A single course of antibiotics can cause Clostridium difficile, or C. diff – a bacterium that can lead to a condition known as Clostridium difficile colitis – to flourish in the gut, according to researchers at North Carolina State University.
The discovery was made during experiments with mice. The scientists say the antibiotics were found to kill off bacteria responsible for altering bile acid.
Nearly 300 people who underwent colonoscopies at a Massachusetts hospital were potentially exposed to HIV and hepatitis due to improper sterilization procedures involving instruments used for the medical test.
Baystate Noble Hospital in Westland, Ma. recently announced that 293 patients who underwent colonoscopies at the facility between June 11, 2012 and April 17, 2013 may have been exposed to HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.
“Evolution of Smooth” (EOS) lip balm is supposed to keep your lips from cracking and bleeding, but that’s exactly what happened to one woman who filed a class action lawsuit on Jan. 12 against the company.
Rachel Cronin reportedly claims that when she reapplied EOS’ “Summer Fruit” balm, her lips cracked, bled and blistered and were “anything but smooth.”
The egg-shaped lip balms are touted by celebrities such as Britney Spears and Kim Kardashian and come in a variety of colors.
France, Germany, and Spain filed a suit against Monsanto last year because the company tried to patent a non-GM tomato that was resistant to a common fungal disease (EP1812575). Now, the European Patent Office (EPO) is revoking another patent Monsanto has held on non-GM melons.
Health officials have finally been able to pinpoint the source of a Listeria outbreak that sickened 12 people and killing 1.
Dole Food Co. announced that its fresh vegetable unit suspended production at an Ohio plant where the pathogen was detected, and is recalling packaged salads produced there. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the outbreak occurred last summer, but people should throw out any packaged salads produced at the facility, just to be cautious.
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a lawsuit filed by former child slaves who once worked for Nestle. The court’s decision finalizes a lower court’s prior ruling, which Nestle previously attempted to overturn in an attempt to halt legal ramifications from individuals who worked in the African cocoa trade as children. In other words, Nestle failed in crushing a lawsuit that will hold the company liable for using child slave workers.
The Zika virus is on the move, and it has arrived in the United States, with the first case of the illness being confirmed in a baby in Hawaii.
Little was known about the Zika virus in the U.S. until now because it generally causes mild symptoms including a fever, sometimes a rash, conjunctivitis and headache. In rare cases, it can cause the neurological disorder Guillain-Barre, which results in paralysis.
Next week, “Organic Ambitions: An Action Plan for organic food and farming in Scotland 2016-2020” will be unveiled in Scotland. The plan for organic food production is designed to help build a more sustainable farming future and stimulate the rural economy.
The January 27 launch will coincide with the first day of the Organic Research Center’s annual conference, being held in Bristol.
Flint, Michigan is dealing with a water crisis, pushing the area into a ‘state of emergency.’ Instead of pointing fingers like the government has been doing in response to the toxic overload, the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians from Manistee, Michigan is donating a hefty sum to the Genesee County Sheriff’s office to assist in providing clean water to Flint, Michigan residents.
The New Year starts with more positive news. Aldi Süd, a German supermarket chain with stores in the U.S., has become the first major European retailer to ban pesticides toxic to bees, including the neonicotinoids imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam, from all produce sold in their stores. [1]
The announcement was made January 1st, with the retailer expecting fruit and vegetable suppliers for their stores to comply with their new policy ASAP. The following pesticides will no longer be tolerated:
