'Healing clays' show promise for fighting deadly MRSA superbug infections, other diseases

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Minerals from clay could provide a source of powerful antimicrobials for fighting deadly MRSA infections and other diseases. Photo credit: Arizona State University John C. Phillips
Minerals from clay could provide a source of powerful antimicrobials for fighting deadly MRSA infections and other diseases. Photo credit: Arizona State University, John C. Phillips

Mud may be coming to a medicine cabinet or pharmacy near you. Scientists in Arizona report that minerals from clay could form the basis of a new generation of inexpensive, highly-effective antimicrobials for fighting MRSA infections that are moving out of health care settings and into the community. These “superbugs” are increasingly resistant to multiple antibiotics and cause thousands of deaths each year.


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All News summaries for April 07, 2008

AIDS-hit Swaziland population drops

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The population of the AIDS-riven kingdom of Swaziland, already one of the smallest countries in Africa, has fallen by around a fifth in the last decade, figures showed Friday.

California bans restaurants from using trans fats

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(AP) -- California on Friday became the first state to ban trans fats from restaurant food, following several cities and major fast-food chains in erasing the notorious artery-clogger from menus.

FDA: Avoid jalapenos from Mexico, not US

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(AP) -- Only jalapeno peppers grown in Mexico are implicated in the nationwide salmonella outbreak, the government announced Friday in clearing the U.S. crop.

Tracing tomatoes from field to fork -- a new system

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(AP) -- When there's an urgent need to trace fruits and vegetables in a crisis like the salmonella outbreak, a lot of the pieces for a rapid-response system already exist. But nobody has quite figured out ...

Briton fuming over fine for smoking in own van

Jul 25, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
A painter and decorator has been fined for breaching Britain's smoking ban -- by puffing on a cigarette in his own van, he said Friday.