Ben Brumfield
- Health Communication Specialist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / Chenega P&TS
Atlanta
Fun fact: I was once a wrestling commentator. I report spam & scams immediately. Spammers foad!
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Articles by Ben Brumfield
Gut Microbes Help Decide How Much Selenium Your Body Keeps
Swallow a Brazil nut, or a forkful of tuna, and you take in a little selenium along with it. What happens next has always been told as a story about you: your gut wall absorbs the mineral, your cells fold it into protective enzymes, your kidneys flush out the surplus. Tidy enough. But a team in Japan has now shown that this account leaves out a crowd of silent partners, the trillions of bacteria living in your intestines, who get first crack at the selenium and rather a lot of say in where it goes.
Egypt: Death toll keeps rising as violence rages on
Violence has pockmarked Egypt since Sunday's clashes that killed dozens The death toll from those clashes now stands at 55, with more than 250 injured Attacks on the military killed at least six soldiers on Monday and Tuesday Supporters of ousted President Morsy keep protesting despite pressure from the military Neither side appeared willing to compromise. By Tuesday, the death toll from Sunday’s violence climbed to 55.
Suspects’ mother says Boston bombing was staged with paint instead of blood
By Ben Brumfield and Greg Botelho (CNN) -- The mother of the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing says she believes the tragedy that killed three people and injured dozens more was staged, that the bombing was fake. "That's what I want to know, because everybody's talking about it -- that this is a show, that's what I want to know. That's what I want to understand," said Zubeidat Tsarnaev.
Voters approve same-sex marriage for first time
By Ben Brumfield, CNN (CNN) – In a historic turnaround, the ballot box is showing America’s shifting attitudes about same-sex marriage. After gay marriage rights died at the polls dozens of times in the past, on Tuesday they passed in at least two states. Rarely do popular votes reflect such dramatic social changes. The result: Maryland and Maine will now allow couples like Cyrino Patane and James Trinidad to tie the knot.
Boston bombing suspect less talkative
By Greg Botelho and Ben Brumfield CNN (CNN) — The Boston bombing suspect has become less talkative since authorities read him his Miranda rights before charging him with using a weapon of mass destruction. They also moved him from a private to a prison hospital. But the information Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, gave investigators in two sessions of questioning spanning three days has produced good leads, a U.S. law enforcement official said.
N. Korea launch could be days away
By Ben Brumfield and K.J. Kwon, CNN SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) — South Korea’s government said Sunday that it believes North Korea may test a missile about April 10, citing as an indicator Pyongyang’s push for workers to leave the Kaesong Industrial Complex by then. Seoul “is on military readiness posture,” South Korea’s Blue House spokeswoman Kim Haeng said in a briefing.
Cop on vacation halts Hawaiian airport tussle
By Ben Brumfield, CNN (CNN) -- There's no such thing as an off-duty cop. At least if it's Justin Rogers, there's not. The police corporal from Pinole, California, was just capping off a family vacation in Hawaii. He was going through security at the Honolulu airport last Saturday, when he felt compelled to spring into action to stop a rowdy security breach. He had just taken his shoes off to go through the body scanner when he heard a "loud crash" off to his side, he told CNN affiliate KTVU.
6 Americans, including young diplomat, killed in Afghanistan
By Ben Brumfield, Michael Martinez (CNN) — A young American woman was killed Saturday in Afghanistan in what is believed to be the first killing of a U.S. diplomat since a September attack in Benghazi, Libya. Anne Smedinghoff, 25, was delivering books to a school, along with a U.S. civilian from the Defense Department, when a bomb struck their convoy in Zabul province in southern Afghanistan. The civilian’s name has not been released.
Presidential debate’s global reaction: Disappointment
By Ben Brumfield (CNN) — The presidential face off on foreign policy between President Barack Obama and his Republican rival Mitt Romney was geared to sway U.S. voters, but at points on the globe that the candidates argued over — from Libya to Pakistan to China — netizens, analysts and activists tuned in and weighed in. China After weeks of tough talk about China, the candidates made little mention of the growing superpower.
