Wastewater can contain pathogens and dangerous metals like mercury chromium and arsenic said Pavlo Bohutskyi an environmental engineering doctoral student and leader of this team.
At the same time the pathogens in wastewater such as viruses fungi and bacteria could destroy the algae themselves
We found two strains that can grow well alongside pathogens and one that is already present in wastewater samples Bohutskyi said.
A research report published online today in the journal Addiction reveals that while the real weighted average price of premium mid-price and economy brands has increased gradually between 2001 and 2009 the real price of ULP cigarettes has changed barely
Says lead author Anna Gilmore Professor of Public health & Health Foundation Clinician Scientist in the University of Bath's Department for Health and the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies Tobacco companies use their price changes to win two ways in the UK:
when tobacco taxes increase each year the tobacco companies hide their price increases on more expensive cigarettes behind the tax increases making large profits from smokers who aren't bothered by price increases.
It has been proven to decrease the risk of obesity and diabetes. This discovery holds promise on many fronts beyond food systems.
This leads to levels of inbreeding that can reach a critical extent from which there's no return causing susceptibility to disease
or triple cassava and maize yields by introducing disease-resistant plant varieties increasing fertilizer use
#Drinking cup of beetroot juice daily may help lower blood pressurea cup of beetroot juice a day may help reduce your blood pressure according to a small study in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension.
People with high blood pressure who drank about 8 ounces of beetroot juice experienced a decrease in blood pressure of about 10 Mm hg.
But the preliminary findings don't yet suggest that supplementing your diet with beetroot juice benefits your health researchers said.
or beetroot might be a lifestyle approach that one could easily employ to improve cardiovascular health said Amrita Ahluwalia Ph d. lead author of the study and a professor of vascular pharmacology at The Barts and The London Medical school in London.
Nitric oxide is a gas that widens blood vessels and aids blood flow. We were surprised by how little nitrate was needed to see such a large effect Ahluwalia said.
This study shows that compared to individuals with healthy blood pressure much less nitrate is needed to produce the kinds of decreases in blood pressure that might provide clinical benefits in people who need to lower their blood pressure.
The study involved eight women and seven men who had a systolic blood pressure between 140 to 159 millimeters of mercury (Mm hg) did not have other medical complications
and were not taking blood pressure medication. The study participants drank 250 ml of beetroot juice
Compared with the placebo group participants drinking beetroot juice had reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure--even after nitrite circulating in the blood had returned to their previous levels prior to drinking beetroot.
In the United states more than 77 million adults have diagnosed high blood pressure a major risk factor for heart diseases and stroke.
#Without adequate funding, deadly wheat disease could threaten global food suppliesdisease-resistant wheat developed over the past half century helped ensure steady world food supplies
but a global team led by researchers from the University of Minnesota warns in a new paper that without increased financial support for disease resistance research new strains of a deadly fungal disease could leave millions without affordable access to food.
Scientists have developed new wheat varieties with some resistance to the deadly disease but the disease evolves
and mutates into new forms requiring new resistant varieties to be developed. Several projects to develop resistance to Ug99 are under way including an international consortium known as the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative a $26 million five-year effort funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
They arrived at that conclusion by estimating the economic losses that would likely have occurred without the 20th century research that kept earlier variations of the disease at bay.
if science is to keep on top of these ever-evolving crop diseases. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Minnesota.
And soybeans are grown almost everywhere says Dr. Dominic Reisig an assistant professor of entomology at NC State
Tobias Hoch Ph d. who conducted the study said the results shed light on the causes of a condition called hedonic hyperphagia that plagues hundreds of millions of people around the world.
And the chronic form is a key factor in the epidemic of overweight and obesity that here in the United states threatens health problems for two out of every three people.
The team at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg in Erlangen Germany probed the condition with an ingenious study in
Scientists then used high-tech magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices to peer into the rats'brains seeking differences in activity between the rats-on-chips and the rats-on-chow.
Hoch explained that the team mapped the rats'brains using Manganese-Enhanced Magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) to monitor brain activity.
and addiction centers in the brain recorded the most activity. But the food intake sleep activity and motion areas also were stimulated significantly differently by eating the potato chips.
