It's well-known that biodiversity makes ecosystems healthier. But new research shows that biodiversity may make people healthier too. People are less likely to get Lyme disease if they live in areas with a greater diversity of small mammals, according to the June issue of Conservation Biology.

New research from scientists at the University of Georgia, just published in the journal Science, demonstrates that Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease in humans, is the first pathogenic bacterium identified that does not need or use iron.

When a patient – particularly a child – develops unexplained, progressive paralysis, physicians should consider a tick as the potential culprit, according to Medical College of Georgia researchers.