Sri Lankan journalist shot in his home
By Iqbal Athas and Ben Brumfield COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNN) — A few days ago, strangers appeared at the door of a Sri Lankan investigative journalist when he wasn’t home, asking questions about him. Just before midnight Friday, three men stormed Faraz Shaukatally’s house as he slept, police said. One of them shot him. Shaukatally survived the attack, which left him with a bullet lodged under the neck and questions about who may have wanted him dead.
Blast rocks Kabul near Hagel’s briefing, killing 9
By Chris Lawrence and Ben Brumfield, CNN KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) — An explosion rocked Kabul on Saturday, hours after the newly appointed U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel landed in the Afghan capital. At least nine people were killed and 14 others injured, police said. A suicide bomber apparently targeted the Afghan ministry of defense, said Charlie Stadtlander, ISAF spokesman.
Scientists come a step closer to invisibility cloak
By Ben Brumfield (CNN) — Some scientists seem to take their cues from science fiction or fantasy novels. Physicists in Texas have developed a method to make objects “invisible” within a limited range of light waves. It’s not Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak just yet, but scientists say it has a lot of potential. The desire to become invisible dates to the ancient Greeks, if not further. In mythological literature, gods and goddesses donned a headdress to disappear from sight.
House approves scaled-back Sandy aid bill, Senate to weigh in
By Ben Brumfield and Tom Watkins (CNN) — The U.S. House on Friday approved a $9.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package following delays over fiscal cliff bickering, federal warnings of dwindling funds and swirling controversy over millions of dollars for unrelated projects. Frustrated victims of the massive October storm in the Northeast watched this week as a vote on a much larger $60 billion measure was canceled just before the previous Congress wrapped up its work.
Northeast in crosshairs of ‘superstorm’ Sandy
By Ben Brumfield and Mariano Castillo, CNN (CNN) – The U.S. East Coast ramped up emergency preparations on Saturday for Hurricane Sandy, a monstrous and deadly storm that forecasters said could severely impact cities and towns with heavy flooding and fierce winds. Sandy moved slowly off the coast of South Carolina as a Category 1 storm, having left at least 45 dead in its wake in the Caribbean and Central America.
CONTINUING COVERAGE: Explosives residue found in Boston apt.
By Ben Brumfield and Steve Almasy (CNN) — Investigators have found residue of explosives in the Cambridge, Massachusetts, apartment slain bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev shared with his wife and young daughter, a source briefed on the investigation told CNN on Friday. The residue turned up in at least three places, the source said: the kitchen table, the kitchen sink and the bathtub.
Court in Brazil grants bail to defendants in deadly nightclub fire
By Ben Brumfield and Marilia Brocchetto (CNN) — When Brazilian judges announced their decision to grant bail to the defendants in a nightclub fire that killed 242 people, a woman in the courtroom let out a yell. Her son died when a botched pyrotechnic display set concertgoers ablaze at the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria in January. For loved ones attending the hearing, it appeared those responsible for the deaths were getting off scot-free. Anger and disappointment at the decision spread Wednesday.
Sandy Hook task force recommends demolition and rebuilding
By Ben Brumfield, CNN (CNN) — To erase some of the emotional scars left behind from the December shooting massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, an advisory board wants the building torn down and replaced. The Sandy Hook Task Force voted unanimously late Friday to recommend to the Newtown, Connecticut, board of education to build a new school on the site of the existing building.
Pope delivers last blessing; explains decision to step down
By Ben Brumfield and Ben Wedeman, CNN VATICAN CITY (CNN) -- Pope Benedict XVI delivered his final public prayer ceremony Sunday to a crowd of thousands at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City. And he explained his decision to step down. "Thank you for your affection," the pope told the crowd as he appeared at the window of his apartment overlooking the square. As is customary, he opened the weekly Angelus prayer with a short sermon.
Full moon gets partial blame for Civil War general’s death
By Ben Brumfield (CNN) — A full moon hung just right in the night sky as the fierce Southern Army faced the encroaching Union troops in the spring of 1863. Though they were outmanned and outgunned, the momentum of the war seemed to be on the side of Generals Robert E. Lee and “Stonewall” Jackson in Northern Virginia. But the tide turned in the American Civil War not long after Jackson’s own men inadvertently shot him that May night at the battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia.
Data surveillance in the U.S.: necessary or ‘obscenely outrageous’?