If scientists can pinpoint the molecular triggers in snacks that stimulate the reward center in the brain it may be possible to develop drugs
#Why do people with apple-shaped bodies have increased an risk of kidney disease? High blood pressure in the kidneys of people with apple-shaped bodies may be increased responsible for their risk of developing kidney disease later in life according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN.
The findings suggest that these individuals may benefit from treatments that reduce kidney blood pressure. People with apple-shaped bodies--when fat is concentrated mostly in the abdominal area--are more likely than those with pear-shaped bodies to develop kidney disease.
The mechanisms underlying this risk are understood not well. To study the issue Arjan Kwakernaak MD/Phd candidate (University Medical center Groningen in The netherlands)
and his colleagues looked for links between waist-to-hip ratio which reflects central body fat distribution
This suggests that elevated blood pressure in the kidneys of individuals with apple-shaped bodies may be increased responsible for their risk of developing kidney disease later in life.
Previous studies have shown that high blood pressure in the kidneys can be treated through salt restriction or with drugs that block
#Self-medication in animals much more widespread than believedit's been known for decades that animals such as chimpanzees seek out medicinal herbs to treat their diseases.
But in recent years the list of animal pharmacists has grown much longer and it now appears that the practice of animal self-medication is a lot more widespread than previously thought according to a University of Michigan ecologist and his colleagues.
Animals use medications to treat various ailments through both learned and innate behaviors. The fact that moths ants and fruit flies are known now to self-medicate has profound implications for the ecology and evolution of animal hosts and their parasites according to Mark Hunter a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and at the School
of Natural resources and Environment. In addition because plants remain the most promising source of future pharmaceuticals studies of animal medication may lead the way in discovering new drugs to relieve human suffering Hunter
and two colleagues wrote in a review article titled Self-Medication in Animals to be published online today in the journal Science.
When we watch animals foraging for food in nature we now have to ask are they visiting the grocery store
or are they visiting the pharmacy? Hunter said. We can learn a lot about how to treat parasites and disease by watching other animals.
Much of the work in this field has focused on cases in which animals such as baboons and woolly bear caterpillars medicate themselves.
Wood ants incorporate an antimicrobial resin from conifer trees into their nests preventing microbial growth in the colony.
Hunter and his colleagues suggest that researchers in the field should deemphasize the'self'in self-medication and base their studies on a more inclusive framework.
and butterflies can choose food for their offspring that minimizes the impacts of disease in the next generation Hunter said.
There are strong parallels with the emerging field of epigenetics in humans where we now understand that dietary choices made by parents influence the long-term health of their children.
The authors argue that animal medication has several major consequences on the ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions.
For one when animal medication reduces the health of parasites there should be observable effects on parasite transmission or virulence.
For example when gypsy moth caterpillars consume foliage high in certain toxic compounds transmission of viruses between the caterpillars is reduced facilitating moth outbreaks.
In addition animal medication should affect the evolution of animal immune systems according to Hunter and his colleagues.
Honeybees are known to incorporate antimicrobial resins into their nests. Analysis of the honeybee genome suggests that they lack many of the immune-system genes of other insects raising the possibility that honeybees'use of medicine has been partly responsible
--or has compensated--for a loss of other immune mechanisms. The authors also note that the study of animal medication will have direct relevance for human food production.
Disease problems in agricultural organisms can worsen when humans interfere with the ability of animals to medicate they point out.
For example increases in parasitism and disease in honeybees can be linked to selection by beekeepers for reduced resin deposition by their bees.
A reintroduction of such behavior in managed bee colonies would likely have great benefits for disease management the authors say.
The first author of the Science paper is Jacobus de Roode of Emory University. The other author is Thierry Lefevre of the Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement in France.
