Pesticides News and Research

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NIH grant to develop a new method for rapidly screening blood samples for biomarkers

Dr. Jennifer Brodbelt, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at The University of Texas at Austin, has received a $734,068 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a new method for rapidly screening blood samples for biomarkers.

5 Nov 2009

New paper-strip test for detecting pesticides in beverage and food samples

Scientists in Canada are reporting the development of a fast, inexpensive "dipstick" test to identify small amounts of pesticides that may exist in foods and beverages. Their paper-strip test is more practical than conventional pesticide tests, producing results in minutes rather than hours by means of an easy-to-read color-change, they say.

5 Nov 2009

Possible cure for Parkinson's disease

Researchers at Iowa State University have found an essential key to possibly cure Parkinson's disease and are looking for others.

4 Nov 2009

Cosmetic pesticides cause cancer, CCSBCY calls for government action

The Canadian Cancer Society B.C. and Yukon is calling on the provincial government to accelerate its plans and initiate a defined and timely public consultation on the use of cosmetic chemical pesticides to protect public health and the environment by the end of this year.

30 Oct 2009

Study finds link between high levels of pesticide exposure and suicidal thoughts

A new study in China has found that people with higher levels of pesticide exposure are more likely to have suicidal thoughts. The study was carried out by Dr Robert Stewart from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London together with scientists from Tongde Hospital Zhejiang Province.

23 Oct 2009

Is DDT pesticide safe to combat malaria?

Malaria risk threatens the life and health of thousands daily. In high-risk areas, including sub-Saharan Africa, malaria-related deaths happen every thirty seconds.

14 Oct 2009

Make healthy housing a priority: NCHH

According to new research from the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH), the majority of U.S. families (67%) live in a home with at least one major health risk.

3 Oct 2009

Chemicals found in breast milk adversly affect the fetal testis

A comparison of breast milk samples from Denmark and Finland revealed a significant difference in environmental chemicals which have previously been implicated in testicular cancer or in adversely affecting development of the fetal testis in humans and animals. This finding is published today in the International Journal of Andrology.

25 Sep 2009

Children exposed to pesticides more susceptible to chilhood leukemia

Northern California Cancer Center (NCCC) research reveals that children exposed to agricultural pesticides applied near their home may experience an increased risk of the most common form of childhood leukemia.

25 Sep 2009

Researchers find fungi effective for controlling malaria mosquitoes

In areas where malaria mosquitoes have become resistant to chemical pesticides, mosquito-killing fungi can be an effective tool. Fungal spores can effectively infect and kill malaria mosquitoes, even those that are resistant to pesticides.

25 Sep 2009

Researchers examine new method for controlling soybean aphids

Two Iowa State University researchers are examining a new method of controlling soybean aphids without the use of chemical pesticides.

16 Sep 2009

Thermo Fisher to showcase food safety solutions at AOAC 2009, Philadelphia

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, today announced that it is featuring its industry-leading range of instrumentation, equipment, consumables and software used for food safety testing at the AOAC International annual meeting and exposition in Philadelphia from Sept. 11-17.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 15 Sep 2009

Pesticide exposure is linked to Parkinson's disease

Individuals whose occupation involves contact with pesticides appear to have an increased risk of having Parkinson's disease, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

15 Sep 2009

Death stench is a warning sign to prevent diseases

The smell of recent death or injury that repels living relatives of insects has been identified as a truly ancient signal that functions to avoid disease or predators, biologists have discovered.

14 Sep 2009

Elderberry extract prevents H1N1 infection in vitro

A recent research study has given new scientific evidence to the long-held empirical belief that elderberries possess antiviral activities. The research involved a specific, reproducible elderberry extract developed by HerbalScience Group LLC, and succeeded in identifying key chemical components of the extract that inhibited in vitro infection and were shown to bind directly to Human Influenza A (H1N1) virus particles. The binding blocked the ability of the viruses to enter host cells, and thereby effectively preventing H1N1 infection in vitro.

11 Sep 2009

Natural plant hormone can help eliminate pesticide residues in food crops

Scientists in China are reporting the "intriguing" discovery that a natural plant hormone, applied to crops, can help plants eliminate residues of certain pesticides. The study is scheduled for the Sept. 23 issue of ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.

10 Sep 2009

Dr. Terry Collins offers public lecture on the growing field of green chemistry

Consumer concerns over hazardous chemicals in the air and water have led scientists to find solutions in the new field of green chemistry. "The most troubling health effects are associated with endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that may interfere with cellular development in humans and animals," says Dr. Terry Collins, a champion in the field.

9 Sep 2009

New tool for easy assessment of pesticide effects on water bodies

Leipzig: The long-term effects of pesticides on living organisms in rivers and on water quality can now be assessed more easily. Researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) have developed a tool that can estimate the harmful effect of pesticides, such as those flushed into rivers and streams from agricultural land, within minutes.

5 Sep 2009

Sodium chloride for treating head lice

At just 31 years of age, and with a first grader in tow, single mom Wendy Langley set out to take on the giants in the head lice industry. The reason? She couldn't, as she says, stand putting a popular but potentially toxic head lice treatment that "smelled like bug spray" on her kid's head to kill lice. Plus, she was constantly terrified the runny liquid would seep into her daughter's eyes.

4 Sep 2009

Pesticide beta-HCH in blood and Parkinson's disease are linked: UT Southwestern Medical Center

People with Parkinson's disease have significantly higher blood levels of a particular pesticide than healthy people or those with Alzheimer's disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

2 Sep 2009