By Greg Botelho and Ben Brumfield (CNN) — Is the U.S. government indiscriminately monitoring your phone calls or e-mails? It says no. Even so, reports in two newspapers this week claim that intelligence agencies have collected vast amounts of user data from U.S. phone provider Verizon and Internet technology companies, including Microsoft, Apple, Google, Yahoo and Facebook.
Body found in rubble of Missouri blast
By Ben Brumfield and Steve Almasy, CNN (CNN) — A strong odor of gas led to the early closure of her Kansas City, Missouri, restaurant Tuesday evening, but Deidre Estes and other employees weren’t in a rush to leave, unaware of the danger they were in. Then, “Boom! And everything was black,” Estes told CNN affiliate KCTV. A blast had ripped the roof off of JJ’s restaurant, killing one. “I thought I was going to die. Honestly, I thought I was trapped in there,” Estes told KCTV.
Hospital official say James Gandolfini likely died of heart attack
By Ben Brumfield and Livia Borghese, CNN ROME (CNN) — James Gandolfini probably died of a heart attack, according to the head of a Rome hospital’s emergency department where the actor was taken after falling ill at a hotel in the Italian capital. The body of the actor was transferred to the morgue at the Policlinico Umberto I hospital in Rome early Thursday, where it awaited an autopsy.
The AudiAnnotate Project: Four Case Studies in Publishing Annotations for Audio and Video
2022 Volume 16 Number 2 Abstract Access to audio collections is often restricted by institutions for copyright, privacy, and preservation reasons, but it is the lack of descriptive metadata and annotations that stands in the way of all levels of access and use. Libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs) often hold physical audio artifacts that are unmarked and lacking important identifiable information such as title, date, location, subject, participants, or context.
Russia criticizes rescinding of invitation to Iran to attend Syria peace talks
Story highlights But Lavrov said un-inviting Iran is not a catastrophe Iran had already announced that it was not coming (CNN) — It was a mistake for the United Nations to rescind an invitation to Iran to participate in peace talks on Syria this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday in Moscow. He added however that it is “not a catastrophe.” Lavrov said U.N. members supporting regime change in Syria had forced the U.N. to un-invite Tehran to the talks in Geneva.
Federal government says no to aid for Arizona fire
Story highlights Arizona's top politicians blast the Obama administration over the denial The Yarnell Hill blaze killed 19 firefighters, called "hotshots," in June FEMA says it based its decision on insurance rules; it is not allowed to duplicate private benefits Republican Gov. Jan Brewer criticizes the Obama administration Arizona's top politicians blasted the Obama administration and federal officials over the denial of aid in the wake of the state's deadly wildfire.
Vandalizan estatua de Junípero Serra, el misionero canonizado por el papa
Muchas tribus en California condenaron la canonización de Junípero Serra, al afirmar que las misiones católicas mataron a muchos nativos americanos. (CNN) — Mientras estuvo en Washington, el papa Francisco canonizó a un misionero español que está enterrado en una misión en California. Durante el fin de semana, la estatua del nuevo santo fue destrozada.
Asymptomatic spread could make the COVID-19 pandemic longer and worse
A new statistical study may help dispel lingering doubts about whether to be concerned that people without COVID-19 symptoms are spreading the disease. The asymptomatic spread of the coronavirus is likely both common and significant, authors of a new study said. "For the bulk of possible scenarios that can exist, asymptomatic transmission matters in the spread of COVID-19.
Redesigning Hand Sanitizer and Donating 7,000 Gallons to Fig
The Georgia Tech team garnered funding through a donation from insurer Aflac Incorporated allocated through the Global Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI), a Georgia Tech affiliated non-profit organization that guides new experimental medical solutions to market. Aflac’s gift of $2 million through GCMI has also expedited the development, production, and purchase of other PPE to donate to health care workers.
This Supernova in a Lab Mimics the Cosmic Blast’s Splendid Aftermath
“It’s 6 feet tall and looks like a big slice of pizza that’s about 4 feet wide at the top,” said Ben Musci of the supernova machine he built for a study at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The machine is also about as thin as a door and stands vertically with the point of the “slice of pizza” at the bottom.
