Toxin News and Research

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Botox effective for CHARGE Syndrome in infants

Botulinum toxin, also called Botox, is best known as one of the most commonly used molecules to reduce wrinkles.

18 Mar 2008

Giving up smoking during pregnancy boosts chances of easygoing child

Giving up smoking during pregnancy may boost the chances of giving birth to an easy going child, indicates research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

14 Mar 2008

Humble cup of tea inhibits anthrax

A cup of black tea could be the next line of defence in the threat of bio-terrorism according to new international research.

13 Mar 2008

Snakes vault past toxic newts in evolutionary arms race

Snakes don't eat fugu, the seafood delicacy prepared from blowfish meat and famed for its poisonous potential.

11 Mar 2008

How do infections and toxins launch a cell's self-destruct and alarm system?

Cells are coded with several programs for self-destruction.

11 Mar 2008

U of C research examines Botulinium type-A toxin

New Research at the University of Calgary, Faculty of Kinesiology suggests that Botulinium type-A toxin (BTX-A) passes easily to surrounding muscles and is more difficult to control once injected than many people suspect.

27 Feb 2008

Advances in understanding human taste perception

Despite the significance of taste to both human gratification and survival, a basic understanding of this primal sense is still unfolding.

27 Feb 2008

Other types of E. coli shouldn't be ignored

While many of us are worried about E. coli 0157 in our food supply, a pre-harvest food safety expert at Kansas State University cautions that other types of E. coli shouldn't go ignored.

27 Feb 2008

Scorpion venom may hold key to controlling cystic fibrosis

Researchers have discovered a peptide in scorpion venom that may hold the key to understanding and controlling cystic fibrosis and other secretory diseases.

17 Feb 2008

Bacterial toxin closes gate on immune response

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated that a bacterial toxin from the common bacterium Staphylococcus aureus shuts down the control mechanism of the tunnel, called an ion channel, in immune cell membranes.

14 Feb 2008

Botox under investigation

Health authorities in the United States say they are investigating reports of serious side effects linked with treatments involving Botox.

11 Feb 2008

New cause identified for necrotic enteritis in chicken

Researchers from Monash University and CSIRO Livestock Industries have demonstrated for the first time that alpha-toxin protein, long thought to be required for necrotic enteritis to develop, is not the main cause of the chicken disease.

8 Feb 2008

Molecules developed at UB boost vaccine potency

Two novel proteins studied by a University at Buffalo professor of microbiology and immunology appear to have the potential to enhance the production of antibodies against a multitude of infectious agents.

5 Feb 2008

Gene in grain-producing plants guards against infection in animals and humans

Purdue University and USDA-Agricultural Research Service scientists have discovered that a type of gene in grain-producing plants halts infection by a disease-causing fungus that can destroy crops vital for human food supplies.

5 Feb 2008

FDA warns on green bean and garbanzo bean contamination

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that New Era Canning Company, New Era, Mich., is expanding its product recall because of potential Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum) contamination to all canned green beans and garbanzo beans distributed by the company nationwide over the last five years.

21 Jan 2008

Newer meningitis vaccine MenACWY appears safe and effective for infants

A vaccine not yet licensed in the United States produces immunity against four strains of meningococcal disease and is well tolerated when administered to infants, according to a study in the January 9/16 issue of JAMA.

9 Jan 2008

New hope for Batten disease sufferers

Investigators at the University of Rochester Medical Center have uncovered a promising drug therapy that offers a ray of hope for children with Batten disease – a rare neurodegenerative disease that strikes seemingly healthy kids, progressively robs them of their abilities to see, reason and move, and ultimately kills them in their young twenties.

3 Jan 2008