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CDC reports progress in foodborne illness prevention has reached a plateau

The incidence of the most common foodborne illnesses has changed very little over the past three years, according to a 10-state report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

12 Apr 2009

New nanostructured biosensors

Research and industry are increasingly exploiting the potential of aptamers.

8 Apr 2009

Teen girls catching up to boys in prevalence of metabolic syndrome

There appears to be an increased awareness of the need to get our nation's youth moving and eating well-schools are taking a critical look at the meal options provided to students, and with the emergence of interactive exercise video games, game-loving teens don't necessarily equal couch potatoes.

6 Apr 2009

Climate change and its adverse effects on health needs more research funding

Climate change will seriously impact public health, but the United States has yet to allocate adequate research funding to understand and prepare for these impacts, according to a report published in Environmental Health Perspectives, the journal of the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

29 Mar 2009

Long-term storage of green tea lessens health benefits

Green tea leaves produce antioxidant organic compounds called catechins that reportedly have beneficial health effects, such as fighting bacteria, viruses and cancer.

20 Mar 2009

New data on link between cancer and nutrition

European experts in cancer and nutrition are meeting in Zurich, Switzerland late this month to discuss cutting-edge research in one of the most important and fiercely debated topics in cancer prevention: the link between diet and cancer.

12 Mar 2009

Health impacts of climate change require global action

The health impact of climate change is a critical issue that policy-makers should be aware of while setting priorities for action and investment to mitigate the impact of global climate change. This is the key message that WHO experts delivered at the Climate Change Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions conference in Copenhagen.

11 Mar 2009

Breath or urine analysis with optical gas sensors may detect cancer, diabetes

A future sensor may take away a patient's breath while simultaneously determining whether the patient has breast cancer, lung cancer, diabetes or asthma.

11 Mar 2009

Scientists make a strain of E. coli glow under fluorescent light

A team of Michigan Technological University researchers led by Associate Professor of Chemistry Haiying Liu has discovered how to make a strain of E. coli glow under fluorescent light.

5 Mar 2009

Bigger genomes more useful

Biologists analyzing DNA in search of the molecular underpinnings of life have consistently favored species with small genomes, which are cheaper to sequence and lack the repetitive "junk" that clutters bigger genomes.

3 Mar 2009

The availability of healthy food choices and your quality of diet is associated with where you live

Researchers examined healthy food availability and diet quality among Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Md., residents and found that availability of healthy foods was associated with quality of diet and 46 percent of lower-income neighborhoods had a low availability of healthy foods.

25 Feb 2009

NASA scientists predict outbreak of deadly Rift Valley fever

An early warning system, more than a decade in development, successfully predicted the 2006-2007 outbreak of the deadly Rift Valley fever in northeast Africa, according to a new study led by NASA scientists.

18 Feb 2009

Interfering with quorum sensing in bacteria may prevent foodborne illness

The rise in the number of foodborne illnesses from Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli, coupled with the lack of an effective intervention method, has led to intense scientific research into prevention efforts.

16 Feb 2009

New reference tool for measuring vitamins, carotenoids and trace elements in dietary supplements

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a new certified reference material that can be an important quality assurance tool for measuring the amounts of vitamins, carotenoids, and trace elements in dietary supplements.

15 Feb 2009

Ebola Reston virus found in pigs and humans in the Philippines

On 23 January 2009, the Government of the Philippines announced that a person thought to have come in contact with sick pigs had tested positive for Ebola Reston Virus (ERV) antibodies (IgG).

5 Feb 2009

Inflammation in colon may get doused before fueling cancer development

A tiny molecule found in most plant-based foods douses the flames before damaging lesions can form in the colon, according to a study by Texas AgriLife Research scientist Dr. Nancy Turner.

2 Feb 2009

Results of the third school nutrition dietary assessment study published

A special Supplement to the February 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association presents findings from the recently released Third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study (SNDA-III), conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., as well as research from other studies using SNDA-III data.

2 Feb 2009

Recent reports regarding mercury and high fructose

ChemRisk, a leading scientific consulting firm, was asked by the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) to examine the recent publication by Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), "Not So Sweet: Missing Mercury and High Fructose Corn Syrup," and the Environmental Health journal publication "Mercury from chlor-alkali plants: measured concentrations in food product sugar," by Dufault et al, 2009, and to offer our comments and analysis.

2 Feb 2009

Fifth bird flu death in China in less than a month

Reports from China's Ministry of Health of a fifth death from bird flu in less than a month shows just how the deadly H5N1 virus remains such a threat.

27 Jan 2009