Archive of March, 2024

fasdf@sadf.tu

A New Technology Can be Used Instead of Antibiotics to Kill Superbugs
Dr. Timothy Lu, an associate professor in biological engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, found a new potential way to kill superbugs with a DNA editor called CRISPR-Cas9. The Wall Street Journalreported that Dr. Lu said: “is is basically a molecular scissor” that can snip bacterial genes that make bacteria drug-resistant, killing the bug in the process.  The technology combines bacteriophages and CRISPR-Cas9 to target drug-resistant genes. What is CRISPR? CRISPR is used to edit or delete genes from living cells.  “CRISPR” means Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. They are the characteristic of a bacterial defense system that forms the basis for CRISPR-Cas9...

fasdf@sadf.tu

Lettuce E. coli Outbreak May be Spreading to the US from Canada
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) says preliminary test results from an E. coli outbreak in the U.S. shows a common source of infection with an outbreak in Canada that was linked to romaine lettuce. The CDC is investigating a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli o157:H7 infections (STEC O157:H7) in 13 states. Seventeen illnesses have been reported from California (3), Connecticut (2), Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Michigan (1), Nebraska (1), New Hampshire (2), New York (1), Ohio (1), Pennsylvania (1), Virginia (1), Vermont (1) and Washington (1). Illnesses started on dates from November 15 through December 8, 2017. The Public...

fasdf@sadf.tu

Listeria Recalls in the News: due to Raw Apples and Smoked Salmon Fish
Raw Apples Recall The FDA announced that Jack Brown Produce, Inc. of Sparta, MI had recalled Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp and Golden Delicious apples due to the potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The contaminated apples were processed and shipped by their supplier Nyblad Orchards, Inc., on December 11 through December 16, 2017. The apples were distributed to retail stores in Michigan, Georgia, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, and include the following varieties: Honeycrisp apples in two-pound clear plastic bags; Gala, Fuji, and Golden Delicious apples in 3-pound clear plastic bags; Fuji and Gala apples in 5-pound red-netted mesh bags; and Gala, Fuji and Honeycrisp apples...

fasdf@sadf.tu

Lactalis Baby Formula recalled due to Salmonella agona contamination
Lactalis, a French dairy company, is one of the world’s largest dairy producers was ordered to recall 7,000 tons of powdered milk products due to the contamination with Salmonella agona (French Health authorities).   Twenty-six infants have become ill in France since early December. Initially, 20 children, younger than 6, became ill. This caused an initially limited recall that was expanded as more children got sick. This week 5 new cases of Salmonellosis were reported. The recalled products were sold in Europe (France and Britain, Greece), in Africa (Morocco and Sudan), in South America (Peru and Colombia), and in Asia (Pakistan, Bangladesh, and...