Feature Channels: Food and Water Safety

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Neutron scattering and computational modeling have revealed unique and unexpected behavior of water molecules under extreme confinement that is unmatched by any known gas, liquid or solid states.

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In a new study, environmental pollutants found in fish were shown to obstruct the human body’s natural defense system to expel harmful toxins. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego-led research team suggests that this information should be used to better assess the human health risks from eating contaminated seafood. The study was published in the April 15 issue of the journal Science Advances.

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Humans aren’t the only farmers out there. Five years ago, the Queller-Strassmann lab at Rice University, now at Washington University in St. Louis, demonstrated that the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum — affectionately nicknamed “Dicty” — can maintain a crop of food bacteria from generation to generation, giving these farmers an advantage when food is scarce.

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The iCOMOS conference is a global forum to communicate the importance of science in solving pressing health issues at the interface of humans, animals and the environment.

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Scientists, environmentalists, human and animal health professionals economists, ethics and public health specialists will gather to explore the science behind One Health-- and issues of importance to animal, human and environmental health throughout the world.

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A non-invasive test to diagnose and monitor an inflammatory disease that injures the esophagus – called eosinophilic esophagitis or EoE – would replace the need for repeated endoscopy for a growing number of children and adults with this relatively new condition.

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click to visit the Cancer Channel

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Lutz Goedde, a leading expert in strategies to improve agricultural productivity around the world, has joined the board of directors of the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan.

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A team of researchers from Washington University in St. Louis have helped discover a new chemical method to immobilize uranium in contaminated groundwater, which could lead to more precise and successful water remediation efforts at former nuclear sites.Researchers in the lab of Daniel Giammar, the Walter E. Browne Professor of Environmental Engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, ran a series of experiments in a laboratory setting using water containing uranium — present in contaminated groundwater at various sites in the United States as a legacy of Cold War-era processing and waste disposal activities associated with nuclear materials production.

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Researchers from the University of Missouri (MU) report high levels of EDC activity in the surface water near a hydraulic fracturing wastewater disposal facility in West Virginia. Scientists warn that this level of activity may be associated with negative health effects in aquatic organisms, other animals and humans.

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Fruit flies in the lab of John Pool, in the genetics department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, happily eat a noni fruit that is normally toxic to fly species. Pool is probing the genetic basis for this ability, which may explain how insects adapt to new foods — a line of research that could apply to agricultural pests.

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Most of us think nothing of rainfall or where it goes, unless it leads to flooding or landslides. But soil scientists have been studying how water moves across or through water soil for decades. Daniel Hirmas, a professor at University of Kansas, and his team may be taking the study of “soil hydrology” to some exciting new territory. Territory that may help soil scientists manage water resources better.

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Acceptance of information technology can play a vital role in meeting the demand for food in developing countries, according to a new study by Iowa State University researchers. They say increasing production is not the only solution for food insecurity.

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Dangerous nitrate levels in drinking water could persist for decades, increasing the risk for blue baby syndrome and other serious health concerns, according to a new study published by researchers at the University of Waterloo.

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Daniel Deocampo, associate professor and chair of Geosciences at Georgia State University, will attend the White House Water Summit today (March 22) to share his plans for bringing new technologies and workforce development to the water economy of the southeastern United States.

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Unintentional poisoning hazards span a lifetime but preventing poisoning can take only moments. During National Poison Prevention Week, March 20 – 26, 2016, the Poison Prevention Week Council (PPWC) will take to social media to bring awareness to the common, but often hidden poison dangers, as well as encourage the public to take a few simple precautions to prevent poisonings.

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Expanding the use of recycled water would reduce water and energy use, cut greenhouse gas emissions and benefit public health in California — which is in the midst of a severe drought — and around the world. A new study by the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, published online March 17 in the American Journal of Public Health, found that recycled water has great potential for more efficient use in urban settings and to improve the overall resiliency of the water supply.

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In this month’s release, find new embargoed research about burdens to Texas women seeking abortions; water conservation strategies in California; and disability-free life expectancy differences in men and women

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Remember the basics of water safety as you head to the pool, lake and beach.

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Quickly uncovering that foodborne illnesses are connected can make all the difference in halting a deadly outbreak. About 276,000 cases of foodborne illness are avoided each year because of PulseNet, a 20-year-old network coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, new research has found. State participation varies.

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Rising temperatures worldwide are changing not only weather systems, but — just as importantly — the distribution of water around the globe, according to a study published today (March 14, 2016) in the journal, “Scientific Reports.”

