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World's first handheld sensor for measuring optical density

BugLab LLC, the industry leader in non-invasive optical monitoring, has introduced the OD Scanner – the world's first handheld sensor for measuring optical density in shake flasks and other small vessels. This device removes the need to open shake flasks to measure optical density (OD). Instead, by directly measuring OD through the container wall, the labor, contamination risk, and inaccuracy associated with sampling and dilution are eliminated.

2 Dec 2010

Wright County Egg receives FDA concurrence to sell shell eggs

FDA today notified Wright County Egg LLC of Galt, Iowa, that the company has FDA's concurrence to begin shipping shell eggs directly to the consumer market from two hen houses on one of its six farms. The firm has not shipped eggs to the consumer market since August 2010, when the company's eggs were associated with the multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE).

2 Dec 2010

Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory for 2010 December focusses on tackling norovirus outbreaks

In early 2010, Pennsylvania nursing homes and hospitals reported an increased number of cases of gastrointestinal illness which are consistent with recurring outbreaks of the highly contagious norovirus and norovirus-like illnesses nationwide. With a new norovirus season approaching, the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority issues its 2010 December Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory with data analysis, guidance and success stories provided by Pennsylvania nursing homes for preventing and controlling the illness.

2 Dec 2010

Food safety bill passes in Senate

Reuters: "The Senate passed the largest overhaul of the U.S. food safety system in decades on Tuesday, a response to massive recalls such as last summer's recall of half a billion eggs in a salmonella outbreak. The Senate voted 73-25 to pass the bill. The House of Representatives backed a different version in July 2009.

2 Dec 2010

Arsenic contamination of drinking water in Bangladesh leads to slow-developing diseases

The well-reported arsenic contamination of drinking water in Bangladesh called the "largest mass poisoning of a population in history" by the World Health Organization and known to be responsible for a host of slow-developing diseases has now been shown to have an immediate and toxic effect on the struggling nation's economy.

1 Dec 2010

New study may lead to non-medicinal methods of eradicating Hamburger disease

Hamburger disease, a debilitating form of food poisoning, may be a thing of the past. New findings from an international research collaboration conducted by the French National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA), involving the Universit- de Montr-al are the first to show how the contaminating E.coli bacterium is able to survive in the competitive environment of a cow's intestine by scavenging specific food sources.

30 Nov 2010

New water dispenser with Firewall UV technology deactivates harmful micro-organisms

Waterlogic water dispensers with Firewall UV technology, have become the world's first bottle-less water coolers to be awarded dual certification for achieving the highest levels of drinking water purification.

23 Nov 2010

Grifols launches Flebogamma 10% DIF intravenous immune globulin in the U.S.

Grifols today announced availability of its recently approved Flebogamma® 10% DIF intravenous immune globulin. Grifols is a global healthcare company specializing in bioscience medicines derived from human plasma. Approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Flebogamma® 10% DIF was obtained in July 2010 and final approval in Europe is expected before the end of the year. Today's announcement signals widespread product availability to the US market.

22 Nov 2010

U.S. federal court sanction lawyers at Gibson Dunn for abusive questioning in Ecuador environmental contamination

A U.S. federal court has sanctioned Chevron and its lawyers at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher for abusive questioning during a deposition related to the oil giant's multi-billion dollar liability in Ecuador for environmental contamination, according to court papers made available today.

20 Nov 2010

FIP's PSWC and AAPS Annual Meeting to highlight targeted inhalable dry powder HPV vaccine

New research being presented at the 2010 FIP Pharmaceutical Sciences World Congress in association with the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Annual Meeting and Exposition will highlight a targeted inhalable dry powder vaccine that may prove preferable in terms of needle avoidance and expected lower cost than the current commercial human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine used throughout the world.

18 Nov 2010

Selenium secures NIH grant to apply patented antimicrobial technology for ear infections

Selenium, Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company focused on unique solutions to meet antimicrobial coating and therapeutic needs, has been awarded a research grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, one of the National Institutes of Health. With the $155,387 NIH grant the company will apply its proprietary antimicrobial technology to researching the inhibition of biofilms on tympanostomy tubes.

18 Nov 2010

New inhalable dry powder antibiotic may reduce TB treatment time

New research being presented at the 2010 International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Pharmaceutical Sciences World Congress (PSWC) in association with the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition will feature an inhalable dry powder antibiotic that when used alone or with current treatments may significantly reduce treatment for tuberculosis (TB) and multi-drug resistant TB.

