It would make it nearly impossible for federal agencies to use science to protect public health safety and the environment.
or other identification of a substance product or activity as hazardous or creating risk to human health safety
and Drug Administration (FDA) to review the routine use of antibiotics in animal feed without a sound scientific basis. Rep. Fincher's worries largely are unfounded.
The FDA has shown little enthusiasm for regulating the routine use of antibiotics in livestock. Science is on the side of much more stringent regulation.
The UCS Food and Environment program citing substantial scientific evidence has warned that the routine use of antibiotics in livestock is a major factor in antibiotic resistance in humans a huge and growing public-health problem.
But if the Sound Sciencebill became law it would be even more difficult for the FDA to try to curb the dangerous overuse of antibiotics in our livestock and hence in our food supply.
The agriculture industry aided by pharmaceutical manufacturers could block regulation by subjecting the FDA's science to nearly infinite rounds of scrutiny specifically to achieve paralysis by analysis. Those special interests would have free rein to claim that the science was not certain that the agency had looked not at every study
For decades the tobacco industry kept regulation at bay by claiming that not all facts were in absolutely linking tobacco use to cancer.
However the technique of paralysis by analysis should not get even more help from our elected officials.
and archaea as exemplified by antibiotic resistance. When a specific bacterium develops a defense against some drug the corresponding gene can pass horizontally to others in the same colony.
A 2008 study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) found that 80 percent of the genes in bacteria were transferred horizontally at some point in the past.
because birth defects in the external genitalia are among the most common congenital defects in humans said study researcher Martin Cohn a developmental biologist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University of Florida.
which are valued for the supposed medicinal benefits. The United states also is a destination for illegal ivory according to the study.
This causes the problem and is the disease that must be treated. This is a question of education public outreach
William S. Bigelow an American physician living in Japan and botanist Charles S. Sargent sent cherry trees to the Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia in the 1890s for example and the Imperial Botanic Garden
The trees were infested unfortunately with roundworms and insects. President William Howard Taft acting on advice from agriculture officials ordered the trees burned and destroyed.
or cure urinary tract infections researchers say. Cranberry juice has been touted for at least a century as a remedy for urinary tract infections (UTIS.
Yet doctors remain divided over whether the fruit is truly effective in treating UTIS. The largest analysis to date a review of 24 studies including more than 4400 patients published in 2012 in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews suggests that any positive effect is minimal at best.
Millions of Americans mostly women suffer from UTIS each year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most UTIS are treated effectively with antibiotics. The limited evidence in studies regarding the effectiveness of cranberries however might be the way the fruit is used as a drink or as an extract in pill form according to Mcgill University scientists.
In their research led by Nathalie Tufenkji a professor of chemical engineering they added cranberry derivatives directly to laboratory dishes growing two bacteria mostly commonly associated with UTIS Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis.
The cranberry didn't kill these bacteria but it did limit their ability to swim and thus spread.
The researchers'most recent study appearing in June in the Canadian Journal of Microbiology was on P. mirabilis.
which contributes to the virulence or severity of infection. The finding has important implications because P. mirabilis is the main bacterium behind UTIS caused by catheters in hospitals.
Scientists think that P. mirabilis can migrate up the catheter into the urinary tract. So a catheter dusted
or infused with cranberry might prevent infection. Indeed a second paper by Tufenkji's group posted online in advance of publication in the journal Colloids
and Surfaces B the Mcgill scientists demonstrated this is possible. We showed that we can embed cranberry derivatives into silicone
which is used a commonly material to make catheters Tufenkji told Livescience. Once the cranberry is in the silicone we found that it is still bioactive;
namely it still prevents bacteria from swimming and spreading on the catheter surface. Tufenkji's earlier work found that chemicals in cranberries called proanthocyanidins (PACS) similarly hindered the gene in E coli responsible for growing flagellar filament.