#High levels of lead detected in rice imported from certain countriesrice imported from certain countries contains high levels of lead that could pose health risks particularly for infants
and children are especially vulnerable to the effects of lead poisoning Tongesayi said. For infants and children the daily exposure levels from eating the rice products analyzed in this study would be 30-60 times higher than the FDA's provisional total tolerable intake (PTTI) levels.
and build protective coatings--are at work in the survival of the human pathogen Salmonella. One out of every six Americans becomes ill from eating contaminated food each year with over a million illnesses caused by Salmonella bacteria according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Finding out what makes Salmonella resistant to antibacterial measures could help curb outbreaks. Researchers affiliated with the Fralin Life science Institute discovered that
in addition to protecting Salmonella from heat-processing and sanitizers such as bleach biofilms preserve the bacteria in extremely dry conditions
Biofilms are an increasing problem in food processing plants serving as a potential source of contamination said Monica Ponder an assistant professor of Food Science and Technology in the College of Agriculture and Life sciences.
and because of this are more likely to cause disease said Ponder. Outbreaks of Salmonella associated with dried foods such as nuts cereals spices powdered milk
and pet foods have been associated with over 900 illnesses in the last five years. These foods were thought previously to be safe
The bacteria's stress response to the dry conditions also made it more likely to cause disease.
Biofilms allowed the Salmonella to survive the harsh acidic environment of the stomach increasing its chances of reaching the intestines where infection results in the symptoms associated with food poisoning.
and Drug Administration's regulations by highlighting the need for better sanitation and new strategies to reduce biofilm formation on equipment
#GUMBOS technology promises new drugs, electronic devicesmention a breakthrough involving gumbo technology in New orleans and people think of a new twist on The Local Dish the stew that's the quintessence of southern Louisiana cooking.
what may be an advance in developing GUMBOS-based materials with far-reaching medical electronic and other uses.
and treat cancer. In diagnosing cancer nanoparticles with cancer-seeking properties might be injected into a patient before a medical scan.
If even an early form of cancer were present the particles would accumulate in the abnormal tissue
and make it visible for early diagnosis and the best chances for recovery. For treating the disease nanoparticles would preferentially collect in
and destroy only the abnormal cells sparing healthy tissue from the damage that triggers side effects with existing cancer chemotherapy.
Warner acknowledges that his studies are not at this stage yet because to date all of their studies are based on in vitro measurements
and are still currently under review. Warner said that nanogumbos technology allows scientists to produce new nanoparticles in a focused way such that these particles are produced for specific uses from the beginning.
However many nanoparticles developed so far for medical use for instance must be coated with other materials to provide the desired medicinal property.
For example some nanoparticles are used as the drug delivery vehicle. We can make nanogumbos that are both the drug
and the drug delivery vehicle he said. Warner cited as one example a newly developed nanogumbos material with a provisional patent application filed that his team at LSU foresees as a lead in possible development of new anticancer drugs.
Using in vitro studies they are completing key research to better understand how nanogumbos can be tuned to be selectively toxic to cancer cells and nontoxic to normal cells.
More details are presented on this technology at this New orleans ACS meeting. We have a material that is normally toxic to both cancer cells
and normal cells Warner explained. If we introduce this material in vitro to normal cells it kills them.
Put them in the presence of cancer cells it kills them. However when we convert them to our GUMBOS it only kills cancer cells.
In addition to biomedical applications the materials also have potential uses in solar cells and as nanosensors and biomedical imaging reagents Warner pointed out.
Thus far the scientists have made nanogumbos in many shapes and sizes. For example they can be shaped spherical
#Fighting disease from within the mosquito: New techniques to help halt the spread of diseasescientists have revealed a new technique to introduce disease-blocking bacteria into mosquitoes with promising results that may halt the spread of diseases such as dengue yellow fever and potentially malaria.
When infected with the bacteria Wolbachia mosquitoes are unable to spread viruses such as dengue a disease
which kills round 40000 people each year with no vaccines or specific treatments currently available. There have been around 2400 cases of dengue infection in Northern Australia in recent years.
However the bacteria has been difficult to spread within the mosquito population because it reduces the mosquitoes'ability to lay viable eggs.
Now Professor Hoffmann from the University of Melbourne and Professor Michale Turelli from the University of California have shown that by introducing an insecticide resistance gene alongside the Wolbachia bacteria into the mosquito that the insects pass on the disease-blocking bacteria to other mosquitoes faster.
The results are published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. This could mean that the spread of disease can be stopped faster
and less infected mosquitoes would need to be released in a disease control program said Professor Ary Hoffmann from the University of Melbourne's Bio21 Institute and Department of Genetics.
Our results show that Wolbachia-based strategies could hold the key to a cheap and sustainable approach to disease control Professor Hoffmann said.
