A mountain pine beetle epidemic in the western United states has covered left mountainsides with dead pines especially lodgepole pine with most of the timber
on groundwater contamination. According to a study published in the August 2013 issue of Hortscience changes in growers'cultural practices
#Buying breast milk online is likely to cause illness in infantsresults from a study led by researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital found more than three-fourths of breast milk samples purchased over the Internet contained bacteria that can cause illness
We were surprised so many samples had such high bacterial counts and even fecal contamination in the milk most likely from poor hand hygiene.
but the types of bacteria found in the online samples contained bacteria that could cause illnesses known to be linked to contaminated breast milk.
and the milk is pasteurized limiting the risk of bacterial illness said Dr. Keim. Human breast milk can help strengthen the immune system
and has been shown to protect against severe illnesses like necrotizing enterocolitis a potentially deadly condition affecting thousands of infants each year.
Milk sold online and contaminated with bacteria that causes illness can be particularly harmful for premature infants
or those with weakened immune systems who are already particularly susceptible to infection. Our research results may not apply to situations where milk is shared among friends
This can be disorders like Parkinson's disease Alzheimer's disease autism epilepsy and the motor neurone disease ALS.
The pig The SYN1 gene can with its specific expression in nerve cells be used for generation of pig models of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's.
The bowel disease necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the second most common cause of death among premature infants said Mark Underwood lead study author neonatologist and professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UC Davis Children
about 25 percent of those with the severe form of NEC succumb to the infection.
The products tested in the study were two genetically different strains of bifidobacteria normal inhabitants of the gastroentestinal tract that inhibit the growth of harmful pathogens and bacteria:
which typically increases at the onset of NEC and can cause serious tissue-damaging infections in the gastrointestinal system lungs and other organs of the body.
#Barley crops affected by disease found on common wild grassa major fungal pathogen which affects barley crops is also present on a common wild grass according to a new study by leading agricultural researchers including the University
and is caused by a fungal pathogen. This disease affects the leaves ears and stems of the barley--decreasing grain quality and reducing crop yields by up to forty per cent.
However our research shows that the fungal pathogen that causes barley leaf blotch can be found on wild ryegrasses which are common both as weeds within cereal crop fields and in the surrounding field margins.
In the study both DNA and plant testing showed that the leaf blotch pathogen that affects barley can be found on the wild grasses
And if this pathogen species can be spread from wild grasses onto barley crops and back again further investigation is needed to identify how widespread this species is and also the role that wild grasses play as sources of disease for other crops such as wheat.
#Maximizing broccolis cancer-fighting potentialspraying a plant hormone on broccoli--already one of the planet's most nutritious foods--boosts its cancer-fighting potential
John Juvik and colleagues explain that diet is one of the most important factors influencing a person's chances of developing cancer.
In fact eating broccoli regularly has been linked to lower rates of prostate colon breast lung and skin cancers.
and found that of the GS break-down products sulforaphane is the major contributor toward enhanced cancer-fighting enzyme levels
or relieving constipation and reducing the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Soluble fiber found mainly in whole grains
and some fruits is particularly beneficial for diabetics because fiber slows sugar absorption and improves blood sugar levels.
Citrus fruits particularly their peels are rich with flavonoids a nutrient in plants that can help prevent diseases in humans such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
#Climate change creates complicated consequences for North americas forestsclimate change affects forests across North america--in some cases permitting insect outbreaks plant diseases wildfires
Tree-killing insects and plant diseases are natural elements of healthy forest ecosystems but climate change is rapidly altering the distribution and magnitude of forest pestilence and altering biodiversity and the ecosystem.
For example pine bark beetles have killed recently trees over more area of U s. forests than wildfires including in areas with little previous experience managing aggressive pests.
The PCBS dieldrin and DDE were the contaminants that we detected in highest concentration in terms of average concentrations Carpenter said.
and coolants in motors and electrical systems but were banned in 1979 in the U s. after studies found that exposure to these compounds caused cancer and other deleterious health effects in animals.
and there are fish consumption advisories for this contaminant in many Illinois rivers. DDT was banned in the U s. in the early 1970s after decades of widespread use.