E coli is the bacterium most associated with nonhospital-acquired UTIS. Women in particular can pick up this bacterium from frequent sexual intercourse;
although unlike with a sexually transmitted disease the bacteria are usually already on the woman S1 Â
The mechanism of action is very different from antibiotics which depend on killing the cells Tufenkji said.
This study appeared in 2012 in the Journal of Medicinal Food. Tufenkji stressed that her study doesn't validate that consumption of cranberries could treat UTIS.
Antibiotics remain for now the UTI treatment of choice among most medical doctors. Christopher Wanjek is the author of a new novel Hey Einstein!
His column Bad Medicine appears regularly on Livescience n
#How Deadly H7n9 Flu Could Jump from Birds to Mammals Chinese researchers have found new clues to the origins of the deadly H7n9 flu virus
and also found a new flu virus lurking in birds that could potentially infect mammals.
The new research shows that the deadly H7n9 flu virus which emerged in China in March likely originated in migratory birds was passed to domestic ducks
and made the jump to chickens at least twice. As the researchers studied the H7n9 flu they found a previously unknown virus called H7n7.
In laboratory tests this H7n7 virus infected ferrets which are used often a model for human flu transmission.
H7n7 viruses have appeared in other parts of the world but the one the researchers found differed from those.
Flu viruses are named for their proteins the H in the name comes from hemagglutinin and the N from neuraminidase.
Both the H7n9 virus and the H7h7 virus belong to the H7 family of viruses. 6 Flu Vaccine Myths There are probably other viruses like H7n7 that are circulating in the poultry populations in China said study
researcher Yi Guan of the Joint Influenza Research Centre in Hong kong. China has about 65 percent of the world's domestic ducks
Many flu viruses Guan noted don't cause people any problems. They spread through poultry populations
But H7-type flu viruses persist and oftenâ evolve into new forms. Vincent Racaniello professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University in New york said this kind of surveillance study is important in finding new viruses and understanding them better.
Guan said the most surprising thing the team found was just how widespread flu viruses are.
Influenza viruses often change as they are transmitted between individuals and species; as H7n9 made its way from migratory to domestic birds it exchanged genes with other types of flu.
That's what gave it the ability infect people the researchers said. A key development for the virus was altering its proteins so it could bind to the cells in the upper respiratory tracts of chickens.
Many varieties of flu live in the birds'intestines but they aren't spread through the air.
and a 2012 study found these measures reduced the spread of influenza. Racaniello emphasized that
while the number of deaths due to H7n9 may make the virus seem particularly worrisome it's important to remember that not all cases of infection are reported.
or aren't sick enough to go to a hospital. The people who died might have other health problems he said.
Guan said his team plans to study how H7n9 kills and transmits to people. It's also important to keep sending research teams out to watch the birds.
The data collected by using Google street view may be useful in monitoring diseases or invasive organism expansion Rossi told Livescience.
Many health experts have asked whether these free lunches just make matters worse. But the question cannot be answered it seems by simply comparing those who get free lunches with those who buy or pack their own because of the confounding factors of poverty and strained home life.
The study appeared Monday (April 8) online in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The results are encouraging in lowering obesity rates among disadvantaged students receiving subsidized lunches said study researcher Daniel Taber a research scientist at UIC's Institute for Health Research and Policy.
Taber told Livescience that fewer than 10 of the 40 states analyzed were ahead of the curve by 2006 in requiring stronger nutritional standards than those dictated by the USDA to receive funding for the National School Lunch Program.
Many nutritionists complained early on that the program was aligned more to the USDA's agenda of helping commercial farmers than feeding poor children.
place the financial health of food companies and their supporters in Congress above the health of the nation s children she wrote.
His column Bad Medicine appears regularly on Livescience e
#How Science Can Help You Cook a Better Thanksgiving Feast Preparing a Thanksgiving feast can seem like a daunting task
but understanding a bit about the science behind the cooking may cut down some of the stress in the kitchen this holiday season.