17 Nov 2010

Clemson scientists granted $1.2 million grant to study interaction of plutonium with soil

Environmental scientists at Clemson University have received a three-year, $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study how plutonium, a byproduct of used nuclear fuel, interacts with soil.

12 Nov 2010

Baxa launches ExactaMix 1200 Automated Compounding Device

Baxa Corporation, a leading provider of medical devices and systems that automate pharmacy operations, today introduced the ExactaMix 1200 Automated Compounding Device (ACD) for small- to mid-sized hospital pharmacies in need of an automated approach to compounding large-volume parenteral doses.

9 Nov 2010

Patented cover for stethoscopes will curb hospital-acquired infections

Saints Medical Center is pleased to announce that Richard H. Ma, M.D, chair of its hospitalist department, has received a patent for a lightweight plastic cover for stethoscopes that will dramatically reduce hospital-acquired infections.

9 Nov 2010

Chemicals lining food wrappers migrating to humans

University of Toronto scientists have found that chemicals used to line junk food wrappers and microwave popcorn bags are migrating into food and being ingested by people where they are contributing to chemical contamination observed in blood.

9 Nov 2010

Water purification woes

According to an expert desalination plants that are built close to sewage outflows risk contaminating drinking water. An Australian National University professor of infectious diseases and microbiology Peter Collignon said that membrane technology is not fool proof when it comes to screening bugs. This comes coincidentally just after a “reporting error” by Sydney Water that showed E.coli had been found in processed drinking water at its $1.9 billion Kurnell desalination plant in Sydney's south. The plant's intake, which collects water to supply 1.5 million Sydney homes, is about 2.5km north of the Cronulla near-shore sewage outflow.

8 Nov 2010

Researchers investigate Human-cl rhFVIII factor for severe hemophilia A treatment

Octapharma AG, one of the largest human protein products manufacturers in the world, and Octapharma USA today announced that patients diagnosed with severe hemophilia A have started treatment in a multi-center study that is researching the use of the first recombinant Factor VIII (rFVIII) derived from a human cell line (Human-cl rhFVIII).

2 Nov 2010

NOAA and FDA add second chemical test for detecting dispersants in Gulf seafood

Building upon the extensive testing and protocols already in use by federal, state and local officials for the fishing waters of the Gulf, NOAA and FDA have developed and are using a chemical test to detect dispersants used in the Deepwater Horizon-BP oil spill in fish, oysters, crab and shrimp. Trace amounts of the chemicals used in dispersants are common, and levels for safety have been previously set.

30 Oct 2010

Federal government takes second enforcement action against food distributor Lao Trading

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that Peng Bandith, owner of the Lao Trading Company of Nashville has signed a consent decree that permanently prohibits Lao Trading Co. from distributing food held under insanitary conditions in interstate commerce.

30 Oct 2010

Contamination News and Research

World's first handheld sensor for measuring optical density

Wright County Egg receives FDA concurrence to sell shell eggs

Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory for 2010 December focusses on tackling norovirus outbreaks

Food safety bill passes in Senate

Arsenic contamination of drinking water in Bangladesh leads to slow-developing diseases

New study may lead to non-medicinal methods of eradicating Hamburger disease

New water dispenser with Firewall UV technology deactivates harmful micro-organisms

Grifols launches Flebogamma 10% DIF intravenous immune globulin in the U.S.

U.S. federal court sanction lawyers at Gibson Dunn for abusive questioning in Ecuador environmental contamination

FIP's PSWC and AAPS Annual Meeting to highlight targeted inhalable dry powder HPV vaccine

Selenium secures NIH grant to apply patented antimicrobial technology for ear infections

New inhalable dry powder antibiotic may reduce TB treatment time

Clemson scientists granted $1.2 million grant to study interaction of plutonium with soil

Baxa launches ExactaMix 1200 Automated Compounding Device

Patented cover for stethoscopes will curb hospital-acquired infections

Chemicals lining food wrappers migrating to humans

Water purification woes

Researchers investigate Human-cl rhFVIII factor for severe hemophilia A treatment

NOAA and FDA add second chemical test for detecting dispersants in Gulf seafood

Federal government takes second enforcement action against food distributor Lao Trading

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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