Toxicology News and Research

Latest Toxicology News and Research

Scientists discover how potential new drug targets spinal muscular atrophy

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic disease that can leave infants with weak muscles and trouble breathing. Many with the disease die before age two. To help these patients, doctors need therapies that target the genetic mutation and stop its progression.

8 May 2018

PFKFB3 enzyme appears to play a key role in pulmonary hypertension

A new and early target for treating pulmonary hypertension appears to be an enzyme that's normally key to energy production but destructive in the face of this high blood pressure inside your lungs.

8 May 2018

Researchers detect CWD prions in Wisconsin soils for the first time

New research out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has, for the first time, detected prions responsible for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in samples taken from sites where deer congregate.

4 May 2018

Novel magnetic nanoparticles move from lab to first breast cancer clinical trials

Sandia National Laboratories materials chemist Dale Huber has been working on the challenge of making iron-based nanoparticles the exact same size for 15 years.

30 Apr 2018

Can GAC Be Used to Control Priority Unregulated DBPs in Drinking Water?

In this interview, Prof. Susan Richardson discusses the use of GAC to control disinfection by-products.

From Pittcon 23 Apr 2018

Mouse study shows how tungsten accumulates in the bones

New research shows how and where tungsten accumulates in bones of mice exposed to the element through drinking water. The findings, by a team of chemists and biologists at McGill University, could add to doubts over the once-universal assumption that tungsten poses little or no health risk to the general human population.

17 Apr 2018

New tiny fiber-optic probe can measure temperature and see deep inside the body

University of Adelaide researchers have invented a world-first tiny fiber-optic probe that can simultaneously measure temperature and see deep inside the body.

12 Apr 2018

New research sheds light on how neurons in the brain communicate with one another

Researchers from the University of Leicester have shed new light on how neurons in the brain communicate with one another. This could potentially help in our understanding of how and why a range of neurodegenerative diseases occur.

10 Apr 2018

Omissions on death certificates lead to undercounting of opioid overdoses

In a refrigerator in the coroner’s office in Marion County, Ind., rows of vials await testing. They contain blood, urine and vitreous, the fluid collected from inside a human eye.

29 Mar 2018

Tackling Hand Hygiene Barriers in Healthcare

Hand hygiene is critical to preventing the spread of infection in hospitals. Current methods are outdated, and new technologies are expensive. Zoono's products offer an alternative to alcohol-based hand sanitizers that protect the skin's surface for longer.

28 Mar 2018

MSU scientists test promising drug to prevent cancer in high-risk patients

Michigan State University scientists are testing a promising drug that may stop a gene associated with obesity from triggering breast and lung cancer, as well as prevent these cancers from growing.

27 Mar 2018

Alzheimer's disease also affects small blood vessels

A research conducted by the UAB demonstrates that mice suffering from this disease also have substantial malfunctions in small blood vessels, important in nourishing different organs and tissues and in regulating blood pressure, and which mainly affects females.

16 Mar 2018

Switching to glo vapor reverses biological effects caused by smoke exposure

A new lab-based study has shown that when airway cells damaged by cigarette smoke are exposed instead to glo vapor, the biological effects caused by smoke exposure are reversed.

14 Mar 2018

Scientists find significant amounts of toxic metals in e-cigarette vapors

Significant amounts of toxic metals, including lead, leak from some e-cigarette heating coils and are present in the aerosols inhaled by users, according to a study from scientists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

22 Feb 2018

Scientists explore connection between bad sleep habits and stiff blood vessels

What do bad sleep habits and stiff blood vessels have in common? Nothing good, say scientists exploring what appears to be a direct connection between a circadian clock that isn't working as it should and an enzyme that promotes inflammation working overtime.

20 Feb 2018

Compounds isolated from rattlesnake's venom show promise to fight against hepatitis C

A group of Brazilian scientists achieved promising results using isolated compounds from the venom of the South American rattlesnake in combat of hepatitis C.

8 Feb 2018

Cell phone radiation bad for rats but OK for humans: study

Much has been said and studied regarding the ill effects of mobile phone radiation on human health. A new study has found that high levels of radiation from cell phones is capable of causing cancers in the heart of laboratory animals. However the levels of radiation emitted by cell phones is much less than this threshold level.

6 Feb 2018

Tumor activity found in male rats exposed to radiofrequency radiation

High exposure to radiofrequency radiation in rodents resulted in tumors in tissues surrounding nerves in the hearts of male rats, but not female rats or any mice, according to draft studies from the National Toxicology Program.

2 Feb 2018

Real-time information about stamp bags could serve as early warning of new illegal drugs

In just two years, the powerful opioid fentanyl went from nonexistent to detected in more than 1 in 7 stamp bags analyzed by the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner, according to an analysis led by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Stamp bags are small wax packets that contain mixtures of illicit drugs, most commonly heroin, packaged for sale and sometimes stamped with a graphical logo by drug dealers to market their contents.

2 Feb 2018

Research provides new insights into how the brain controls sex

A research team led by Professor Julie Bakker at Liège University (Belgium) and Professor Ulrich Boehm at Saarland University has made a major advancement in our understanding of how the brain controls sex.

27 Jan 2018