#How to Get Kids to Eat Healthy Without Breaking the Bank Childhood obesity has doubled more than in children in the past 30 years according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.
Deborah Herlax Enos is certified a nutritionist and a health coach and weight loss expert in the Seattle area with more than 20 years of experience.
Read more tips on her blogâ Health in a Hurry H
#How to Get Kids to Like Vegetables: Study Reveals Tips One trick to getting kids to like their vegetables is simply to keep offering them a variety of veggies especially
when they are younger than 1 year old and at their most receptive a new study suggests.
High fruit and vegetable consumption has been linked to decreased risk of developing diseases including certain cancers heart disease obesity and diabetes.
That spells potential disaster for the region's 58 million largely agrarian people who already suffer from high levels of chronic hunger and malnutrition.
But the Sahel's native trees like Dr. Seuss'fantastical colorful truffula trees in his tale The Lorax are far more than they appear.
and tap the trees for their high-value resins which the company exports to Europe to meet the rising need for such materials in products from pharmaceuticals to cosmetics to baked goods.
and pay for school fees medical needs and food in the lean months between harvests. Behind Produits du Sud are two local entrepreneurs Amidou Sissako
With the financial rewards from illegal logging high and the odds of being caught low it's no surprise that illegal logging has reached epidemic proportions in the Russian Far east
Nobody in their right mind would want to do said that John Gearhart the director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania who was involved not in the study.
Instead scientists attempting to treat diseases of the cell's powerhouse the mitochondria refined the technique
The study's leader Shoukhrat Mitalipov of Oregon Health & Science University told reporters that the early embryos 100-cell bundles known as blastocysts seem to have defects preventing them from implanting properly in the uterus and reaching maturity.
These cells have the capability to develop into any tissue in the body a talent that could make them the stars of regenerative medicine the goal
of which is to grow fresh cells and tissues from patients suffering from various diseases. Scientists are now able to take regular adult cells
and their use is supported generally by anti-abortion groups such as the USCCB since no embryos are destroyed in their creation.
and ips stem cells provide promising alternative ways to heal illnesses without raising people s temptations to engage in such attacks he said referring to the destruction of human embryos.
What's more ips cells can't be used to treat diseases of the mitochondria which are tiny organs within cells that convert the molecules in the food we eat into chemical energy the cell can use.
what's in the nucleus. Trying to treat a mitochondrial disease by turning back the clock on an adult cell's genome would do nothing
and Drug Administration approval in the United states not a given by any means but rogue clinics or scientists in less-regulated nations could make attempts he said.
and produce no greenhouse-gas emissions or toxins. The goal is to design and develop efficient sustainable and practical human-powered vehicles.
 In developed countries those types of vehicles along with more conventional bicycles can be used to relieve traffic congestion improve public health reduce airâ pollutionâ and significantly lower transportation costs.
In developing countries human-powered vehicles can provide affordable basic transportation for personal transport deliveries and even ambulance services.
and have improved cardiovascular health compared to automobile commuters. Additionally in many parts of the world human-powered vehicles are used to meet basic transportation needs.
 Students participating in the HPVC are designing transportation solutions for a world faced with economic stress and poverty climate change and strife over energy supplies.
and the harm that can be brought about by technological choices. They are the students employers want to hire.
These findings could lead to noninvasive means of testing tree health during droughts. Just as microscopes and telescopes help researchers see more about the world microphones can help them learn more about their surroundings via sound.
if they are in good shape. Such work revealed trees made sounds in both the audible and ultrasonic ranges.
When humans began settling on the island about 2300 years ago Madagascar's large vertebrate populations were the first casualties.
and most diseases they could carry are species-specific meaning they likely wouldn't infect other wildlife.
Pedrono's team plans to do thorough veterinary checks to make sure the new tortoises aren't bringing invasive plants or exotic diseases with them to Madagascar.