Wolbachia bacteria strains live naturally inside up to 70%of all insects and are known to protect them against viral infection.
The disease-blocking strain of Wolbachia was discovered first in Australian fruit flies in 1988 by Prof Hoffmann
and trials with collaborators at Monash and James Cook Universities in 2011 showed that Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes were unable to spread the dengue virus.
The approach taken in this new work involves adding a pesticide resistance gene to a newer strain of Wolbachia called wmelpop
which is a strong blocker of dengue and other viruses. Insecticide use is very common in dengue
and malaria-prone regions and so this strategy should select for the survival of only the Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes
but then these insects would be unable to pass on a virus to humans. Prof Hoffmann added that insecticide resistance genes would not spread to the uninfected mosquito populations
because a Wolbachia-infected female with a resistance gene will always pass on both the gene and the bacteria to her offspring.
So the association between resistance and the infection is maintained the resistance does not move into the rest of the population
and nervous systems are more prone to disease or permanent damage as a slowing rate of self-cleaning autophagy hampers the body's ability to deploy stem cells to replace damaged or diseased cells.
If the findings translate from mice to humans the research could open up new avenues to prevention or treatment of neurological conditions.
and embryonic stem cells as well as cancer stem cells. As stem cell-based treatments continue to develop the authors say it will be increasingly important to understand the role of autophagy in preserving stem cells'health
and ability to become different types of cells. The process of generating new neurons from neural stem cells
Abnormally higher levels of ROS can cause neural stem cells to start differentiating Guan is a professor in the Molecular Medicine & Genetics division of the U-M Department of Internal medicine and in the Department of Cell & Developmental Biology.
A long path to discoverythe new discovery made after 15 years of research with funding from the National institutes of health shows the importance of investment in lab science--and the role of serendipity in research.
Though he and his team knew it was important to cellular activity they didn't have a particular disease connection in mind.
Together with colleagues in Japan they did demonstrate its importance to autophagy--a process whose importance to disease research continues to grow as scientists learn more about it.
what we were actually intending to study says Guan as it suggested that without FIP200 something was causing damage to the home of neural stem cells that normally replace nerve cells during injury or aging.
what's currently known about the process in hematopoietic neural cancer cardiac and mesenchymal (bone and connective tissue) stem cells.
The team is also looking at the role of autophagy in breast cancer stem cells because of intriguing findings about the impact of FIP200 deletion on the activity of the p53 tumor suppressor gene
which is important in breast and other types of cancer. In addition they will study the importance of p53 and p62 another key protein component for autophagy to neural stem cell self-renewal and differentiation in relation to FIP200.
-M Department of Neurology research lab member Christine Bian and Yuan Zhu Ph d. an associate professor in Molecular Medicine & Genetics and Cell & Developmental Biology.
The research was supported by National Institute of General Medical sciences grant GM052890. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Michigan Health System.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
#Limiting greenhouse gas emissions from land use in Europenot only do humans emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
Bedbugs have made a dramatic comeback in the U s. in recent years infesting everything from homes and hotels to schools movie theaters and hospitals.
Although not known to transmit disease their bites can cause burning itching swelling and psychological distress.
Many sufferers resort to ineffective potentially dangerous measures such as spraying nonapproved insecticides themselves rather than hiring a professional.
Doctoral student Megan Szyndler entomologist Catherine Loudon and chemist Robert Corn of UC Irvine and entomologists Kenneth Haynes and Michael Potter of the University of Kentucky collaborated on the new study.
Their work was motivated by a centuries-old remedy for bedbugs used in Bulgaria Serbia and other southeast European countries.
and the accompanying dehydration direct toxic effects of the body's breakdown of alcohol into acetaldehyde and toxic effects of substances called congeners that are present in darkly colored liquor like scotch and bourbon.
and body weight that underpin type 2 diabetes. Their presentation on chlorogenic acids#widely available as a dietary supplement#was part of the 245th National Meeting
Joe Vinson Ph d. who led the research pointed out that type 2 diabetes the most common form of diabetes is an increasing global health problem.