Some studies (of dieldrin) exposure find links to cancer Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's and some do said not Carpenter.
But perhaps most concerning is that both dieldrin and PCBS can act as developmental neurotoxicants meaning that developing fetuses can be harmed at concentrations much smaller than those that can impact the health of adults.
Concentrations of contaminants in river otters ranged widely. One male had a concentration of PCBS in its liver of 3450 parts per billion (ppb)
Since the otters were collected from counties all over Central Illinois the findings could indicate that some watersheds have a worse contamination problem than others Carpenter said.
For many of the contaminants we did detect a large range she said. This is a red flag.
Or the females might transfer some of the contaminants to their offspring during nursing as previous research suggests.
We don't know enough about how these contaminants behave synergistically Carpenter said especially since the cocktail of contaminants that we're exposed to here in the Midwest differs from
what humans and wildlife are exposed to in eastern or western North america. The research team also included Illinois pathobiology professor Kuldeep Singh Robert Bluett of the Illinois Department of Natural resources and Damian Satterthwaite-Phillips and Nelda Rivera both of the natural history survey.
Their study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) suggests the compound already shown to be safe for humans may protect normal tissues during radiation therapy for cancer treatment
and prevent or mitigate sickness caused by radiation exposure. The compound known as DIM (33'-diindolylmethane) previously has been found to have cancer preventive properties.
DIM has been studied as a cancer prevention agent for years but this is the first indication that DIM can also act as a radiation protector says the study's corresponding author Eliot Rosen MD Phd of Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
For the study the researchers irradiated rats with lethal doses of gamma ray radiation. The animals were treated then with a daily injection of DIM for two weeks starting 10 minutes after the radiation exposure.
The result was stunning says Rosen a professor of oncology biochemistry and cell & molecular biology and radiation medicine.
and platelets--side effects often seen in patients undergoing radiation treatment for cancer. Rosen says this study points to two potential uses of the compound.
DIM could protect normal tissues in patients receiving radiation therapy for cancer but could also protect individuals from the lethal consequences of a nuclear disaster.
and prevent the risk of infarction and its application in operating theatres is almost a daily occurrence.
It is used also in burns surgical operations haemorrhages or when the patient is undernourished or dehydrated and in the case of chronic infections and renal or hepatic diseases.
Although commercial albumin is extracted from blood the lack of a sufficient volume in reserve has prompted many researchers to seek new formulas for obtaining this protein on a large scale economically and safely.
#Diet, lifestyle advice for those with diabetes should be no different from that for general publicnew research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes EASD) suggests that lifestyle advice for people with diabetes should be no different from that for the general public
although those with diabetes may benefit more from that same advice. The research is by Dr Diewertje Sluik Department of Epidemiology German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke Nuthetal Germany and colleagues.
whether the associations between lifestyle factors and mortality risk differ between individuals with and without diabetes.
Within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) a cohort was formed of 6384 persons with diabetes and 258911 EPIC participants without known diabetes.
Computer modelling was used to explore the relationship (in both those with and without diabetes) of mortality with the following risk factors:
Unsurprisingly the researchers found that overall mortality was 62%higher in people with diabetes compared with those without.
While the strength of the association was different in those with diabetes versus those without the associations were in the same direction in each case (see table 2 full paper).
No differences between people with and without diabetes were detected for the other lifestyle factors including adiposity alcohol consumption physical activity and smoking.
in people with diabetes. This may indicate that individuals with diabetes may benefit more from a healthy diet than people without diabetes.
However since the directions of association were generally the same recommendations for a healthy diet should be similar for people with or without diabetes.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Diabetologia. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
#Badgers ultimately responsible for around half of TB in cattlebadgers are ultimately responsible for roughly half of tuberculosis (TB) in cattle in areas with high TB prevalence according to new estimates based on data from a previous badger culling trial.
and solid fats counter to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations increasing the risk of obesity and diabetes.
and obesity habits among children persists leading to increased risk of diabetes and heart disease in adulthood.
Funding is provided by a grant from the National Cancer Institute at the National institutes of health. The study also is part of the National Cancer Institute's State and Community Tobacco Control Research Initiative.
