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ASAM issues white paper to halt medical marijuana use

Citing the dangers of marijuana, the lack of clinical research on a controlled substance with a high potential for abuse, and the physician's oath to "first, do no harm," the American Society of Addiction Medicine today issued a white paper recommending a halt to using the weed as a medicine in states where it has been declared legal.

24 Mar 2011

Organochloride pesticide exposure can alter semen quality in young people

Two in 10 young people in South East Spain have poor sperm density, which involves requiring more time to accomplish fertilization. The most common means of exposure to pesticides is food and other household products.

23 Mar 2011

Northwest Russian women breast milk consists of more POPs than Norwegian

Russian women living in Northwest Russia are more exposed to environmental toxins than Norwegian women. In spite of this, PhD candidate Anuschka Polder urges Russian women to breastfeed their babies.

22 Mar 2011

Bruker launches GC CARE gas chromatography columns

At Pittcon 2011, Bruker has significantly expanded its gas chromatography solutions with the release of Bruker GC CARE gas chromatography columns.

16 Mar 2011

Study identifies potential therapeutic target for neurodegenerative disorders

Cell biologists pondering the death of neurons - brain cells - said today that by eliminating one ingredient from the cellular machinery, they prolonged the life of neurons stressed by a pesticide chemical. The finding identifies a potential therapeutic target to slow changes that lead to neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.

14 Mar 2011

New book on toxins

Toxins are a burning issue. A straightforward guide to a closer understanding of toxins in our daily lives is published by Wiley. The Dose Makes the Poison: A Plain-Language Guide to Toxicology, 3rd Edition cuts through the fear generated by the media, which leads to a distortion in many people's conceptions of toxins and chemicals.

14 Mar 2011

Ecological farming methods can boost food production in developing countries, U.N. report says

If developing nations shift to using ecological agriculture methods, which rely more on organic and sustainable practices rather than the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, they "can double food production within a decade," according to a study by Olivier De Schutter, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, released on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

10 Mar 2011

Ohio officials seek federal permission for use of propoxur to halt bedbug infestations

Mom's comforting tuck-them-in-words - "Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite"- is becoming an impossible dream for millions of people as the world experiences a resurgence of an ancient scourge that is fostering human misery, financial burdens and the risk of exposure to potentially toxic materials. That's the message from the cover story of the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ACS' weekly newsmagazine.

10 Mar 2011

'Tea and Toast Syndrome' leads to loss of wellness and muscle in seniors

Elderly people who live on their own that don't prepare whole meals or don't know how tend to dwindle their intake to "tea and toast" at the expense of vital nutrients and their health, according to an article published in the February issue of Food Nutrition & Science.

1 Mar 2011

U.S. food prices could rise up to 4%, USDA says

U.S. food prices will "rise as much as 4% this year, more than the 2% to 3% estimated last month, after a surge in prices for farm goods, the U.S. Department of Agriculture" forecast Thursday during the agency's outlook conference in Washington, Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times reports.

28 Feb 2011

Protalix receives FDA CRL for taliglucerase alfa NDA for Gaucher disease

Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc., announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Complete Response Letter (CRL) regarding the Company's New Drug Application (NDA) for taliglucerase alfa for the treatment of Gaucher disease. Taliglucerase alfa is a plant-cell expressed form of glucocerebrosidase (GCD).

25 Feb 2011

Transgenic fungal approach can fight against malaria and bug-borne diseases

New findings by a University of Maryland-led team of scientists indicate that a genetically engineered fungus carrying genes for a human anti-malarial antibody or a scorpion anti-malarial toxin could be a highly effective, specific and environmentally friendly tool for combating malaria, at a time when the effectiveness of current pesticides against malaria mosquitoes is declining.

24 Feb 2011

Tips for heart healthiness

Everyone should know the warning signs for a heart attack -- but according to Dr. Isaac Eliaz, effective prevention requires much more than a list of potential symptoms.

23 Feb 2011

Canadian Cancer Society calls for legislation to ban cosmetic pesticides

With a new poll showing more than 70 per cent of British Columbians believe exposure to cosmetic pesticides increases their risk to cancer and threatens the environment, the Canadian Cancer Society wants all leadership candidates to pledge introduction of legislation banning cosmetic pesticides.

19 Feb 2011

Protalix: New data from taliglucerase alfa, oral GCD trials to be presented at Lysosomal Disease Network Symposium

Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc., announced today that new clinical data from the switchover trial of taliglucerase alfa in Gaucher disease patients and preclinical data on oral enzyme glucocerebrosidase (oral GCD) will be presented today at the 7th Annual Meeting of the Lysosomal Disease Network: WORLD Symposium 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

19 Feb 2011

Metallic copper surfaces kill bacteria on contact

Metallic copper surfaces kill microbes on contact, decimating their populations, according to a paper in the February 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. They do so literally in minutes, by causing massive membrane damage after about a minute's exposure, says the study's corresponding author, Gregor Grass of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This is the first study to demonstrate this mechanism of bacteriocide.

17 Feb 2011

Research: MEF2D protein in mitochondria appears to contribute early steps in Parkinson's disease

For the last several years, neurologists have been probing a connection between Parkinson's disease and problems with mitochondria, the miniature power plants of the cell.

15 Feb 2011

New research shows link between two pesticides and Parkinson's disease

New research shows a link between use of two pesticides, rotenone and paraquat, and Parkinson's disease. People who used either pesticide developed Parkinson's disease approximately 2.5 times more often than non-users.

14 Feb 2011

Gene-transfer system may control mosquito-borne diseases without pesticides

Scientists have modeled a system that may be used to control mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit, without the use of pesticides. In the proposed system, mosquitoes are engineered to carry two genes. The first gene causes males to transmit a toxin to females through their semen. The second gene, when expressed in females, makes them immune to this toxin.

14 Feb 2011

Pyrethroid insecticides linked to delayed mental development in children

When the EPA phased out the widespread residential use of chlorpyrifos and other organophosphorus (OP) insecticides in 2000-2001 because of risks to child neurodevelopment, these compounds were largely replaced with pyrethroid insecticides. But the safety of these replacement insecticides remained unclear, as they had never been evaluated for long-term neurotoxic effects after low-level exposure.

11 Feb 2011