Mercury’s 750°F heat may help it make its own ice
Yellow markings at Mercury’s north pole designate permanent ice patches observed by NASA’s MESSENGER Credit: Georgia Tech. It is already hard to believe that there is ice on Mercury, where daytime temperatures reach 400 degrees Celsius, or 750 degrees Fahrenheit. Now a recent study says that the Vulcan heat on the planet closest to the sun likely helps make some of that ice. As with Earth, asteroids delivered most of Mercury’s water, the scientific consensus holds.
Lung-heart super sensor on a chip tinier than a ladybug
A square black dot with mammoth abilities to record lung and heart data. Credit: Georgia Tech / Ayazi lab During a stroll, a woman's breathing becomes a slight bit shallower, and a monitor in her clothing alerts her to get a telemedicine check-up. A new study details how a sensor chip smaller than a ladybug records multiple lung and heart signals along with body movements and could enable such a future socially distanced health monitor.
Digital tool helps hospital make important coronavirus retest decisions
Credit: Piedmont Healthcare What-if questions can torment a doctor making coronavirus retest decisions: What if a patient's initial negative test was a false negative, and he or she needs a second test? What if they don't need it, and a retest would use up a scarce test kit and treatments that other patients need?
Call in U.S. to create dedicated pandemic clinics now to address COVID-19
Credit: CC0 Public Domain COVID-19 has caught Pinar Keskinocak well prepared. For years, she has studied how societies manage pandemics, and how outbreaks overtax the health care system and wrack supply chains to worsen pandemics. Here she shares her insights. Empty classrooms and supermarket shelves marked the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The human brain's meticulous interface with the bloodstream now on a precision chip
In the new blood-brain barrier on a chip, astrocytes (bottom) grow more naturally and function better. They interface with epithelial cells above them, and the better astrocyte health helps the rest of the culture function better, too.
Flickering light mobilizes brain chemistry that may fight Alzheimer's
Researcher Annabelle Singer models an experimental visor and earphones that play 40 Hertz light and sound. The current study was performed on mice. The pictured device is in human testing as a possible Alzheimer's treatment. Results from those tests are to be published in later studies separate from the current study in mice. Credit: Georgia Tech / Allison Carter For over a century, Alzheimer's disease has confounded all attempts to treat it.
Robotic submarine snaps first-ever images at foundation of notorious Antarctic glacier
The first-ever images have been taken of the grounding zone of Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica. The grounding line just behind it is an integral factor in the glacier's stability or lack thereof. It is tied to the fate of global sea-levels. At top, the glacier, at bottom, the seafloor.
How a few tweaks revived near-dead organic solar tech
Selection of solar cells in the laboratory. Credit: Branden Camp/Georgia Tech. New study reveals the counterintuitive tweaks to the chemistry of a solar cell material that have boosted its power output. A solar energy material that’s remarkably durable and affordable is also regrettably unusable if it barely generates electricity, so many researchers had abandoned emerging organic solar technologies. But lately, a shift in the underlying chemistry has boosted power output.
Tweaks behind the rebirth of nearly discarded organic solar technologies
Selection of solar cells in the laboratory of GTRI Principal Research Engineer Jud Ready. The cells include 3D, CZTS, organic photovoltaic, and silicon. Credit: Georgia Tech/Branden Camp A solar energy material that is remarkably durable and affordable is regrettably also unusable if it barely generates electricity, thus many researchers had abandoned emerging organic solar technologies.
Exoplanet axis study boosts hopes of complex life, just not next door
Poor Earth. Credit: Georgia Tech / Billy Quarles using Universe Sandbox. Astrophysicists at the Georgia Institute of Technology modeled a theoretical twin of Earth into other star systems called binary systems because they have two stars. They concluded that 87% of exo-Earths one might find in binary systems should have axis tilts similarly steady to Earth’s, an important ingredient for climate stability that favors the evolution of complex life.
Exoplanet Axis Study Boosts Hopes of Complex Life, Just Not Next Door
Science and Technology Earth and Environment Exoplanet Axis Study Boosts Hopes of Complex Life, Just Not Next Door By Ben Brumfield | November 20, 2019 • Atlanta, GA Click image to enlarge Astrophysicist Billy Quarles, author of a new study on exoplanet axis tilt, stands with Georgia Tech's largest telescope housed at its observatory. Credit: Georgia Tech / Rob Felt “They’re out there,” goes a saying about extraterrestrials.
