Miscellaneous News

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Coffee beans contain proteins that can kill insects

Scientists in Brazil are reporting for the first time that coffee beans contain proteins that can kill insects and might be developed into new insecticides for protecting food crops against destructive pests.

3 Apr 2010

Town hall meetings highlight the dangers of underage drinking

In recognition of Alcohol Awareness Month in April, communities throughout the nation are conducting town hall meetings to discuss what can be done to prevent and reduce underage drinking.

3 Apr 2010

Contaminated insects: A potential threat for meat-eating plants

Scientists in the United Kingdom are reporting evidence that consumption of insects contaminated with a toxic metal may be a factor in the mysterious global decline of meat-eating, or carnivorous, plants.

3 Apr 2010

IEEE conference to explore alternative resources to promote energy conservation in home and business

About 1.6 million people -- mostly women and children -- die each year from indoor air pollution caused by cooking and heating with wood, dung, coal or crop waste, according to the World Health Organization.

3 Apr 2010

High-protein diet safe and healthy for losing weight

From starvation diets to sauna suits, athletes in sports like mixed martial arts, wrestling and boxing often to go unhealthy extremes to meet their weight class goals.

3 Apr 2010

Media report on Haiti rebuilding effort after donor conference

The next big challenge is figuring out how to apply the raised funds to fix not just Haiti's earthquake damage, but also the years of poverty and corruption that have plagued the nation

3 Apr 2010

Microbes in polluted groundwater have simple genetic structures that help them overcome environmental stress

Microorganisms can indeed live in extreme environments, but the ones that do are highly adapted to survive and little else, according to a collaboration that includes Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and the University of Oklahoma.

2 Apr 2010

Tragic balcony accident on Sunshine Coast

In a tragic incident on Thursday, a 16 month old toddler fell from the balcony of a Queensland apartment block at Alexandra Headlands on the Sunshine Coast and succumbed to a fatal head injury.

2 Apr 2010

News outlets report on developments from Agricultural Research Conference

Nature News examines potential funding reforms for the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR), which are under discussion at a the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) in Montpellier, France. The CGIAR "supports thousands of scientists working on agriculture and food security in developing countries," according to Nature News.

2 Apr 2010

Athletes and ethicists look at fairness in sport

Just in time for baseball’s opening day, a series of articles in the Hastings Center Report asks what constitutes fairness in elite sports and what it takes to stop cheating. New issues, including the prospect of gene doping and questions about which athletes are really “female,” are explored.

1 Apr 2010

Young athletes overuse their bodies and strike out too early

Today, leaders in healthcare, wellness, safety and fitness came together to launch the STOP Sports Injuries campaign. The campaign will educate athletes, parents, trainers, coaches and healthcare providers about the rapid increase in youth sports injuries, the necessary steps to help reverse the trend and the need to keep young athletes healthy.

1 Apr 2010

Stakeholders, experts meet to develop agriculture reform roadmap

Experts meeting in Montpellier, France, for the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development are calling for restructuring agriculture "to focus as much on new seed varieties as on good governance, women's empowerment and things like curbing commodities speculation," Reuters/Independent Online reports.

1 Apr 2010

Mislabeled high fire risk kids nightwear recalled by Big W

Big W stores in Australia have apologized after selling inflammable children’s night wear labeled as “low fire danger”. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) deputy chair Peter Kell said in a statement, "The ACCC enforces a mandatory standard for the labelling of children's nightwear,” "It is designed to reduce the risk of burns injuries to children by providing specific information on the fire hazard," he said. "There is considerable research which shows that clear labelling helps minimise the risk of these injuries, which is why the ACCC regularly monitors compliance."

1 Apr 2010

Cigarette filters contain pig’s blood

The next time you light up a cigarette you may be puffing on a filter which contains pig’s blood. A recent Dutch research found that pig hemoglobin was being used to make filters of cigarettes more effective in blocking harmful chemicals before they enter the smoker’s lungs.

1 Apr 2010

U.N. releases report on poverty in Afghanistan

A new U.N. report (.pdf) finds that "the majority of Afghans live in dire poverty, despite an estimated $35 billion in aid being poured into the country between 2002 to 2009," the Associated Press reports (3/30).

1 Apr 2010

Majority of consumers underestimate grocery prices

Almost one in three U.S. households shop on a budget - and one in six can only afford basic necessities. So it's no wonder that 78 percent of budget shoppers - twice as many as those who shop without a budget (37 percent) - try to track how much their groceries are likely to cost as they roll through the aisles.

1 Apr 2010

CompPharma's standardized directory of workers' compensation pharmacy industry

CompPharma, a consortium of workers' compensation pharmacy benefit managers, has compiled a directory of terms and definitions describing various aspects of the workers' compensation pharmacy industry.

31 Mar 2010

Natural Vines introduced for sophisticated licorice customers

American Licorice Company, one of the nation's most respected licorice manufacturers, has introduced Natural Vines, a new line of premium, gourmet soft licorice created for the discerning licorice connoisseur.

31 Mar 2010

STAAR Surgical Company enters into 'Stipulation for Settlement' to resolve pending disputes

STAAR Surgical Company, a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of minimally invasive ophthalmic products, today announced that STAAR and all other parties to the matters Parallax Medical Systems v. STAAR Surgical Company and Scott C. Moody, Inc. v. STAAR Surgical Company entered into a Stipulation for Settlement that globally resolves all pending disputes among them.

31 Mar 2010

Versar awarded $7.6M contract to review and evaluate pesticide product

Versar, Inc. announced today that it was awarded a five-year, $7.6 million contract to review and evaluate pesticide product and residue chemistry data by the Office of Pesticide Programs, Health Effects Division, of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

31 Mar 2010