
Probiotic supplement users were found to consume more foods high in microbial quality and fiber content than non-users.
Researchers add, however, that these beneficial diet habits may be decreasing, as supplements are potentially used as a substitute for higher-quality diets.
Probiotic supplement use increased dramatically after 2014 despite official guidelines suggesting limited benefits.
The study authors note a variety of health benefits associated with high microbial foods.
They emphasize that these benefits are not necessarily related to microbial content.
“A diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains provides not just fiber, but also a wealth of other beneficial vitamins, minerals and plant-derived compounds,” Newman said.
“This helps support a diverse range of beneficial gut microbes. Prebiotic supplements alone do not contain the same variety or richness. It’s like picking one color out of a rainbow.”
The study authors hope these trends will highlight the need for more public health campaigns on the importance of diet in fostering microbiome health.
Increases in Probiotic Supplement Use Exceed Microbiome-Focused Dietary Changes in US Adults and Children
Article Publication Date
7-Sep-2026
COI Statement
Kira L Newman, MD, PhD consults for Takeda and has research support from Pfizer. Allen A Lee, MD, MS consults for GSK and Atmo Biosciences. William D Chey, MD consults for Ardelyx, Atmo, Gemelli, Phathom, Redhill, Salix, Vibrant; research support from Commonwealth Diagnostics, NIH, FDA, Salix; stock options in Coprata, Evinature, Food Marble, Isothrive, Kiwi Bioscience, Modify Health; patents for My Nutrition Health, Digital Manometry, Rectal Expulsion Device. Peter DR Higgins, MD, PhD consults for AbbVie and Curacle. Prashant Singh, MBBS, and John Y Kao, MD, have no conflicts to disclose.
THE DEEP STATE IS INCOMPETENT
Widespread COVID death underreporting around the world raises broader questions about the reliability of official information
Deriving covid misreporting. Notes: The left panel shows periodical (weekly or monthly) mortality and expected mortality from 2015 to 2021 in solid lines, and reported Covid mortality in dashed lines. The right panel shows the cumulative officially-reported Covid deaths in 2020-21, and our estimated Covid deaths (difference between actual and expected mortality, minus excess deaths due to non-Covid factors.
New study finds that widespread underreporting of Covid-19 deaths cannot be explained simply by differences in countries’ ability to count and record deaths. Across 134 countries and territories, an estimated 45%–55% of governments misreported Covid mortality, with underreporting far more common than overreporting. The study provides comparable country-level data of the extent of misinformation for researchers and policymakers. The findings point to a broader lesson beyond the pandemic: strong institutions and an informed public can play an important role in protecting the reliability of official information.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, governments around the world faced the same basic challenge: measuring a fast-moving public-health crisis and communicating its severity to citizens.
But did official data reflect what was actually happening?
A new study by Ariel Karlinsky (Hebrew University) and Prof. Moses Shayo (Hebrew University & King’s College London), suggests that in many countries they did not. Published in the Journal of Economic Growth, the research compares officially reported Covid deaths with estimates based largely on excess mortality, deaths above the number that would normally have been expected.
Using Covid as a Global Test Case
Karlinsky and Shayo assembled mortality data from 134 countries and territories, drawing on national statistical offices, population registries, health ministries and other sources.
Across the countries studied, governments reported 5.08 million Covid deaths in 2020 and 2021, while the researchers estimate actual Covid mortality at 12.47 million. Their analysis indicates that roughly 45%–55% of governments misreported Covid mortality, with underreporting far more common than overreporting.
Importantly, the researchers do not assume that every reporting gap represents deliberate manipulation. Countries differ in their ability to diagnose illness, register deaths and maintain reliable statistical systems. The study therefore examines whether differences in state capacity can explain the discrepancies.
Capacity explains only a small share of the variation.
Why Institutions Matter
A stronger relationship emerges when the researchers examine the constraints governments face.
Countries with stronger institutional checks and balances show much less underreporting. Misreporting is also lower where citizens are better positioned to evaluate official information, measured through factors including education and internet access.
The authors also find higher levels of misreporting in countries holding elections during the pandemic and in countries with a communist legacy, although they emphasize that these relationships are descriptive and do not establish causation.
The broader finding is that incentives to present information favorably may exist in many political systems. What appears to matter is whether governments face effective institutional and social checks that make inaccurate information easier to detect and challenge.
Why This Matters Beyond Covid
Covid offered researchers an unusual opportunity: governments around the world confronted a broadly comparable crisis at roughly the same time.
But the implications extend beyond public health.
Governments routinely produce statistics that influence decisions about economic growth, unemployment, public health, international aid and other major policy issues. During Covid, reported figures also influenced international decisions, including travel restrictions.
The study argues that inaccurate official information can therefore have consequences far beyond the country producing it, complicating international efforts in areas such as foreign aid, climate action and vaccination campaigns.
