Researchers in Michigan and New York have found that fetuses cannot eliminate bisphenol A (BPA) from their bodies as well as adults. The scientists from the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health and the New York State Department of Public Health found that fetuses had three times the amount of free BPA as opposed [...]
Chemicals in Furniture May Pose Health Issues
December 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
New studies are showing that there’s a potential serious health risk in your home. And it may have a higher abundance of harmful chemicals than previously thought. The item? Your sofa. Making matters more alarming is that the risk is higher for children. The flame-retardant chemicals in couches, drapes, and rugs could be causing a [...]
Chemical Sensor Sniffs Out Cancer Cells
October 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have created a chemical test that can detect cancer cells like a bloodhound sniffing out a murderer on the loose. The chemical sensor uses gold nanoparticles and green fluorescent proteins — a biological dye — that can tell the difference between cancer cells and normal cells. The sensor [...]
Chemical Tests Find Arsenic in Rice
October 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Consumer Reports have found that rice and rice products sold in the U.S. have measurable amounts of arsenic. In fact, some brands of rice were found to have more arsenic in a single serving that what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows in a quart of [...]
Senses Detect What Chemical Tests Can’t
September 26, 2012 By 1 Comment
When it comes to olive oil, it seems as though the nose and taste buds can do a better job evaluating quality than U.S. chemical tests. The University of California, Davis, conducted a study that found that some olive oils sold to the food industry were described as “lamp oil” or were diluted with cheaper [...]
Chemical Test Could Spot Attempted Cheating
September 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Athletes who cheat by taking performance-enhancing drugs have ways to manipulate their urine samples so that those drugs are concealed. But now, thanks to research from Australian scientists, that drug abuse might be more easily detected. Many chemicals dropped into urine specimens can destroy or mask “drugs of interest” that give athletes who take them [...]
Common Chemical Disrupts Muscle Function
August 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
BPA. Phthalates. Now, there’s some concern over triclosan, an antibacterial chemical widely used in hand soaps and other personal care products that could disrupt muscle contraction. Researchers at the University of California, Davis and the University of Colorado have found that the chemical impairs heart and muscle activity and strength. Their findings appear online in [...]
Food to Be Tested for Chemicals, Drugs, Growth Promoters
July 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
For years, regulatory agencies have focused on testing for bacterial contamination in the food supply. Now, the attention is turning to drug and chemical contamination. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced a new testing system that aims to protect the public from exposure to harmful levels of chemical [...]
Chemical Tests Producing False Positives
July 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Employers and government and law enforcement agencies need to ensure that drug tests are conducted accurately because a new study has found that certain less-expensive testing methods on certain baby soaps and shampoos have produced false positive tests for marijuana in infants. The results of the study, reported in the June issue (PDF) of the medical [...]
Testing and Treating Chemicals in Wastewater
June 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Canadian researchers are trying to figure out the best methods to treat wastewater so that it can be reused — and they are using goldfish to help them provide the answers. As clean water sources are in shorter supply throughout the world, municipalities are looking for ways to recycle wastewater for uses beyond industrial processing, [...]
