Sir: Shortly after hearing a BBC newsreader refer to the E.coli 0157 outbreak in Dawlish Warren in Devon as being due to a virus, I opened The Independent to read about a "particularly virulent C-strain of the virus" causing meningitis in Ironville, Derbyshire ("Another boy dies in UK's meningitis capital", 17 August). Both of these infections are caused by bacteria.

It is certainly more popular than ever, with supermarkets competing fiercely to offer more lines. But shunning modern methods of agriculture brings its own risks.

Compost. Nature's way with death. So why do the politically correct thing when you can do the right thing?

HOT ENOUGH for you? Pleased to be wearing those sleeveless dresses designed to show off the first onset of underarm dangle at its best? Glad to be sharing your travelling space with people who have forgotten that hot weather brings not only pleasure, but responsibility towards others? Enjoying those damp little private moments pointing the hand-drier at your armpits? Or are you locked implacably, as so many people find themselves at this time of year, in ventilation wars?

HEALTH SCARES associated with bacteria could be a thing of the past, thanks to the development of a system that has won its inventors a Queen's Award for Technological Achievement, writes Roger Trapp.

CHRONIC DISEASES blamed on faulty genes or a slothful lifestyle may be triggered by infectious agents that can be passed around like colds or flu, scientists believe.

The massacres in Kosovo threaten our dignity more than anything brewed in Dr Venter's test tubes

GENETICALLY engineered biological weapons capable of targeting particular ethnic groups could become reality within 10 years, an expert panel warned yesterday.

Sir: Recent comments on the crossing of the Leonid meteor stream have all overlooked an interesting and potentially important consequence. It is now widely accepted that comets carry complex organic molecules, including amino acids, that might at the very least have been connected with the beginnings of life on this planet. There also serious discussions in progress in scientific circles of the even more radical possibility of cometary panspermia of the type we pioneered in the late 1970s.

IT MIGHT taste a bit strange, but think of the benefits: drinking tea and eating garlic should prevent you from getting an ulcer, according to two teams of scientists.

THE FIRST new class of antibiotics for 20 years is close to being licensed for use against "superbugs" that resist conventional drugs, say medical researchers.

SAND ON beaches at two of the United Kingdom's most popular holiday resorts is contaminated with bacteria that causes common food poisoning, according to research published yesterday.

WE CAN thank Louis Pasteur (pictured) for inventing the idea of heating something in order to eliminate the harmful bacteria it may harbour. If there was a single moment in the career of the great 19th century microbiologist when he became convinced of the importance of heat treatment, it was when he decided to climb a glacier on Mont Blanc leading a mule carrying 20 glass flasks.

AN INDEPENDENT advisory body should be set up to prevent a BSE-type crisis happening again, a leading specialist in microbiology said yesterday.