7 Things You Need To Know Today (September 25, 2018)

New research published in the journal Frontiers of Microbiology examined the role of a certain bacteria and how it catalyzes and encourages the infection of Lyme disease in the host. Because of certain bacteria associated with ticks, it can happen in a day or even faster, serving as a reminder that detecting and removing ticks ASAP is the best way to avoid Lyme infection. (Medical Xpress)

Sarah Kauss, the founder of the chic reusable bottle company S'Well, just announced that she'll be giving all 320,000 high schoolers in NYC public or charter schools a S'Well of their own. While she can't guarantee that the donation will encourage students to give up single-use plastics, she's calling it “a great opportunity for us to make a strong public statement around why this matters." (NYT)

A new study concludes that the warmer the world gets, the more agricultural pests we'll have to deal with. Beyond being annoying, these little guys could lead to significant crop loss around the world. Ugh. (PRI)

Currently, about 5 million people in the United States suffer from dementia, which includes diseases like Alzheimer's. But according to a new paper published by the Centers for Disease Control, in the next 40 or so years, that number will look more like 13.9 million. (Quartz)

Obesity. According to a new report by Cancer Research UK, 12 percent of cancer cases in women are related to smoking, and 7 percent to being overweight. By 2043, carrying excess weight could be linked to even more cases of cancer than smoking in women. (Why women and not men? It’s simply because more men than women smoke, so it’ll take longer to see the shift.) (BBC)