But South korean biomedical engineer Insung Hwang hopes to find just a cell nucleus and produce a clone from it like Dolly the sheep.
Conservation controversy Critics of de-extinction say reviving extinct animals would do more harm to conservation efforts than good.
#Incurable Disease Threatens US Citrus Crop Florida's $9 billion orange crop the largest in the world after Brazil's may not survive an incurable disease that threatens to wipe out citrus groves throughout the United states. The disease known as citrus greening
There is no known cure for citrus greening (which also affects grapefruit lemons and other citrus crops) despite the best efforts of numerous research labs. The Candidatus bacteria is
A global blight Though the Sunshine state is now the most critically affected all 32 of Florida's citrus-growing counties have reported the disease the blight has also been found in California Arizona Texas and other states.
If we don't find a cure it will eliminate the citrus industry. An industry under assault Citrus greening isn't the only problem threatening the state's citrus industry
Hurricanes canker disease (another bacterial infection of citrus fruits) hard freezes and the vagaries of the international orange market
and a sign they have confidence we will find a cure for greening Adam Putnam Florida s agriculture commissioner told The Times.
This is like a really insidious cancer Carey told Livescience. It's a chronic process not a rapid growth.
and then government representatives provided comments before both groups came together in Batumi to hash out the final report.
or depressed before getting their periods classic signs of premenstrual syndrome or PMS may want to pay attention to the amount of iron in their diets according to a new study.
and food cravings to fatigue and moodiness. Other research has shown that diet affects the development of PMS
All the women were enrolled in the ongoing Nurses'Health Study II which is exploring the influence of diet and lifestyle on women's health.
Researchers compared the mineral intakes from food as well as supplements for nearly 1060 women who had been diagnosed with PMS against those of roughly 1970 women who had few if any PMS symptoms.
The scientists also considered other factors linked to PMS such as a woman's age weight pregnancy history use of oral contraceptives
D. an associate professor of epidemiology at UMASS Amherst. But not all forms of dietary iron are the same.
The study which was published online today (Feb 26) in the American Journal of Epidemiology evaluated data for eight different minerals.
and do you harm? It s a reasonable question but the answer seems to be no.
Even if some sentences did survive your digestive system it is unlikely they would enter your cells or harm you in any way.
or any combination of different DNAS from different species could do us harm. To convince yourself that DNA is contained in food you can do a simple experiment at home.
He receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council.
The strain of GM wheat found in Oregon was developed by the biotechnology company Monsanto officials confirmed.
and there's no health problems at all Sneller said. When Monsanto was considering GM wheat the company consulted with the FDA
since 1995 and there have been no reports of ill health effects. We are the big guinea pig
which some people are allergic. We have to consider things on a case-by-case basis and be vigilant about each new use of genetic engineering Smith said.
and pathogen outbreaks or allow an invasive species to move into an area that was previously inhospitable.
'FDA Sets New Limits People with celiac disease can now trust that foods labeled gluten-free are safe for them to eat the U s. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) says. The agency issued a final rule today (Aug 2) that requires foods with gluten-free labels to limit their gluten levels to less than 20 parts gluten per million parts of food.
and will assure people with celiac disease that foods labeled'gluten-free'meet a clear standard established
People with the intestinal condition celiac disease have to avoid eating foods that contain gluten proteins that occur naturally in wheat rye and barley.
Eating cakes pasta and bread made with these grains'flours can be life threatening for people with celiac disease.
and minerals and lead to a host of other health problems she said. Celiac disease is a condition in
which the body's defense system reacts to gluten by attacking the lining of the small intestine
and currently has no cure. The symptoms include pain diarrhea and weight loss. The new gluten limit is the lowest level that can be detected in foods using available tools
and is consistent with the limits set in other countries according to the FDA. This is a tool that has been needed desperately Andrea Levario executive director of the American Celiac disease Alliance said.