In the United states alone almost 26 million have the disease in which the pancreas does not produce enough of the insulin that enables the body to use sugar
Blood sugar levels rise increasing the risk of heart attacks stroke and other health problems. Current treatments focus on oral medications that stimulate insulin secretions
and/or reduce insulin resistance dietary changes that control blood sugar levels and weight loss that reduces insulin resistance.
A simple natural pill or capsule that would both help control blood sugar and foster weight loss at the same time would be a major advance in the treatment of type 2 diabetes Vinson said.
Our own research and studies published by other scientists suggest that such a treatment may indeed exist.
There is significant epidemiological and other evidence that coffee consumption reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes.
I am trying to make the coffee and diabetes story as clear as possible for the public.
The evidence points to chlorogenic acids as the active ingredients in coffee that both prevent diabetes
and improve glucose control in normal pre-diabetic and diabetic people. Chlorogenic acids are a family of substances that occur naturally in apples cherries plums dried plums and other fruits and vegetables.
purificationuniversity of Cincinnati research at the ancient Maya site of Medicinal Trail in northwestern Belize is revealing how populations in more remote areas--the hinterland societies--built reservoirs to conserve water
Mapping the Medicinal Trail Community Northwest Belize continues a UC exploration of the ancient Maya civilization that has spanned decades.
The imperative science needs for health-related water research and education1. Joan B. Rose1 Phd Michigan State university Department of Fisheries and Wildlife 480 Wilson Road Natural resources Bldg Rm 13 East Lansing MI 48824
and a growing recognition of the impacts of contaminants that cannot be removed easily by existing treatment processes.
Emerging opportunities for water disinfection integrated urban water management and risk assessment1. Pedro J. Alvarez1 Phd Rice university Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering 6100 Main street MS 519 Houston TX 77005 United states 713-348-5903
alvarez@rice. eduthe extraordinary properties of some nanomaterials offer leapfrogging opportunities to develop next-generation applications for drinking water disinfection
and safer wastewater reuse (e g. photocatalytically-enhanced disinfection biofouling-resistant membranes and biofilm-and corrosion-resistant surfaces).
The convergence of nanotechnology with environmental microbiology could expand the limits of technology enhance global health through safer water reuse
This presentation will consider the antibacterial mechanisms of various nanomaterials within the context of environmental implications and applications.
Dow has made also investments that are solving the waterborne disease crisis by bringing affordable potable water through deployment of low-cost community-based water systems.
this is according to a new study led by a team of researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public health and the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.
The results are featured in the April 2013 issue of Pediatrics. Tobacco use and exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke are major health problems for adolescents resulting in short-term
and long-term adverse health effects said Ana Navas-Acien MD Phd senior author of the study and an associate professor with the Bloomberg School's Department of Environmental Health Sciences.
In this nationally representative sample of U S. adolescents exposure to tobacco including secondhand smoke and active smoking was associated with lower estimated glomerular filtration rates--a common measure of how well the kidneys are Working in addition we found a modest but positive association between serum cotinine concentrations a biomarker of tobacco exposure among first
Among adolescents active smoking has been associated with increased asthma risk reduced lung function and growth early atherosclerotic lesions and increased cancer risk as well as premature mortality in adulthood.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention smoking is also a risk factor for several autoimmune diseases including Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis.
Small changes in the distribution of estimated glomerular filtration rate levels in the population could have a substantial impact in kidney-related illness as it is well known for changes in blood pressure levels and hypertension-related disease.
and providing recommendations to minimize exposure should continue to be incorporated as part of children's routine medical care noted Jeffrey Fadrowski MD MHS co-author of the study and an assistant professor in Pediatric Nephrology at the Johns Hopkins School of medicine.
Tobacco as a chronic kidney disease risk factor is of great concern given the high prevalence of use
The above story is provided based on materials by Johns hopkins university Bloomberg School of Public health. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
which algae grow in open ponds Solazyme grows microalgae in total darkness in the same kind of fermentation vats used to produce vinegar medicines and scores of other products.
We will need another'Green revolution'to feed the world by 2050 said John Floros Ph d. referring to the development of high-yield disease-resistant breeds of grain
That will mean scientific innovations such as new strains of the big three grains--rice wheat
or spoil 20 percent of the world's food supply due to contamination with their urine and feces.
And consumption of too much food and less nutritious foods underpins epidemics in obesity and type 2 diabetes.
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