Public Health

Scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) recently conducted a study showing that long-term exposure to a component of artificial butter flavoring called diacetyl can be harmful to the nose and airways of mice. The study was conducted because diacetyl has been implicated in causing obliterative bronchiolitis (OB), a rare but debilitating lung disease, in humans. OB has been detected in workers who inhaled significant concentrations of the flavoring in microwave popcorn packaging plants. When laboratory mice inhaled diacetyl vapors for three months, they…

"I’ll take a burger and fries, hold the fluoride.” Fluoride? Serious scientists, who look, find fluoride in the darnedest places. Researchers from the University of Indiana School of Dentistry report in the scientific journal “Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology” that McDonald’s French fries deliver more than guilty pleasure. Your teeth bite into 0.13 milligrams fluoride along with that small portion of McDonald’s fries that goes upward to 0.38 mg in the supersize. So why do we need to know that? Because of fluoridation, where water engineers purposely add fluoride to water supplies to…

When you think 'green' in March, maybe you think of leprechauns or four-leaf clovers. Or maybe you think about Al Gore and hybrid vehicles clogging up the HOV lanes during rush hour. But let's not forget the original 'green' mindset, say nutrition, experts, and it involves diet. Here’s a sampling of some green foods UT Southwestern dietitians recommend for March which, along with being a chance to drink green beer, is also National Nutrition Month (no, the green beer does not count as nutrition): • Avocado – Also known as an alligator pear, the avocado is a good source of monounsaturated…

Scientists in Japan have discovered a new species of bacteria, Microbacterium hatanonis, that can live in hairspray, according to the results of a study published in the March issue of the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. “Contamination of cosmetic products is rare but some products may be unable to suppress the growth of certain bacteria,” says Dr Bakir from the Japan Collection of Microorganisms, Saitama, Japan. “We discovered a new species of bacteria called Microbacterium hatanonis, which we found contaminates hairspray. “We also found a related species,…

A dietary supplement called NutraStem, also known as NT-020, is a proprietary formulation of blueberry, green tea, vitamin D3 and carnosine extracts - a combination of nutritional ingredients thought to be potent in protecting against brain damage. “Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the leading cause for disability in the U.S. with two of every 1,000 adults experiencing their firsts stroke in any given year,” said Cesar V. Borlongan, PhD, of the Medical College of Georgia, lead author of a study that tested NT-020 post stroke effects in animal models. “We explored how increasing…

Researchers at MIT Lincoln Laboratory have developed a powerful sensor that can detect airborne pathogens such as anthrax and smallpox in less than three minutes. The new device, called PANTHER (for PAthogen Notification for THreatening Environmental Releases), represents a "significant advance" over any other sensor, said James Harper of Lincoln Lab's Biosensor and Molecular Technologies Group. Current sensors take at least 20 minutes to detect harmful bacteria or viruses in the air, but the PANTHER sensors can do detection and identification in less than 3 minutes. The technology has been…

The "female sex hormone" estradiol is present in both men and women, and is generated from testosterone in men by the protein aromatase. Estradiol plays various roles in addition to its gender-specific ones, including having effects on the hearing (auditory) system. In a new study, Barbara Canlon and colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, investigated the role of estradiol-binding proteins, known as estrogen receptors, in response to auditory damage by examining hearing loss recovery in mice with deficiencies in various estrogen receptors. They found that mice…

Low-fat diets are more effective in preserving and promoting a healthy cardiovascular system than low-carbohydrate, Atkins’-like diets, according to a new study by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Public awareness of the 'obesity epidemic' has resulted in various dietary weight loss strategies. In America, it is estimated that 45 percent of women and 30 percent of men diet to lose weight. “The nutrient-specific effects of these diets on cardiovascular health are largely unknown,” says David D. Gutterman, M.D. “Low-carbohydrate diets are significantly higher in…

Kidney stones are very common – and painful – in men. About 3 in 20 men (1 in 20 women) in developed countries develop them at some stage. Mice, however, rarely suffer though the precise reasons are unknown. Jeffrey S. Clark and colleagues, writing in The Journal of Physiology, have come up with some answers. Kidney stones are crystalline deposits of various chemicals that should normally be excreted in the urine, particularly oxalate. Common in food, it is usually disposed of by the gut into the faeces by exchanging it for chloride. If there is little chloride available, in a low-salt diet…

Malignant Melanoma is the most aggressive of malignant cutaneous tumours. Cases with lymphonode involvement, and distant metastases, carry a very poor prognosis, (50% and 20% respectively alive in 5 years), while those presenting without evident lymphonode involvement have a much better survival rate (60% alive in 5 years). It is therefore extremely important to do early malignant melanoma diagnosis. There are several criteria that may lead to the diagnosis of a malignant melanoma. The most…