Toxins News and Research

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Study examines the long-term health effects of vaping, e-cigarettes on children

Adolescent use of e-cigarettes and vaping products is at epidemic proportions, yet the adverse health effects are understudied, with almost no data on younger patients.

27 Oct 2020

Oral bacteria persist on wasted chewing gums for weeks

Researchers from the Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), a joint center of the University of Valencia and the CSIC, have analyzed the bacteria from used chewing gums from five different countries.

23 Oct 2020

Study reveals unexpected eating habits of fringe-lipped bats

Poop is full of secrets. For scientists, digging into feces provides insights into animal diets and is particularly useful for understanding nocturnal or rare species. When animals eat, prey DNA travels all the way through animal digestive tracts and comes out again.

23 Oct 2020

Novel theory illuminates the impact of environment on human health

Researchers at Mount Sinai have proposed a groundbreaking new way to study the interaction between complex biological systems in the body and the environment.

20 Oct 2020

New vaccine targeting toxic Aβ may offer clinical benefit in treating Alzheimer's disease

Our immune system's capacity to mount a well-regulated defense against foreign substances, including toxins, weakens with age and makes vaccines less effective in people over age 65.

20 Oct 2020

Researchers apply a novel technique to improve understanding of liver disease, immune activation

Human cells are encased by a membrane coated with diverse sugar molecules known as glycans. These glycans play many roles in health and disease, making them important to understand.

20 Oct 2020

Scientists uncover important disease-fighting role for cells in the liver

Scientists at Scripps Research have uncovered an important disease-fighting role for cells called hepatocytes, which constitute most of the liver. The discovery could potentially be harnessed to develop new medicines for viral illnesses.

19 Oct 2020

Study: E-cigarettes may not be a safer alternative to smoking during pregnancy

E-cigarettes might not be a safer alternative to smoking during pregnancy, according to the first known study into the effects of prenatal nicotine exposure on babies.

16 Oct 2020

Enzyme SSH1 impairs the disposal of damaged tau and neurotoxic mitochondria

In a healthy brain, the multistep waste clearance process known as autophagy routinely removes and degrades damaged cell components - including malformed proteins like tau and toxic mitochondria.

12 Oct 2020

Powerful antimicrobial molecules engineered from toxic proteins in wasp venom

A team led by scientists in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has engineered powerful new antimicrobial molecules from toxic proteins found in wasp venom.

12 Oct 2020

Native freshwater bacteria can destroy toxins produced during harmful algal blooms

Searching for new ways to address the growing threat to drinking water in northwest Ohio and across the globe, Dr. Jason Huntley discovered that native freshwater bacteria can destroy toxins produced during harmful algal blooms.

7 Oct 2020

Sperm mitochondrial DNA biomarkers may predict male reproductive health and pregnancy success

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have identified a single-measure biomarker in sperm mitochondrial DNA that may predict male reproductive health and pregnancy success.

6 Oct 2020

Supercharged "clones" trigger the re-emergence of scarlet fever

A University of Queensland-led team of international researchers says supercharged "clones" of the bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes are to blame for the resurgence of the disease, which has caused high death rates for centuries.

6 Oct 2020

800 million children have high lead levels in their blood

As many as 800 million children have dangerously high lead values in their blood. The neurotoxin can cause permanent brain damage.

1 Oct 2020

Study identifies potential drug target for dangerous E. coli infections

Escherichia coli, known as E. coli, are bacteria which many people associate with causing mild food poisoning, but some types of E. coli can be fatal.

25 Sep 2020

Researchers use natural pigment for screening cell viability

Synthetic dyes are commonly used to assess the toxicity of chemical compounds in cell cultures. However, these dyes damage cells, rendering the cultures useless for long-term experiments.

25 Sep 2020

New tool helps to find out toxins lurking in drinking water

Exposure to hydraulic fracturing fluid in drinking water has been shown to increase the risk of respiratory problems, premature births, congenital heart defects, and other medical problems. But not all wells are created equal.

23 Sep 2020

Parkinson's disease diagnosed after SARS-CoV-2

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, new and unusual chronic sequelae of the disease are cropping up in many medical practices. Now, a new case paper published in The Lancet in September 2020 describes a case of new-onset Parkinson's disease following infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

22 Sep 2020

Australian stinging tree could pave way for novel painkillers

Australia is well known for having many of the world's most venomous creatures, ranging from snakes, spiders, jellyfish, centipedes, fish, ticks, bees, and ants. 21 of the 25 most venomous snakes in the world are all from Australia. The country is also home to dangerous plants, like the Australian stinging tree.

17 Sep 2020

Researchers discover both good and bad kitchen habits in different European countries

Every year, 5,000 Europeans die from diseases contracted from food. Researchers visited people's homes and discovered both good and bad kitchen habits in different European countries.

17 Sep 2020