Acute periodontal disease bacteria love colon and dirt microbes
Bacteria behind acute periodontitis. Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans most often lives peacefully in the mouth until circumstances lead it to become infectious. It forms flower-like colonies, here under a microscope sporting a colorful stain added by a researcher. Aa is gram-negative. Credit: Derren Ready (2012) CIL:38942, CIL. Dataset. doi:10.7295/W9CIL38942 Creative Commons license True or false?
Scientists create steady robots with the help of cockroach
Credit: Georgia Tech / Neveln. Ew, a cockroach! But it zips off before the swatter appears. Now, researchers have leveraged the bug’s superb scurrying skills to create a cleverly simple method to assess and improve locomotion in robots. Normally, tedious modeling of mechanics, electronics, and information science is required to understand how insects’ or robots’ moving parts coordinate smoothly to take them places.
Scurrying roaches help researchers steady staggering robots
The robot used in this experiment was a Minitaur brand machine with legs. Credit: Georgia Tech / Neveln Ew, a cockroach! But it zips off before the swatter appears. Now, researchers have leveraged the bug's superb scurrying skills to create a cleverly simple method to assess and improve locomotion in robots. Normally, tedious modeling of mechanics, electronics, and information science is required to understand how insects' or robots' moving parts coordinate smoothly to take them places.
Dashing the dream of ideal 'invisibility' cloaks for stress waves
Roman arenas have survived in many earthquake-prone regions. Did the Romans inadvertently build seismic wave cloaks when they designed colosseums? Some researchers believe they did due to the arenas' resemblance to modern experimental elastodynamic cloaking devices.
Antibiotics, Taken Strategically, Could Actually Help Defeat Antibiotic Resistance
Health and Medicine Science and Technology Antibiotics, Taken Strategically, Could Actually Help Defeat Antibiotic Resistance The same antibiotics driving antibiotic resistance evolution forward could help put it in reverse. By Ben Brumfield | May 20, 2019 • Atlanta, GA Click image to enlarge Principal investigator Sam Brown holds a petri dish of common infectious bacteria in his lab at Georgia Tech.
Obama 'optimistic' about climate change summit
Story highlights Obama hopes for "legally binding" mechanism to ensure countries adhere to carbon reduction commitments 150 world leaders are trying to reach a global agreement to keep a lid on global warming Chinese president: "Countries should be allowed to seek their own solutions" Be part of CNN's COP21 coverage: We'd like to hear from you on how climate change could affect your local community. Upload your video here or tag #2degrees on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
An asteroid is coming, and scientists are excited. Fear not, Earth is safe
Story highlights It's going to be the closest shave in known history, NASA expert says Asteroid 2012 DA14 is traveling at 17,400 mph Star gazers will likely turn out for a peek in Eastern Europe, Asia and Australia Asteroids may be mined in space for their natural resources some day Look out for Asteroid 2012 DA14. It is heading toward Earth at 17,450 miles per hour, according to NASA, and the tug of our planet's gravitational field will cause it to accelerate when it gets here.
The Helix, of DNA Fame, May Have Arisen with Startling Ease
Science and Technology Earth and Environment The Helix, of DNA Fame, May Have Arisen with Startling Ease By Ben Brumfield | January 23, 2019 • Atlanta, GA Click image to enlarge Artwork for a study led by Nick Hud and published in Angewandte Chemie shows the chemical structure of the helix that self-assembled in the lab, producing surprisingly bountiful results.
Visible Laser to Study Semiconductor Properties
LED lights and monitors, and quality solar panels were born of a revolution in semiconductors that efficiently convert energy to light or vice versa. Now, next-generation semiconducting materials are on the horizon, and in a new study, researchers have uncovered eccentric physics behind their potential to transform lighting technology and photovoltaics yet again.
Brilliant glow of paint-on semiconductors comes from ornate quantum physics
Laser light in the visible range is processed for use in the testing of quantum properties in materials in Carlos Silva's lab at Georgia Tech. Credit: Georgia Tech / Rob Felt LED lights and monitors, and quality solar panels were born of a revolution in semiconductors that efficiently convert energy to light or vice versa.
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