It keeps food safe for this population gives them the tools they need to manage their health
and obviously has long-term benefits for them. How to know if you have celiac disease The new rules are an addition to FDA requirements for other food labeled as free:
Salt free or sodium free means less than 5 grams of salt per serving and items labeled sugar free should contain less than 0. 5 g of sugar per serving.
Op-Ed) Katherine Tallmadge M. A r. D. is registered a dietitian; author of Diet Simple: 195 Mental Tricks Substitutions Habits & Inspirations (Lifeline Press 2011;
Does that mean you won't receive the expected health benefits when using olive oil purchased from America's grocery shelves?
and the best bang for your buck there's more you should know. 4 Tips for Finding Time for Healthy Cooking The health benefits of olive oil are 99 percent related to the presence of the phenolic compounds not the oil itself said Nasir
and many fruits and vegetables that have been discovered over the past decade to be the substances responsible for the bulk of olive oil's health benefits without
The good stuff Polyphenols decrease heart disease risk factors by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol reducing blood clotting
and improving the health of artery linings. Researchers have discovered genes that when activated either increase
or reduce your chances for metabolic syndrome the name for a group of risk factors (high blood pressure cholesterol and glucose) that together increase the risk for heart disease America's No. 1 killer.
Fresh high-polyphenol olive oil affects the expression of those genes in a positive way reducing your risk for metabolic syndrome and heart disease.
Polyphenols also reduce cancer risk by lowering inflammation and cellular proliferation. They act as antioxidants reducing oxidation
and cell damage which leads to many degenerative diseases. They even reduce microbial activity and infections.
Those biological benefits explain in part why the Mediterranean diet high in olive oil has been linked with superior health.
But there is an advantage even the poorest of the poor in Mediterranean countries have enjoyed since at least 4000 B c.:
and health benefits of the oil diminish. Think of olive oil as olive juice with a maximum two-year shelf life said Selina Wang research director at the UC-Davis Olive Center.
#Israel Escapes Locust Plague For Now MITZPE RAMON Israel A menacing swarm of locusts that entered southern Israel earlier this week has been largely smitten according to the Israeli government and local reports.
According to the Bible swarms of locusts were the eighth plague sent into ancient Egypt as a punishment for suppressing the Jews said Hendrik Bruins a researcher who studies the archaeology and environmental aspects of desert peoples at Israel's Ben-Gurion
But could the plague be a divine punishment this time around? This we cannot say Bruins told Livescience.
Because there have been so many plagues throughout history not every locust plague can be classified in that way he said laughing.
A new fossil discovery reveals the duck-billed dinosaur Edmontosaurus regalis sported a fleshy comb on its head similar to the ones on modern-day roosters.
Bell's colleague Federico Fanti discovered the new E. regalis fossil in west central Alberta about 45 miles (75 kilometers) from the town of Grande Prairie.
whether the comb is a feature only of E. regalis or if other duckbills might have had similar fleshy accessories.
#It's Time To Worry About the New Chinese Bird flu: Op-Ed Jeff Nesbitâ was the director of public affairs for two prominent federal science agencies
It's time for the world's public health officials to pay very close attention to the new bird flu outbreak in China first detected in March.
To put it bluntly there are now some seriously dangerous developments occurring around the new disease outbreak in China that infectious disease specialists
and international public health specialists need to track closely. Let's start with three new developments reported on earlier this week by Jason Koebler U s. News & World Report's science and technology correspondent:
 the first reported case of the new bird flu strain outside China; the fact that any potential vaccine tests in animals (not humans) may be up to six weeks out;
and more ominously that Chinese officials suspect that there may be cases of human to human transmission in the 100-plus reported cases (which include 22 deaths.
Bird-flu Update: Possible Cases of Human-to-Human Transmission Investigated The situation remains complex and difficult
When we look at influenza viruses this is an unusually dangerous virus for humans Keiji Fukuda the World health organization's assistant director-general for health security said Wednesday at a briefing.
