PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

A faster way to flag bacteria-tainted food -- and prevent illness

2014-01-29
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
A faster way to flag bacteria-tainted food -- and prevent illness The regular appearance of food poisoning in the news, including a recent event that led to the recall of more than 33,000 pounds of chicken, drives home the need for better bacterial detection long before meats and produce make it to the dinner table. On the horizon is a new approach for pathogen screening that is far faster than current commercial methods. Scientists are reporting the technique in the ACS journal Analytical Chemistry.

Sibani Lisa Biswal and colleagues note that Salmonella is one of the pathogens most commonly associated with foodborne illness, which can cause fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. An estimated one in six Americans suffer from food poisoning every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many end up in the hospital, and about 3,000 people die annually. Conventional methods to detect harmful bacteria in food are reliable and inexpensive, but they can be complicated, time consuming and thus allow contamination to go undetected. Biswal's team set out to develop a faster method to catch unwanted microbes before they can make people sick.

They used an array of tiny "nanomechanical cantilevers," anchored at one end, kind of like little diving boards. The cantilevers have peptides attached to them that bind to Salmonella. When the bacteria bind to the peptides, the cantilever arm bends, creating a signal. The screening system rapidly distinguished Salmonella from other types of bacteria in a sample. One of the peptides was even more specific than an antibody, which is considered the gold standard. That peptide could tell eight different types of Salmonella apart from each other. The researchers stated that the technique could be applied to other common food pathogens.

### The authors acknowledge funding from the Welch Foundation, a Hamill Innovations Award Grant and the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Follow us: Twitter Facebook END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Rise in wildfires may significantly degrade air quality, health in the future

2014-01-29
As the American West, parched by prolonged drought, braces for a season of potentially record-breaking wildfires, new research suggests these events not only pose an immediate threat ...

Altruistic acts more common in states with high well-being

2014-01-29
People are much more likely to decide to donate a kidney to a stranger — an extraordinarily altruistic act — in areas of the United States where levels of well-being are high, ...

Infection control practices not adequately implemented at many hospital ICUs: study

2014-01-29
Washington, DC, January 29, 2014 – U.S. hospital intensive care units (ICUs) show uneven compliance with infection prevention policies, according to a study in the February issue of ...

A digital test for toxic genes

2014-01-29
Like little factories, cells metabolize raw materials and convert them into chemical compounds. Biotechnologists ...

Testosterone isn't the help some hoped for when women go through menopause early

2014-01-29
CLEVELAND, Ohio (January 29, 2014)—With plummeting hormone levels, natural menopause before age 40 can put a damper on women's mental well being ...

Intuitive number games boost children's math performance

2014-01-29
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A quick glance at two, unequal groups of paper clips (or other objects) leads most people to immediately intuit which group has more. In a new study, researchers report ...

New analysis finds hempseed oil packed with health-promoting compounds

2014-01-29
Long stigmatized because of its "high"-inducing cousins, hemp — derived from low-hallucinogenic varieties of cannabis — is making a comeback, not just as a source of fiber for textiles, ...

Capitol chemistry: How Congress will alter the science landscape in 2014

2014-01-29
The Congressional agenda for 2014 includes science issues with far-reaching implications for an array of issues including public health, job growth, pharmaceutical research and energy, ...

Single gene separates queen from workers

2014-01-29
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Scientists have identified how a single gene in honey bees separates the queens from the workers. A team of scientists from Michigan State University and Wayne State University unraveled ...

Study finds mammography beneficial for younger women

2014-01-29
CLEVELAND – Researchers from University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have published new findings in the February issue of American ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Some people could sound angrier when complaining, new study finds

Respiratory related ER visits decreased 20 percent after coal-processing plant closure

Earthquake caught on camera

How a decaploid plant evolved to fight disease with powerful compounds

Where did RNA come from?

Health: Anti-obesity medications associated with weight rebound post-treatment

“Forever chemicals” linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes

Near tripling in US reported lidocaine local anesthetic poisonings/deaths over past decade

Despite self-perceived sensitivities, study finds gluten and wheat safe for many people with IBS

New subtype of diabetes identified in Africa in first largescale study

A new diabetes subtype identified in Sub-Saharan Africa and Black Americans, study finds

A simple filter for rare earth elements will ensure a clean domestic supply of these crucial metals

UCF researchers developing new methods to passively mitigate lunar dust for space exploration

Discovering new materials: AI can simulate billions of atoms simultaneously

University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center becomes first in the United States to implement Akesis Inc. innovative Galaxy RTI device for patient treatment

FAMU-FSU research identifies U.S. dams at greatest risk of overtopping

‘Weekend warriors’ with diabetes have a 33% lower risk of cardiovascular mortality

Study identifies world-first treatments to prevent a life-threatening virus infection

Solvent selection tool boosts thermoelectric devices

Collecting large-scale data from impoverished communities

Neuroanatomy of social dominance

Reference genomes for rice’s wild relatives may boost future crops

How AI can enhance early detection of emerging viruses: UNLV study

Surface structure engineering of PtCu clusters enhances the performance of propane dehydrogenation

Gemini North discovers long-predicted stellar companion of Betelgeuse

Hollow molecules offer sustainable hydrocarbon separation

High-performance near-Infrared computational spectrometer enabled by finely-tuned PbS quantum dots

Hyaluronidase nanogel-armed CAR-T cell for improving efficacy against solid tumors

Tailored hard/soft magnetic heterostructure anchored on 2D carbon nanosheet for efficient microwave absorption and anti-corrosion property

A novel strategy for modulating the crystalline-amorphous composites and electronic structure to enhance hydrogen evolution reaction

[Press-News.org] A faster way to flag bacteria-tainted food -- and prevent illness