Toxicology News and Research

Latest Toxicology News and Research

Prenatal toxicity linked to immune dysfunctions in later life

A Cornell researcher and his wife have conducted the first comprehensive review of later-life diseases that develop in people who were exposed to environmental toxins or drugs either in the womb or as infants.

4 May 2007

Moderate coffee drinking reduces many risks

Although the American Society for Nutrition's popular ,controversy session, at Experimental Biology 2007 focuses on the health effects of coffee drinking, panel chair Dr. James Coughlin, a toxicology/safety consultant at Coughlin & Associates, says that recent advances in epidemiologic and experimental knowledge have transformed many of the negative health myths about coffee drinking into validated health benefits.

1 May 2007

Benzylpiperazine a 'new drug of abuse'

Professor Alison Jones said benzylpiperazine was a ,new drug of abuse, which could have serious clinical effects - similar to those of ecstasy to which it is structurally related.

30 Apr 2007

Babies are exposed to perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoate in the womb

An analysis of nearly 300 umbilical cord blood samples led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health shows that newborn babies are exposed to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) while in the womb.

25 Apr 2007

Non-coplanar PCBs and related chemicals warrant serious attention for health reasons

Scientists have determined that a specific class of PCB causes significant developmental abnormalities in rat pups whose mothers were exposed to the toxicant in their food during pregnancy and during the early weeks when the pups were nursing.

24 Apr 2007

M. D. Anderson wins $8.3-million to research environmental causes of major diseases

An $8.3-million federal grant to The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Science Park - Research Division addresses the complex interplay between such varied factors as genetics, diet, and environmental exposure to toxins that cause cancer, asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular and other diseases.

21 Apr 2007

Schering-Plough plans phase III trials for novel selective antiplatelet therapy

Schering-Plough Corporation has announced plans to initiate two global Phase III large-scale clinical outcomes trials for its novel selective oral antiplatelet therapy, the thrombin receptor antagonist (TRA) SCH 530348.

20 Apr 2007

New diagnostic technologies to predict and monitor cancer risks

Molecular messages and signals circulating in blood or contained in cells lining the airway can identify early stage cancer, according to research reported at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

16 Apr 2007

Eating well still one of the best ways to prevent cancer and promote good health

We all know that eating fruits, vegetables and soy products provides essential nutrition for a healthy lifestyle, while obesity leads to the opposite.

16 Apr 2007

Avista Capital acquires BioReliance from Invitrogen

Avista Capital Partners has announced it has completed its acquisition of BioReliance Corporation, a business unit of Invitrogen Corporation for approximately $210 million.

15 Apr 2007

Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals launches in the U.S.

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced its official U.S. launch. The new company incorporates the former Berlex Inc.into Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, as part of Bayer's acquisition of Schering AG, Germany, Berlex's former parent company.

5 Apr 2007

Targeted therapies improve colon cancer survival rates

People diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer that has spread to distant organs, such as White House spokesman Tony Snow, are much more likely to survive today than even just a few years ago, due to the recent and continued emergence of improved therapies, say cancer experts.

3 Apr 2007

Environmental contamination could affect the evolution of wildlife through changes in mating behavior

Female rats avoid males whose great-grandfathers were exposed to a common fruit crop fungicide, preferring instead males whose ancestors were uncontaminated, researchers from The University of Texas at Austin have discovered.

2 Apr 2007

Maternal beef consumption associated with lower sperm concentration

New research has shown that women who ate a lot of beef while pregnant had sons who were more likely to suffer from poor sperm quality as adults, and it suggests that the growth promoters used in cattle may play a role in these men's reduced fertility.

2 Apr 2007

Study describes how estradiol helps to maintain bone density

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have described a novel pathway by which estradiol, the primary estrogen in humans, aids in maintaining bone density, a function critical to avoiding osteoporosis.

25 Mar 2007

PPD licenses dyslipidemia statin from Ranbaxy

Ranbaxy Laboratories and PPD, Inc. have announced that PPD has acquired an exclusive worldwide license to develop, manufacture and market Ranbaxy's novel statin for the treatment of dyslipidemia.

27 Feb 2007

Cutting tax on alcohol dramatically increases sudden deaths involving alcohol

Researchers at the University of Helsinki, National Research Institute of Legal Policy and The Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies, Finland, have found that cutting excise duty on retail sales of alcohol can have immediate repercussions on a nation's health.

27 Feb 2007

Tea tree and lavender oils may cause enlarged breasts in boys

According to new research the use of shampoos, soaps and lotions which contain lavender oil and tea tree oils can cause some boys to develop enlarged breasts.

1 Feb 2007

Cruelty-free ELISA for human insulin

In the January issue of Clinical Biochemistry, scientists and physicians with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) outline the method used to develop a cruelty-free ELISA for human insulin that uses monoclonal antibodies produced by cells cultured in an animal-serum-free medium.

30 Jan 2007

FeCo/graphitic-shell nanocrystals as advanced magnetic-resonance-imaging and near-infrared agents

Alloys of iron and cobalt generate powerful magnetic signals that could be useful in nanoparticles designed to detect tumors using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

18 Dec 2006