Category: Scientific/Technical Items
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Researchers Restore Corn’s Ability to Combat “Billion-dollar Bug”
Scientists have reportedly restored a genetic trait to North American corn that causes the roots to emit a chemical distress signal when under attack by western corn rootworm, a beetle species known as the “billion-dollar bug” for its widespread crop destruction. Jörg Degenhardt, et al., “Restoring a maize root signal that attracts insect-killing nematodes to…
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California Scientists Claim Link Between Pesticides and Parkinson’s
University of California researchers studying rural residents in California’s Central Valley have apparently found that those drinking water from private wells have a 90 percent higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease if the wells are near fields sprayed with certain pesticides. Nicole Gatto, et al., “Well Water Consumption and Parkinson’s Disease in Rural California,” Environmental…
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Rudd Center Releases Report on Effects of TV Food Advertising on Consumption
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has released the results of experimental studies examining the relationship between TV food advertising and consumption. Titled “Priming Effects of Television Food Advertising on Eating Behavior,” the article appears in the July edition of Health Psychology and concludes that “food advertising on television increases automatic snacking…
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Two Studies Link Phthalates to Premature Birth, Low Birth Weight
A recent study has reportedly claimed that mothers of premature babies “have, on average, up to three times the phthalate level in their urine compared to women who carry to term.” John Meeker, et al., “Urinary Phthalate Metabolites in Relation to Preterm Birth in Mexico City,” Environmental Health Perspectives, June 16, 2009. Collaborating with the…
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Study Links Safe Levels of BPA to Reproductive Health Issues
A recent study has reportedly claimed that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) at levels currently considered safe for humans can allegedly cause “significant reproductive health effects” in rats. Heather B. Adewale, et al., “Neonatal bisphenol-A exposure alters rat reproductive development and ovarian morphology without impairing activation of gonadotropin releasing hormone neurons,” Biology of Reproduction, June…
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Neurologist Claims Farmed Fish Might Pose Risk for Mad Cow Disease
A University of Louisville neurologist has published a report questioning the safety of farmed fish that are fed cattle byproducts, which could allegedly present a risk of transmitting mad cow disease to humans. Robert P. Friedland, et al, “Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Aquaculture,” Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (June 2009). Friedland and his co-authors have urged…
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Researchers Allege Link Between Soft Drink Consumption and Low Potassium Levels
Greek scientists have published a study in the International Journal of Clinical Practice that reportedly examines six cases of cola-induced potassium deficiency (hypokalemia) involving muscle weakness and paralysis in adults. V. Tsimihodimos, et al., “Cola-induced hypokalemia: pathophysiological mechanisms and clinical implications,” The International Journal of Clinical Practice, June 2009. Researchers with the University of Ioannina, Greece,…
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Study Claims Dioxin Inhibits Mammary Gland Proliferation During Pregnancy
An animal study has reportedly claimed that dioxin “has a profound effect on breast tissue by causing mammary glands to stop their natural cycle of proliferation as early as six days into pregnancy, and lasting through mid-pregnancy.” Betina J. Lew, et al., “Activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) during different critical windows in pregnancy…