This question has become even more relevant in today's fast-moving information environment, where misleading claims can spread rapidly through digital platforms and AI-generated content.
Looking Beyond the Headline Number
One of the study's key contributions is its use of excess mortality as an independent benchmark.
Official Covid deaths depended on identifying Covid as a specific cause of death, which could be affected by testing and reporting practices. Excess mortality instead asks a simpler question: How many people died compared with how many would normally have been expected?
Comparing the two allowed the researchers to identify reporting gaps that could not easily be explained by differences in countries' statistical capacity alone.
The principle extends beyond Covid: important official claims become more reliable when they can be tested against independent evidence.
Trust Depends on Verification
The findings do not suggest that official statistics should automatically be distrusted. Rather, they demonstrate why systems capable of independently verifying, challenging and correcting information matter.
Karlinsky and Shayo find that governments facing stronger institutional and social constraints generally report more accurately, while those facing fewer constraints show larger discrepancies.
Covid therefore provides more than a case study in pandemic mortality. It offers a window into a much broader question: What makes official information trustworthy?
The research suggests that part of the answer lies not only in governments' ability to produce good data, but also in the strength of the institutions and societies capable of holding those governments to account.
Misreporting rate (MRR) by country.Notes: The figure shows the Misreporting Rate (MRR) for 131 countries, ranked from highest (estimated deaths higher than reported) to lowest. Countries where the estimated MRR is insignificantly different from 0 (accurate reporting countries) are shown in the inset. The point estimates of the MRR in the accurate reporting countries ranges from 9% to 15% . Bhutan, Fiji and Vietnam do not have sufficient data to estimate a CI, and are excluded from this figure. Their MRRs are 3.2% , 9.7% and 9.8% , respectively.
From left to right: COSPAR Chair of Panel on Education Rosa Doran, accompanying StAnD teacher Tabea Mann, with StAnD students Anna Lotta, Cheyenne, Inès and Martina; behind: COSPAR Executive Director Jean-Claude Worms.
Florence, Italy, 8 September 2026 – Four secondary school students from Italy, France and Germany have been recognised for their achievements in space science at the Opening Reception of the 46th COSPAR Scientific Assembly in Florence, marking an inspiring culmination of the three-year Erasmus+ Students As Planetary Defenders (StAnD) project.
The students received Certificates of Achievement during the Opening Reception, where their accomplishments were presented to an international audience of around 3,000 space scientists, engineers and researchers gathered in Florence for the world’s premier space research conference. The following day they and their teachers shared their experience of StAnD with educators from around the world during the sessions of the Panel on Education.
From classroom to real space science
Since its launch in September 2023, StAnD has engaged more than 2,000 students and nearly 500 teachers across Europe and beyond in STEM activities focused on comets, asteroids, micrometeorites and planetary defence.
The project has given primary and secondary school students the opportunity to experience scientific research first-hand. Using real data, scientific instruments and professional research networks, students have:
used robotic telescopes from the Las Cumbres Global Observatory network to plan observations, retrieve and analyse data, and create their own astronomical images;
calculated meteor trajectories with the PRISMA/INAF meteor cameras and their data to map meteor paths using PASCAL (PRISMA All-Sky Camera Analysis Laboratory) software to identify possible landing areas for the recovery of meteorites;
analysed astronomical images to search for asteroids in collaboration with the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC), resulting in 72 preliminary asteroid discoveries;
collected and analysed micrometeorites through hands-on outdoor and laboratory activities.
These activities were integrated into participating schools' curricula and astronomy clubs through a student-centred, project-based approach. Rather than simply learning about astronomy, students became active participants in scientific research, gaining first-hand experience of the methods, collaboration and critical thinking that underpin modern space science.
“StAnD has shown that when students are given real scientific tools and mentorship, they become not just learners but contributors to the global space science endeavour,” said Dr. Jean Claude Worms, Executive Director of COSPAR.
“What I enjoyed most about this project is that there are so many different parts that come together,” said Tabea Mann, an accompanying teacher from Germany. “First, for example, we can observe meteorites or asteroids with the robotic telescopes, then we can calculate, through triangulation, where they fall …, and then also search in this (area) to see if there are meteorites to find.”
Said student Martina Maze, one of the StAnD students present during the COSPAR Assembly:“This year my science teacher Giulio Colombo and I simulated collecting a meteorite. …before actually doing it, I didn't realize all the work that went into it. Well, once done, I realized that behind it there’s not only the search for a stone, but there is a whole commitment, since you have to recognize the stone, you have to recognize the meteorite itself, …and a whole lot of other things.”
Giulio Colombo, Martina’s teacher, said“The StAnD project gave me the opportunity to put the knowledge I acquired through the PRISMA project into practice at school… We hope we have planted some seeds and maybe in the future we will find some meteorite researchers, thanks to this project!”
Building lasting capacity in schools
StAnD has also focused on empowering teachers to bring authentic space science into the classroom. The project supported educators through a purpose-built Teacher’s Manual, online MOOC and two summer schools.