To read the full study visit here. To find out more about the CPHSS visit cphss. wustl. edu. Story Source:
and urbanization and agriculture now send runoff laden with fertilizers and other contaminants into Lake Okeechobee.
#New urine test could diagnose eye diseaseyou might not think to look to a urine test to diagnose an eye disease.
But a new Duke university study says it can link what is in a patient's urine to gene mutations that cause retinitis pigmentosa or RP an inherited degenerative disease that results in severe vision impairment and often blindness.
I knew from my previous experience in analyzing urine samples from liver disease patients that I can readily detect dolichols by liquid chromatography
Led by scientists at the American Museum of Natural history the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
and the Museum fuì r Naturkunde Berlin the new study reveals that two bat-infecting parasites are closely related to parasites in rodents that are used commonly to model human malaria in laboratory studies.
Bats which are important reservoir hosts for many pathogens particularly viruses have been hosts to malaria parasites for more than a century said coauthor Susan Perkins an associate curator in the Museum's Division of Invertebrate Zoology.
Malaria is caused by a handful of species of parasites in the Genus plasmodium through the bite of mosquitos
and remains a widespread vector-borne infectious disease sickening almost half a billion people every year around the planet.
Experimental research on drugs immunology and the development of malaria is done typically on related Plasmodium species that infect rodents including laboratory-reared mice.
but the high diversity of parasites as well as the high proportion of individuals that are infected with the parasites suggest that this may be yet another example of the unusually high tolerance of these flying mammals for pathogens said co-author Juliane Schaer a researcher at the Max Planck Institute
for Infection Biology and the Museum fuì r Naturkunde Berlin. Other work has suggested that the evolution of flight may have triggered parallel strengthening of the immune system of bats
and may explain why they are able to host viruses such as Ebola rabies and the recently discovered Middle east Respiratory system (MERS) virus
For some time now the impact of environmental stressors during pregnancy on allergy risk among newborn children is a main research topic at Leipzig Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ.
From the results that were published recently in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology one thing is certain:
later on in life respiratory diseases diabetes type II asthma or cardiovascular diseases were also more common. However the exact molecular mechanisms and processes that are behind such developments still struggle researchers.
which in turn prevent an overactive immune system and thus autoimmune diseases. If there are insufficient Treg cells or if their function is impaired the self-regulatory function of the immune system will be reduced possibly resulting in allergies.
To investigate the relationship between smoking mothers during pregnancy on the one hand and their children's risk of developing allergies on the other the scientists from Leipzig examined microrna-223 microrna-155 and regulatory T cells--not only in the blood samples of pregnant women (36 weeks pregnant
) but also at birth in the cord blood of their babies. At the same time questionnaires were filled out and urine samples of the pregnant women were tested to substantiate the effect from exposure to tobacco smoke
whether or not these micrornas link exposure to smoke regulatory T cells and the risk of developing allergies.
Finally it could be shown that low regulatory T-cell numbers in umbilical cord blood was an indication that children exposed to tobacco smoke were more likely to develop an allergy before the age of three compared to those children with normal values for mir-223 and Treg cells.
Furthermore the probability of developing eczema was almost twice as high for these children. After already being able to demonstrate the influence of prenatal smoking on regulatory T-cell numbers in cord blood from our LINA study the current epidemiological investigation delves even deeper into molecular processes Dr. Gunda Herberth
Moreover the developing fruit also has to contend with the attentions of pathogens and pests.
These compounds help to protect the developing fruit against predators pathogens and abiotic stresses. When the seeds are ripe the Anr gene is turned off.
In her investigation Egamberdieva has spotted beneficial soil salt-resistant bacteria that help plants grow better causing no harm to men.
#Aggressive fungal pathogen causes mold in fruits, vegetablesa research team led by a molecular plant pathologist at the University of California Riverside has discovered the mechanism by
which an aggressive fungal pathogen infects almost all fruits and vegetables. The team discovered a novel virulence mechanism--the mechanism by
which infection takes place--of Botrytis cinerea. This pathogen can infect more than 200 plant species causing serious gray mold disease on almost all fruits
and vegetables that have been around even at times in the refrigerator for more than a week. Study results appear in the Oct 4 issue of the journal Science.
