E. coli

Reptiles like leopard geckos can bring Salmonella along with them.

Doctors Don't Always Ask About Pet-Related Health Risks

11:07am April 21, 2015

by Nancy Shute

People can pick up germs and parasites from their pets, and some of them can be nasty. Health care providers for all species could do a better job of communicating the risks, a study finds.

Quality-Testing Legal Marijuana: Strong But Not Always Clean

4:52pm March 25, 2015

by Poncie Rutsch

Early efforts to test legal marijuana are finding that it's got lots of buzzworthy THC. But it can also have fungus, chemical residue and bacteria. What that means for health and safety isn't clear.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions that unpasteurized milk can cause serious illness, because it's a fertile breeding ground for harmful germs like salmonella and E. coli. But such warnings haven't deterred raw milk enthusiasts.

Why Some States Want To Legalize Raw Milk Sales

2:20pm February 23, 2015

by Abby Wendle

Selling unpasteurized milk across state lines is illegal because it poses a threat to public health. But raw milk sales are growing nonetheless. Legalization would let states regulate a risky market.

Farmworkers like these in California picking produce may soon be required by the FDA to take more precautions against spreading foodborne illness.

FDA Releases Rules To Strengthen Safety Of Food Supply

3:10pm April 07, 2014

Two years after a food safety bill became law, the FDA issues a rule to prevent foodborne illness in produce and one to require food manufacturers to have plans in place to prevent contamination.

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The plate on the left contains about equal numbers of colonies of two different bacteria. After the bacteria compete and evolve, the lighter ones have taken the lead in the plate on the right.

Bacterial Competition In Lab Shows Evolution Never Stops

10:49am November 15, 2013

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Day after day, workers at Michigan State University care for and feed colonies of evolving bacteria. The original microbes have produced more than 50,000 generations in the 25 years since the experiment began. Despite predictions the bacteria might someday reach a point where they would evolve no more, the results show they keep changing.

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