Copyright 2012 Medical News TodayLatest Health News and Medical News posted throughout the day, every day.http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/water_quality/admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin)editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors)en-us Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241406.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241406.phpA large-scale study analyzing metabolic compounds in rice grains conducted by researchers at the RIKEN Plant Science Center (PSC) and their collaborators has identified 131 rice metabolites and clarified the genetic and environmental factors that influence their production...Nutrition / Diet Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241282.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241282.phpA team of scientists studying the effects of electron-beam irradiation on iceberg lettuce and spinach has had its research published in the February issue of the leading microbiology journal, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, said the study's lead investigator...Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241250.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241250.phpThe great paradox of global health efforts is that regions of the world most plagued by poverty, poor infrastructure and rampant disease are often the most difficult to deliver care to...HIV / AIDS Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241091.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241091.php While genetically modified plants have already been introduced into the wild on a large scale in some parts of the world, the release of genetically modified animals is still at a relatively early stage...Tropical Diseases Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240954.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240954.php A new University of Colorado Boulder-led study appears to answer contentious questions about the onset and cause of Earth's Little Ice Age, a period of cooling temperatures that began after the Middle Ages and lasted into the late 19th century. According to the new study, the Little Ice Age began abruptly between A.D...Water - Air Quality / Agriculture Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240961.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240961.php These researchers assert that the Arctic is already suffering some of the effects that, according to The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), correspond with a "dangerous climate change". Currently, the rate of climatic warming exceeds the rate of natural adaptation in arctic ecosystems...Water - Air Quality / Agriculture Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240887.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240887.php An international study of asthma, published in the early online version of the European Respiratory Journal, has for the first time, included the number of incidents caused by air pollution and shows that the costs for childhood asthma have risen sharply...Respiratory / Asthma Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240781.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240781.php Scientists studying ocean microorganisms have encountered something they have never seen before. A marine virus that cons certain photosynthetic bacteria into letting it come inside because it appears to offer a "helping hand" by bringing resources very like their own to help them acquire phosphorus, a nutrient they are desperately short of...Biology / Biochemistry Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240773.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240773.phpThe total cost of asthma due to traffic-related air pollution is much higher than previous estimates, according to new research. The study, published online ahead of print in the European Respiratory Journal, has revealed the true extent of the healthcare costs associated with living close to a busy road...Respiratory / Asthma Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240682.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240682.phpNew research at Harvard explains how bacterial biofilms expand to form slimy mats on teeth, pipes, surgical instruments, and crops. Through experiment and mathematical analysis, researchers have shown that the extracellular matrix (ECM), a mesh of proteins and sugars that can form outside bacterial cells, creates osmotic pressure that forces biofilms to swell and spread...Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240562.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240562.phpPCE in drinking water linked to an increased risk of mental illness The solvent tetrachloroethylene (PCE) widely used in industry and to dry clean clothes is a neurotoxin known to cause mood changes, anxiety, and depression in people who work with it...Bipolar Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240501.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240501.phpA natural substance obtained from seeds of the "miracle tree" could purify and clarify water inexpensively and sustainably in the developing world, where more than 1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water, scientists report. Research on the potential of a sustainable water-treatment process requiring only tree seeds and sand appears in ACS' journal Langmuir. Stephanie B...Water - Air Quality / Agriculture Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240461.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240461.phpThe nitrogen cycle has been profoundly altered by human activities, and that in turn is affecting human health, air and water quality, and biodiversity in the U.S., according to a multi-disciplinary team of scientists writing in the 15th publication of the Ecological Society of America's Issues in Ecology. In "Excess Nitrogen in the U.S...Public Health Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240422.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240422.phpAntibiotics in pig feed increased the number of antibiotic resistant genes in gastrointestinal microbes in pigs, according to a study conducted by Michigan State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service...Water - Air Quality / Agriculture Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240399.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240399.php US scientists propose that flu pandemics follow La Niña weather conditions in the equatorial Pacific. The conditions alter bird migration patterns and this promotes new strains of flu (migrating birds are known to be primary pools of human influenza virus)...Swine Flu Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240299.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240299.phpThe research, led by Drew Shindell of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City, finds that focusing on these measures could slow mean global warming 0.9 ºF (0.5ºC) by 2050, increase global crop yields by up to 135 million metric tons per season and prevent hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each year...Water - Air Quality / Agriculture Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240296.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240296.phpThe world population is estimated to be seven billion and all these mouths need feeding. With fears about overfishing and the sustainability of fish stocks in our seas fish farming is becoming big business. As with all farming there are issues about maintaining the health of stock and how to prevent bacterial infection...Water - Air Quality / Agriculture Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240311.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240311.phpResearchers at the University of Oviedo (Spain) have come up with a way of tagging gunpowder which allows its illegal use to be detected even after it has been detonated. Based on the addition of isotopes, the technique can also be used to track and differentiate between wild fish and those from a fish farm, such as trout and salmon...Water - Air Quality / Agriculture Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240200.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240200.phpA short burst of low voltage alternating current can effectively eradicate E. coli bacteria growing on the surface of even heavily contaminated beef, according to a study published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health...Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240180.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240180.phpWith recent advances in technology and design, treating municipal wastewater and reusing it for drinking water, irrigation, industry, and other applications could significantly increase the nation's total available water resources, particularly in coastal areas facing water shortages, says a new report from the National Research Council...Water - Air Quality / Agriculture Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240219.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240219.phpThe FDA (Food and Drug Administration) released a letter to orange juice processing companies regarding their take on the recent discovery of carbendazim in orange juice. Carbendazim, molecular formula C9H9N3O2, is a fungicide (chemical that destroy fungi that are harmful to crops). This particular fungicide, carbendazim, has been cleared to be used on crops in most parts of the world...Nutrition / Diet Sun, 08 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/239998.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/239998.php Scientists have uncovered a lot about the Earth's greatest extinction event that took place 250 million years ago when rapid climate change wiped out nearly all marine species and a majority of those on land. Now, they have discovered a new culprit likely involved in the annihilation: an influx of mercury into the eco-system. "No one had ever looked to see if mercury was a potential culprit...Water - Air Quality / Agriculture Sun, 08 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240004.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240004.php The incidence of type 2 diabetes and hypertension increases with cumulative levels of exposure to nitrogen oxides, according to a new study led by researchers from the Slone Epidemiology Center (SEC) at Boston University. The study, which appears online in the journal Circulation, was led by Patricia Coogan, D.Sc...Water - Air Quality / Agriculture Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/239947.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/239947.php Some vacuum cleaners - those basic tools for maintaining a clean indoor environment in homes and offices - actually contribute to indoor air pollution by releasing into the air bacteria and dust that can spread infections and trigger allergies, researchers report in a new study. It appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology...Water - Air Quality / Agriculture Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/239949.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/239949.php Scientists are reporting discovery of an improved way to remove carbon dioxide - the major greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming - from smokestacks and other sources, including the atmosphere...Water - Air Quality / Agriculture