Many bacterial fungal and oomycete pathogens deliver protein effectors--molecules the pathogens secrete--into the cells of hosts to manipulate
The new study represents the first example of a fungal pathogen delivering RNA effectors specifically small RNA effector molecules into host cells to suppress host immunity
and achieve infection of the host plant. To date almost all the pathogen effectors studied or discovered have been said proteins lead author Hailing Jin a professor of plant pathology and microbiology.
Ours is the first study to add the RNA molecule to the list of effectors.
We expect our work will help in the development of new means to control aggressive pathogens.
The process is similar to how protein effectors weaken host immunity in the case of most pathogens.
What we have discovered is a naturally-occurring cross-kingdom RNAI phenomenon between a fungal pathogen
if the novel mechanism they discovered also exists in other aggressive pathogens. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of California-Riverside.
#Health of honey bees adversely impacted by seleniumtraditionally honey bee research has focused on environmental stressors such as pesticides pathogens and diseases.
In areas of Se contamination honey bees may be at risk because of the biotransfer of the metal from Se-accumulating plants.
Se contamination is a global problem originating from naturally contaminated soils and a multitude of anthropogenic sources including mining
According to Hladun knowing which contaminants are the most important to regulate is key to minimizing the exposure of honey bee hives to contaminants.
New treatment for common allergiesresearchers have tested successfully treatments for people with allergies to grasses and to dust mites.
There are two treatments one for grass allergy which is commonly known as hay fever and the other for dust mite allergy.
They are expected to be helpful for the millions of people who as a reaction to grass pollen
It is estimated that together these allergens are responsible for more than 50%of allergic respiratory disease. Between 15 and 25 per cent of the population in North america and Europe is sensitive to pollen from different grass species. One in four people is sensitized to house dust mites more than any other common allergen
The 280 patients in the phase two clinical trial for the grass allergy treatment recorded their allergy symptoms
while exposed to grass pollen in a controlled environment both before treatment and at the end of the hay fever season.
During the clinical trial for the dust mite treatment 172 patients who received four doses of the treatment over 12 weeks had improved significantly allergy symptoms a year after the start of treatment compared to patients who received a placebo.
This result is an important validation of the approach we are taking to treat allergic diseases said Mark Larch who led the design of the treatments.
Positive results first with a cat allergy therapy and now with house dust mite and grass allergy treatments suggest that this approach may be used for many common allergies.
Hay fever is a seasonal response to many different grass pollens which are heaviest in the spring and fall.
With 30 million pigs produced in Denmark each year genomics scientist at University of Copenhagen Haja Kadarmideen decided to turn this to his advantage with his latest research on people's eating habits surrounding obesity and diabetes.
and sometimes unhealthy) food and why some of us overeat so consequently developing obesity and diabetes both
and potentially develop diseases like obesity and diabetes. Thus addressing the question some humans may have a genetic disposition to overeat.
and treat this'unhealthy eating behaviour'as a disability issue. I believe more follow-up studies would strengthen our findings that some people cannot stop pigging out as it is written in their DNA.
and could one day be used to prevent the transmission of deadly vector-borne diseases such as malaria dengue West Nile virus and yellow fever.
(More than a hundred compounds still await testing in Ray's lab.)The research was supported partially by the National institutes of health's National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious diseases (grants R56ai099778 and R01ai087785) and the National Institute of Neurological disorders and Stroke (grant R21ns074332) and internal funding from UCR.
and eggs and revealed its relationship with cervical and liver cancer in humans. The research won the National Award in Food Science
It explains that both types of cancer can be originated by the ingestion of food contaminated with aflatoxins produced by the fungi Aspergilus flavus and A. parasiticus.
and cervical cancer in humans therefore aflatoxins are a very important factor in triggering this diseases.
This research is the first in the world to report that cervical cancer can also be caused by ingesting aflatoxin contaminated food.
This carcinogenic has also been detected as a trigger of colorectal pancreatic breast and lung cancer. The specialist clarified that Human Papillomavirus is more carcinogenic and prone to trigger cervical cancer than aflatoxins.
