Plants and animals aren’t the only things that get sick. Even pathogenic microbes can succumb to infections. Federal plant pathologists are now looking to capitalize on that phenomenon as a strategy to fight off food poisoning.Though nature seals most fruits and vegetables in germ-resistant peels and rinds, once those outer barriers are breached—such as when you slice a cucumber or peel an avocado—those foods become sitting ducks for any poisonous bacteria on your hands, utensils, or cutting board.So, Britta Leverentz and William Conway of the Agricultural Research Service’s Produce Quality an...

Mention antioxidants and most people will immediately think of vitamins—typically C and E—usually in the form of mega-dose capsules available at the local drug store. However, a new study finds that many common beverages also deliver a healthy antioxidant serving.These beverages may give some protection against the ravages of oxidizing chemicals that we breathe in or that cells in our bodies produce as the cells go about their normal housekeeping functions.Over the past few years, studies have demonstrated the damage that an overabundance of oxidizing chemicals can inflict. Some oxidizers cont...

Mention antioxidants and most people will immediately think of vitamins—typically C and E—usually in the form of mega-dose capsules available at the local drug store. However, a new study finds that many common beverages also deliver a healthy antioxidant serving.These beverages may give some protection against the ravages of oxidizing chemicals that we breathe in or that cells in our bodies produce as the cells go about their normal housekeeping functions.Over the past few years, studies have demonstrated the damage that an overabundance of oxidizing chemicals can inflict. Some oxidizers cont...

Globally, in terms of its popularity as a drink, tea ranks second only to water. While most people began sipping this brew for its taste and its ability to sooth the palate, researchers have recently turned up a variety of reasons to reinforce tea-quaffing habits. The newest: It slows the growth of germs that lead to cavities.Take a microscopic look into any healthy mouth and you’ll probably find hundreds of species of bacteria. Some of these generate an enzyme that breaks down sucrose, or table sugar, into its building blocks—the simple sugars fructose and glucose. Others foster the...

Globally, in terms of its popularity as a drink, tea ranks second only to water. While most people began sipping this brew for its taste and its ability to sooth the palate, researchers have recently turned up a variety of reasons to reinforce tea-quaffing habits. The newest: It slows the growth of germs that lead to cavities.Take a microscopic look into any healthy mouth and you’ll probably find hundreds of species of bacteria. Some of these generate an enzyme that breaks down sucrose, or table sugar, into its building blocks—the simple sugars fructose and glucose. Others foster the conversio...

Globally, in terms of its popularity as a drink, tea ranks second only to water. While most people began sipping this brew for its taste and its ability to sooth the palate, researchers have recently turned up a variety of reasons to reinforce tea-quaffing habits. The newest: It slows the growth of germs that lead to cavities.Take a microscopic look into any healthy mouth and you’ll probably find hundreds of species of bacteria. Some of these generate an enzyme that breaks down sucrose, or table sugar, into its building blocks—the simple sugars fructose and glucose. Others foster the conversio...

Lead, a toxic heavy metal, can show up in the most unexpected places. For instance, several recent studies documented a worrisome tainting of calcium supplements. Just last month, some Mexican lollipops were recalled from U.S. stores upon a finding that their wrappers had leached lead into the candy. And recently, this column recounted the perils of a man poisoned by his bathtub winemaking operations.Of course, people can be exposed to lead through more obvious means—by breathing fumes in metalworking plants, eating foods tainted by emissions from cars burning leaded gasoline, exposure to pee...

Lead, a toxic heavy metal, can show up in the most unexpected places. For instance, several recent studies documented a worrisome tainting of calcium supplements. Just last month, some Mexican lollipops were recalled from U.S. stores upon a finding that their wrappers had leached lead into the candy. And recently, this column recounted the perils of a man poisoned by his bathtub winemaking operations.Of course, people can be exposed to lead through more obvious means—by breathing fumes in metalworking plants, eating foods tainted by emissions from cars burning leaded gasoline, exposure to pee...

Lead, a toxic heavy metal, can show up in the most unexpected places. For instance, several recent studies documented a worrisome tainting of calcium supplements. Just last month, some Mexican lollipops were recalled from U.S. stores upon a finding that their wrappers had leached lead into the candy. And recently, this column recounted the perils of a man poisoned by his bathtub winemaking operations.Of course, people can be exposed to lead through more obvious means—by breathing fumes in metalworking plants, eating foods tainted by emissions from cars burning leaded gasoline, exposure to pee...

Over the years, many studies have linked skin rashes in some people to working long hours at personal computers. A Swedish study now finds a possible explanation: Certain computer monitors emit a chemical that can cause allergic reactions.Three years ago, while analyzing pollution in samples of outdoor air, Conny Östman and his colleagues at Stockholm University realized that something in their lab was tainting the glassware they used. It was triphenyl phosphate, a flame retardant added to many plastics. The chemists eventually traced this contact allergen—which they later also found in the ai...

Over the years, many studies have linked skin rashes in some people to working long hours at personal computers. A Swedish study now finds a possible explanation: Certain computer monitors emit a chemical that can cause allergic reactions.Three years ago, while analyzing pollution in samples of outdoor air, Conny Östman and his colleagues at Stockholm University realized that something in their lab was tainting the glassware they used. It was triphenyl phosphate, a flame retardant added to many plastics. The chemists eventually traced this contact allergen—which they later also found in the ai...

Nothing tastes more like summer, to this inveterate gardener, than a home-grown, vine-ripened tomato. As a child, on a sweltering August afternoon, I used to swipe one from our garden to nibble slowly in the backyard. Or I’d share a bright red Beefsteak with mom. Slathered with mayonnaise and nestled on a bed of lettuce between slices of bread, it made a great summer sandwich.But never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that tomatoes might offer summertime health benefits to a sunburn-prone towhead like me. Yet that’s just what a European research team reports this month in the Journal...

Nothing tastes more like summer, to this inveterate gardener, than a home-grown, vine-ripened tomato. As a child, on a sweltering August afternoon, I used to swipe one from our garden to nibble slowly in the backyard. Or I’d share a bright red Beefsteak with mom. Slathered with mayonnaise and nestled on a bed of lettuce between slices of bread, it made a great summer sandwich.But never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that tomatoes might offer summertime health benefits to a sunburn-prone towhead like me. Yet that’s just what a European research team reports this month in the Journal...

This Mother’s Day, many moms will find their brood and mates proffering glittering booty: sparkling necklaces, earrings, bracelets, brooches, and rings fashioned in whole or in part of gold. There may also be gilded plates, glasses, and grandma’s favorite—fragile, matched sets of hand-painted tea cups and saucers.As women admire these tokens of their loved ones’ admiration, few will give passing thought to where the precious metal in their gifts came from. New research indicates that in some regions of the world, the mining of gold produces an unrecognized toxic fallout: fish dinners laced wit...

This Mother’s Day, many moms will find their brood and mates proffering glittering booty: sparkling necklaces, earrings, bracelets, brooches, and rings fashioned in whole or in part of gold. There may also be gilded plates, glasses, and grandma’s favorite—fragile, matched sets of hand-painted tea cups and saucers.As women admire these tokens of their loved ones’ admiration, few will give passing thought to where the precious metal in their gifts came from. New research indicates that in some regions of the world, the mining of gold produces an unrecognized toxic fallout: fish dinners laced wit...