A new study conducted at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health finds that children exposed during pregnancy to elevated levels of phthalates had lower IQ scores. The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, found that those children had an IQ more than six points lower than the average. The two chemicals are … Read more
A new study claims that exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) from drinking canned beverages increases blood pressure. BPA is a chemical used to line metal cans and make plastic bottles. It has been associated with hypertension in earlier studies. This new study was a randomized crossover trial with adults age 60 hayers and older. The participants … Read more
A new study by the Institute of Food Research has shown how the bacteria Campylobacter uses “chicken juice” to persist in the food chain, attaching to surfaces and forming biofilms that make it more impervious to cleaning. Helen Brown, a Ph.D. student at the Institute, led the study. Scientists collected liquids produced from defrosting chickens, … Read more
The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has released a report today about combating antibiotic resistance. The White House also released a National Strategy on Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria and a Presidential Executive Order which emphasizes the importance of tackling this challenge. Antibiotic resistant bacteria are evolving at an alarming rate and … Read more
Researchers at Harvard University are developing a medical device that replicates the function of the human spleen. The scientists say that it can filter pathogens from E. coli bacteria to the Ebola virus. The device, called a biospleen, is under development at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. The device was primarily developed to … Read more
The Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN), with the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) and its Microbiology Cooperative Agreement Program (MCAP) labs have conducted a study to look at the prevalence of selected bacteria in pet foods. The goal was to help the Center for Veterinary Medicine prioritize future testing, and increased FERN screening … Read more
Researchers at the University of Wyoming have identified a substance that increases the survival of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. The substance, called exopolysaccharide (EPS), is a compound that the bacteria secretes on its cell surface. EPA coats the cells so they can clump together. That protects them from disinfectants and drying. Dr. Mark Gomelsky, a professor at … Read more
Researchers at Washington State University have found that cinnamon may help prevent food poisoning by killing pathogenic bacteria. Their work has been published in Food Control Journal. It turns out that cinnamomum cassia oil is very effective at killing the top six non-O157 STEC (shiga toxin producing E. coli) bacteria. The major component in C. … Read more
Scientists at Cornell University have developed a way to detect Salmonella bacteria faster, which could help solve food poisoning outbreaks much more quickly. The Cornell Food Safety Lab, led by dr. Martin Wiedmann and research associate Henk den Bakker, worked with the New York State Department of Health on the next-generation DNA sequencing techniques. The … Read more
Research published in the peer-reviewed journal MBio has found that the fungus that contaminated Chobani yogurt and was the trigger for a recall last fall was potentially dangerous. At that time, a researcher at Cornell University said that the mold, Mucor circinelloides, “should not pose a health risk to most consumers. Very rarely, it can act … Read more