During the COSPAR Scientific Assembly, the students and their teachers presented their work during the Panel on Education sessions, sharing their experiences and results with leading international experts. Their work included the creation of a 2027 calendar featuring astronomical images produced through StAnD activities.
Their participation demonstrated how authentic space-science research can be integrated into school education while supporting the project's wider goals: to engage young people in the study of asteroids, meteors and planetary defence; increase motivation and interest in STEM; and equip educators to deliver STEM-related topics through inclusive and interdisciplinary approaches.
Looking ahead
"The students we celebrate today represent the future of space science," said Rosa Doran, Chair of the COSPAR Panel of Education and President of NUCLIO, a partner in StAnD. "Throughout this project they have demonstrated remarkable curiosity, dedication and scientific ability. We hope this recognition marks the beginning of their scientific journeys. Perhaps one day we will welcome them back to a future COSPAR Scientific Assembly—not as students, but as researchers presenting discoveries of their own."
Led by the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Italy, StAnD brought together organisations working in astronomy, education and science outreach from Italy, France, Portugal, Greece and Germany: COSPAR, NUCLIO, Ellinogermaniki Agogi and FTP-Europlanet. Over three years, the partnership has developed educational resources, teacher-training materials and practical activities designed to remain available to schools beyond the lifetime of the project.
As StAnD concludes, its legacy will live on through the students and teachers who have discovered that space science is not simply something to read about—it is something they can actively do.
For more information about the Students As Planetary Defenders project, visit https://projectstand.eu .
Erasmus+ is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. It has an estimated budget of €26.2 billion. This is nearly double the funding compared to its predecessor programme (2014-2020). The 2021-2027 programme places a strong focus on social inclusion, the green and digital transitions, and promoting young people’s participation in democratic life. It supports priorities and activities set out in the European Education Area, Digital Education Action Plan and the European Skills Agenda. The programme also supports the European Pillar of Social Rights; implements the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027; and develops the European dimension in sport. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
About INAF
INAF - Italian National Institute for Astrophysics is the main Italian research institute for the study of the Universe. INAF promotes the enhancement of the research results conducted or coordinated by its astronomers. Besides research in astronomy and astrophysics, INAF is very active in education towards students in schools and society through dissemination, educational and outreach activities. These activities are carried out by the 16 research facilities spread all over the country. INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, the leading partner of StAnD, is one of the most important research institutes in Piedmont (NW Italy) and its history dates back to the mid-18th century. Currently more than 100 people (including researchers, technicians, administration, students) collaborate with the Observatory activities.
About COSPAR
The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) is an international scientific organization established in 1958, under the International Science Council (ISC). Its mission is to promote cooperation in space research, with an emphasis on the exchange of scientific results, information, and the development of global partnerships across disciplines for the benefit of all. Through its scientific Commissions, Panels and Task Groups, COSPAR covers a wide range of space science fields, including Earth observation, planetary protection, astrophysics, and space life sciences and is a trusted advisor to the United Nations on critical issues in space research. It plays a key role in fostering collaboration between the global scientific community, space agencies, industry, and emerging space nations. Through capacity building workshops, it supports the growth of space science expertise worldwide and its biennial event, the COSPAR Scientific Assembly, gathers thousands ofresearchers, serving as a major platform for knowledge exchange and international dialogue.
About NUCLIO
NUCLIO РN̼cleo Interativo de Astronomia e Inova̤̣o em Educa̤̣o Рis a non-governmental organisation that trains teachers in the use of new technologies, innovative methodologies, promotion of real research in the classroom where students are introduced to the scientific methods using robotic telescopes, data mining, and other advanced tools for science learning. NUCLIO is the coordinator of one of the largest astronomy education efforts in the world, the Galileo Teacher Training Program.
About Ellinogermaniki Agogi
Ellinogermaniki Agogi is one of the most innovative schools in Europe with 2300 students (ages 5 to 18) and 250 teachers. The school continuously modernises STEM education by promoting and creating learning environments for students and offering numerous opportunities for teachers’ professional development enabling them to thrive in the landscape of unprecedented challenges and opportunities in the 21st century.
About FTP-Europlanet
Founded in 2021, and located in Weinheim, Germany, FTP-Europlanet gUGbuilds on the heritage of the Faulkes Telescope Project (FTP), established in 2004 to bring the excitement of observing with research-grade telescopes into classrooms. Through an MoU with the Europlanet Executive Board, FTP-Europlanet gUG draws on the 18 years’ experience of Europlanet in delivering media, communications and education activities and training for the European planetary community, with a particular emphasis on supporting early career researchers to develop skills for their future careers.
Giulio Colombo presenting his involvement as a teacher in Italy with the StAnD project at the COSPAR Assembly.
Teachers in a Panel on Education workshop at the COSPAR Assembly calculating a meteor’s trajectory.
