Summer has officially arrived, and with it, the usual sweltering humidity — as well as the news that your local beach may be a health hazard.

Sorry, germaphobes: Bacteria is hot right now.

Today in butt news: Author Mary Roach (of Bonk and Stiff and Spook fame) has a new(ish) book out called Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal. In it, she explores some of the more fantastic and obscure truths about the human digestive system.

Your mother's intense concern about you getting salmonella as a youth has just been put into perspective: a new study indicates that hands and cutting boards in hospitals and homes that have been in contact with poultry "remain a source of transmission for multi-drug resistant bacteria."

It seems silly that we’re about to have this conversation, but people really need to start washing their hands. Like, right the fuck now. Oh, what’s that? You already wash your hands thoroughly after each bathroom visit, scrubbing with soap until you create a nice lather, and then rinsing under warm water? LIAR!

Purses are both a blessing and a curse for ladies on the go. Invest in a good tote, said fashion, and so I obeyed. And man am I happy I listened to fashion. I love my gigantic Mary Poppins purse: It's the black hole where I throw in my makeup bag, tampons, books and magazines, miscellaneous objects found on the street…

The CDC has issued a warning to hospitals, and, to paraphrase: BE AFRAID. So-called "nightmare bacteria" — drug-resistant germs that are impossible to treat — are on the rise.

Babies born via Cesarean section have a different set of microbes in their digestive tracts than those born vaginally, according to a study that investigated and compared the stool samples of infants. Previous studies have linked C-sections with a higher risk of asthma, obesity, and diabetes, but the reasons weren't…

In case you needed something new to feel anxious about now that you've given up zip-lining, here's some info about a deadly pathogen that could be lurking in your furry friends' saliva.

Your belly button is a veritable biosphere, housing an average of 67 different species of bacteria, according to a new study that examined the contents of people's navels. Researchers found that our belly buttons are filled with living organisms "that we don't know much about."

The 5-second rule is a myth that has been busted before (by the Myth Busters, no less) and yet it persists, which is why YouTube's science channel Vsauce has set out and disproved it once and for all. Turns out, the moment your food touches the ground it is covered with bacteria and after a whole 5 seconds, it can…

Bugs are literally everywhere. They're on your sheets (probably), they're waiting in the dark corners of your shoes, they're hiding in pantry doors ready to jump out at you as if they've been spring-loaded and now, if you have rosacea, they might even be crawling in your pores, dying and leaving their bacteria-bloated…

The shudder-inducing phrase "flesh-eating bacteria" proved to be the boogeyman of last month's news-cycle, but at least one victim of the nightmarish ailment has escaped her ordeal relatively unscathed.

We've long known that the human body is home to all kinds of bacteria, fungi, and other microbes, and now scientists have completed the first ever map of all of these semi-disgusting critters. It was not an easy job, but now the census of the human microbiome is complete and the verdict is that we're disgusting—but…