The toxins-the researcher said-are in the water soil and airborne the fungi that produce them are an olive green mold that can be found in refrigerators besides they are very resistant to high temperatures.
and prostate cancer to determine if there is an association with aflatoxins. These initiatives are promoted by the PNCTA (National Award in Food Science and Technology.
The hot flash the bane of menopausal women also can affect men who are undergoing hormone therapy for prostate cancer.
Hot flashes occur in approximately 80 percent of men who are undergoing hormone manipulation as treatment for prostate cancer.
The class of compounds studied includes those used by some plant pathogens to coordinate their attacks.
A freely available food supplement could help in this respect scientists from ETH Zurich have demonstrated in roundworms.
In roundworms these reactive oxygen species prolong life says Ristow. No scientific evidence for usefulness of antioxidantsthis might seem surprising as reactive oxygen species are considered generally to be unhealthy.
After all the metabolic pathway initiated by niacin is very similar in roundworms and higher organisms.
Ristow and his team's work now suggests that the activity of sirtuins actually prolongs life in roundworms.
Studying genetically modified roundworms that were unable to convert nicotinamide into certain other metabolic products the scientists did not observe any lifespan extension even after overexpression of sirtuins which otherwise lead to an increased life expectancy.
and a pathogen said Yan Liang a co-author of the study and postdoctoral fellow at MU.
When they are infected Baoul cattle develop fever and lose weight but do not necessarily die. Their immune system is
Zebus produce more meat and milk than Baoul but fall severely ill when infected with trypanosomes.
and Zebus with such high parasite levels would have been too ill to be included in our study says Silbermayr.
and assess the environmental fate of emerging contaminant classes. There are a variety of bioactive pharmaceuticals
It just might be harder to characterize the adverse effects associated with contaminant exposures these days.
and vegetable consumption reduces all-cause mortality and especially cardiovascular disease mortality. The benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption are not a new discovery.
This reduction is more significant in the case of deaths from cardiovascular disease. The analysis recently published in the'American Journal of Epidemiology'was directed by researchers from ten countries including Spain as part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC.
The sample analyzed includes 25682 deaths (10438 due to cancer and 5125 due to cardiovascular disease) among the 451151 participants studied over more than 13 years.
This study is the most significant epidemiological study that this association has examined to date Marã a Jos Sá
nchez P rez director of the Andalusian School of Public health's (EASP) Granada Cancer Registry and one of the authors of the research explains to SINC.
According to the results a combined fruit and vegetable consumption of more than 569 grams per day reduces the risk of mortality by 10
%There is now sufficient evidence of the beneficial effect of fruit and vegetable consumption in the prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases Sá
Fruit for the hearta diet rich in fruit and vegetables reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality by 15%.
%Furthermore more than 4%of deaths due to cardiovascular disease could be prevented by consuming more than 400 grams of fruit and vegetables a day.
%With regard to cancer mortality no statistically significant risk reduction was found although it will be necessary to assess this according to specific types of cancer Sá
nchez adds. Nevertheless the expert highlights that given that fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with the risk of certain cancers--colon and rectal stomach lung etc.
--it is to be expected that their consumption will also have a positive effect on mortality due to these tumours.
Greater effect in people with bad habitsthe mortality risk reduction due to fruit and vegetable consumption was greater in those participants who consumed alcohol (around 30-40%risk reduction
Recently however a research team led by a University of California Davis plant scientist used DNA sequencing technologies to paint a broad picture of how citrus greening impacts trees before they even show signs of infection offering hope for developing diagnostic
and matures leaves and fruit while also wreaking havoc with hormonal networks that are key to the trees'ability to fend of infections.
which there are no symptoms of infection and the bacteria are resistant to being grown in the laboratory the only option for halting transmission of citrus greening has been to apply chemical pesticides to control the insect that spreads the bacteria Dandekar said.
In this new study the researchers studied four categories of healthy and diseased citrus trees with the goal of better understanding how HLB affects trees physiologically during the very early stages of infection.
Because these factors which normally accompany plant diseases were not present we suspected that the disease was causing metabolic imbalances
or boosting the tree's innate immune response to effectively fight the infection. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of California-Davis. Note:
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