Chinese officials nd public health officials around the world ad hoped that this potentially virulent and deadly bird flu strain (H7n9) could be contained inside China
or mutate to the point where humans could transmit the strain to other humans. But of the patients analyzed so far half appear to have had no contact whatsoever with poultry.
Now with the first reported case outside China appearing in Taiwan this week a 53-year-old male Taiwanese citizen who worked in the Jiangsu Province in China developed symptoms three
days after returning to Taiwan according to Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center nd the fact that Chinese officials are publicly saying that at least some of the existing cases may have involved human-to-human transmission this new bird flu strain could spread nd fast.
New Bird flu Virus: 6 Things You Should Know None of this is good. Right now 18 percent of the cases in China have ended in deaths.
While this is still less deadly than the previous avian flu outbreak in China six years ago he H5n1 bird flu virus eventually killed more than 300 people after spreading from China to other countries in 2006 he death rate for this new Chinese bird flu
epidemic is more than triple the mortality rate of tuberculosis in China today. Despite widespread fears among public health officials that the earlier bird flu strain years ago might become a human-to-human pandemic that didn't occur.
Nearly all reported cases of the earlier bird flu strain while deadly seemed to jump from poultry to humans who were handling them or in contact with them.
For this reason despite dozens of outbreaks it was easier to contain the spread. But if this new bird flu strain does in fact become capable of human-to-human transmission
and it takes awhile for a suitable vaccine to be developed then international public health officials are going to start sweating.
And the public rightly so will be worried. One flu-virology expert John Oxford from Queen Mary University told Reuters this week that the emergence of this completely new strain of bird flu infections in humans was very very unsettling.
This new strain is in fact a mixture of three different types of bird flu variants and seems to have been quietly spreading in chickens without anyone knowing about it he said.
Public health officials in general have been worried about bird flu viruses for years. Research several years ago showed that the virus could be transmitted from an expectant mother to a fetus
and that the virus isn't just contained in the lungs t can also migrate throughout the body.
This new strain is likely to have similar capabilities. New Rules on Mutant Bird flu Research Stir Debate What's more it could reignite fears about the possibility of deadly global pandemics.
A decade ago several well-known virologists and public-health experts warned in published papers that the world was at risk for pandemics that could kill tens of millions of people or even more without adequate infectious disease monitoring and medical research.
The 2006 Chinese bird flu outbreak came on the heels of those global pandemic warnings. The good news is that China is more transparent about disease epidemics now than it was a decade ago
and that the number of reported cases with the new bird-flu strain has jumped not dramatically so far.
And China learned a lot about how to limit the spread of bird flu after the last outbreaks simply by closing down poultry markets that appear to be likely starting points.
But the fact that the new H7n9 strain has moved now outside China nd that Chinese officials are taking a close look at human-to-human transmission possibilities hould send up more than a few red flags.
Just because the previous bird flu outbreak in China didn't spread quickly and prove as deadly as some had feared does not mean that this new outbreak will follow a similar course.
If the suspicions of human-to-human transmission potential is confirmed that alone makes the threat of a pandemic (as opposed to a series of local outbreaks that can be contained with efforts to close down poultry markets or the sale of infected birds) more likely.
Chinese media have said in recent days that officials believe some of the cases to be likely human-to-human transmissions.
WHO officials have said that this new strain transmits to humans more easily than the previous strain.
In the case of a pandemic a vaccine would need to be developed and distributed quickly.
 A California company (Inovio) is in the early stage of developing a potential vaccine with plans to get access to the virus in a highly protected lab environment for its initial tests.
In a worst-case scenario a vaccine could skip animal tests and be administered to humans.
Let's hope it doesn't come to that nd that public health officials are paying attention. Read Nesbit's most recent Op-Ed:
Drone Wars in America This article first appeared as It's Time To Worry About the New Chinese Bird flu in the column At the Edge by Jeff Nesbitâ on U s. News & World Report.
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