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The human microbiome, a diverse collection of microorganisms living inside us and on our skin, has attracted considerable attention for its role in a broad range of human health issues. Now, researchers are discovering that the built environment also has a microbiome, which includes a community of potentially-pathogenic bacteria living inside water supply pipes.

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'Four-Flavored' Tetraquark, Planets Born Like Cracking Paint, New 2D Materials, The World's Newest Atom-Smasher in the Physics News Source sponsored by AIP.

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As fresh water resources become scarce, one option for water-conscious farmers is to water crops with treated wastewater. This effluent is becoming a more popular option for applications that don’t require drinking-quality water. However, there are still questions about how the effluent interacts with and affects the rest of the ecosystem. Researchers set out to follow the environmental paths of pharmaceutical and personal care products found in effluent when it is used to spray irrigate wheat crops.

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DETROIT – Wayne State University announced today that it has formed the Flint Area Community Health and Environment Partnership (FACHEP). The research group, led by Wayne State researchers specializing in environmental engineering and public health, will conduct an independent study to evaluate the possible association between changes in Flint’s water system and public health, specifically the recent Legionnaires’ disease outbreak. The first phase of the investigation is set to begin March 1, with FACHEP researchers engaging with the community to set up enhanced disease and environmental surveillance in Flint and Genesee County. Shawn McElmurry, an environmental and civil engineering professor in Wayne State’s College of Engineering, will lead FACHEP’s efforts, along with epidemiological investigator Dr. Paul Kilgore from Wayne State’s Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. “Our number one goal at this early stage of the study is to connect with the people of

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Farm-grown fish are an important source of food with significant and worldwide societal and economic benefits, but the fish that come from these recirculating systems can have unpleasant tastes and odors. To clean contaminated water for farmed fish, drinking and other uses, scientists are now turning to an unlikely source — the mucilage or inner “guts” of cacti. Researchers will be presenting their latest findings at the 251st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.

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Pakistan's water managers are using NASA satellites to more effectively monitor groundwater supplies, thanks to a partnership with University of Washington civil and environmental engineers. It's part of a larger effort to use the vast amount of data and observations collected by Earth-orbiting satellites to benefit developing countries.

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Consumers are placing greater expectations on the ability to verify the authenticity, value, sustainability, quality and safety of the seafood they choose to consume which makes traceability vital for the seafood industry. The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Global Food Traceability Center outlines in detail the issues businesses in the seafood industry will need to tackle in order to achieve an interoperable seafood traceability technology architecture in the March issue of Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety.

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A more efficient and clean wood-burning cookstove — developed by BURN Design Lab and University of Washington mechanical engineers — will reduce the amount of fuel families need to collect or buy by 55 percent. It will also reduce exposure to the harmful particulate pollution produced by traditional cooking flames.

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Inland freshwaters with a greater variety of fish species (biodiversity) have higher-yielding and less variable fisheries according to a new study from the University of Southampton and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

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Researchers from the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Engineering have successfully developed an environmentally-friendly food packaging material that is free from chemical additives, by fortifying natural chitosan-based composite film with grapefruit seed extract. This novel food packaging material can slow down fungal growth, doubling the shelf-life of perishable food, such as bread.

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Virginia Tech students were in a Durham Hall lab in Blacksburg, Virginia, on Friday morning, packing bottles and printing water-testing instructions for delivery to Flint, Michigan, to address a public health crisis.

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Lead expert Dr. Helen Binns gives general advice for families who want to make sure their kids are not exposed to high concentrations of lead in their water.

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Humboldt State University is among the country’s first universities to accept Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

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As the residents of Flint, Mich., responded to the growing crisis of their contaminated water supply, researchers at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis were able to pinpoint their calls for aid to the 2-1-1 telephone helpline through a unique website called 2-1-1 Counts.

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Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered a molecular regulator that allows salmonella bacteria to switch from actively causing disease to lurking in a chronic but asymptomatic state called a biofilm.

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Harvard Chan School’s Philippe Grandjean, an expert in how environmental pollution impairs brain development, says that Flint, Michigan’s water crisis could have been prevented, given the United States’ long experience with lead contamination—and how to prevent it.

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Flint's 100,000 residents were exposed to lead-tainted water for more than 18 months. Virginia Tech's role in uncovering the problem has been widely reported around the world. Here are the details.

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Food imported into the United States from countries with low GDP poses higher safety risks, suggesting the need for food safety management reforms, according to a new analysis of federal import violations data.

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Heather Murphy’s research in Canada could be helpful in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.