Laboratory Equipment

X-rays Pinpoint Drug Target for Stomach Ulcers

Experiments at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have revealed a potential new way to attack common stomach bacteria that cause ulcers and significantly increase the odds of developing stomach cancer.

The breakthrough, made using powerful X-rays from SLAC’s Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL), was the culmination of five years of research into the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which is so tough it can live in strong stomach acid. At least half the world’s population carries H. pylori and hundreds of millions suffer health problems as a result; current treatments require a complicated regimen of stomach-acid inhibitors and antibiotics.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/12/x-rays-pinpoint-drug-target-stomach-ulcers

U.S. Tap Water Causes 1 M Cases of Stomach Illness Per Year

The distribution system piping in U.S. public water systems that rely on non-disinfected well water or “ground water” may be a largely unrecognized cause of up to 1.1 million annual cases of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI), involving nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, scientists are reporting. Their study in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology concludes that such illnesses may become more of a problem as much of the nation’s drinking water supply system continues to age and deteriorate.

Frank Loge and Mark Borchardt, from UC Davis, and their colleagues explain that more than 100 million people in the U.S. rely on water piped into homes, schools and businesses from public water systems that get their water from wells, rather than lakes, rivers and other above-ground sources. Much of that water either is not disinfected at all or is not adequately disinfected to kill disease-causing viruses.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/09/us-tap-water-causes-1-m-cases-stomach-illness-year

Birds’ Stomachs Show Extreme Plastic Pollution Levels

Plastic pollution off the northwest coast of North America is reaching the level of the notoriously polluted North Sea, according to a new study led by a researcher at the Univ. of British Columbia.

The study, published online in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, examined stomach contents of beached northern fulmars on the coasts of British Columbia, Canada and the states of Washington and Oregon.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Birds-Stomachs-Show-Extreme-Plastic-Pollution-Levels-070612.aspx

Pigs’ Stomach Mucus Could Make Safer Baby Formula

Scientists are reporting that the mucus lining the stomachs of pigs could be a long-sought, abundant source of “mucins” being considered for use as broad-spectrum anti-viral agents to supplement baby formula and for use in personal hygiene and other consumer products to protect against a range of viral infections. Their study appears in ACS’ journal Biomacromolecules.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Pigs-Stomach-Mucus-Could-Make-Safer-Baby-Formula-042512.aspx

mothernaturenetwork:

New social network matches people based on gut bacteria
The MyMicrobes site helps with scientific research and allows participants to contact others with similar microbial profiles from around the world.