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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: toxin

toxin stories: 17 news summaries


 Harvard Probes 
 Poisoning at 
 Med School Lab 

Office coffee caused fainting, dizziness, ringing in the ears

Oct 25, 09 3:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - Harvard Medical School is investigating after six workers in the pathology department were poisoned by coffee prepared near their lab. The researchers and students were treated and released after suffering dizziness, low blood pressure, and other symptoms during the August incident. "As the investigation continues, we are being prudent... More »

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Harvard Medical School • coffee • poison • toxin • pathology • Harvard • Harvard University • poisoning • sodium azide

 FEMA Too Slow 
 on Katrina Trailer  
 Toxins: Federal Report  

Agency didn't announce toxin find until 2 years after people moved in

Jul 24, 09 9:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - FEMA was too slow to deal with reports of toxins in trailers used to house Hurricane Katrina victims, potentially posing a “significant health risk” to thousands along the Gulf Coast, a Homeland Security report says. Residents of the trailers had reported bloody noses, headaches, and worse as a result... More »

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Hurricane Katrina • Department of Homeland Security • FEMA • toxin • formaldehyde • Gulf Coast • FEMA trailers • report • Homeland Security

(Newser) - Botox will now carry the Food and Drug Administration’s strictest warning for pharmaceuticals after the agency raised concerns over the risk of botulism last year, Bloomberg reports. The approval of a rival botulinum toxin for cosmetic purposes prompted the review. The toxin can cause muscle weakness and breathing difficulty,... More »

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FDA • botulism • toxin • Botox • Food and Drug Administration • botulinum • neurotoxin • Allergan

 Calif. Pelicans Hit 
 by Mystery Illness 

Experts puzzled as dying birds turn up miles from coastal home

Jan 6, 09 5:46 AM CST
(Newser) - A mystery disease causing disoriented pelicans to crash to earth in unusual locations near the California coast has wildlife experts stumped, reports the Los Angeles Times. Bruised and fatigued birds are being found on highways and in backyards far from their usual seaside haunts. Some appear to be dying,... More »

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endangered species • California • birds • wildlife • toxin • pelican

(Newser) - Scientists have made a breakthrough that could dramatically boost the world's food production by making more land farmable, Wired reports. A slight change to a single gene allows plants to thrive in earth made toxic by aluminum, which currently renders nearly half of the world's soil useless for growing crops.... More »

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agriculture • farming • genetically modified crops • aluminum • crops • toxin • genetic engineering • genetic alteration

 Recycled
 'E-Waste'
 Can Be Toxic 

Old TVs, PCs can pollute developing countries

Jul 7, 08 5:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - Recycling old computers, cell phones, and TVs may sound like a good idea—but be sure you know the destination before you dump such material, USA Today advises. While such “e-waste” recycling programs are springing up everywhere these days, some pose a threat. Often, the materials end up in... More »

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environment • recycling • toxin • developing countries • consumer electronics • e waste

 Fish Toxin Buyer
 Linked to Murder Plot 

Man after puffer fish poison was seeking hit man

Jul 2, 08 3:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - An Illinois man busted trying to buy enough puffer fish toxin to kill dozens of people had been seeking to hire a hit man on the internet to kill a mystery woman, reports the Chicago Tribune. The financial planner sent emails to people offering $8,000 for the murder, authorities... More »

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fish • poison • Illinois • toxin • hit job • murder plot • puffer fish

Illinois Man Busted
With Puffer Fish Toxin

Tried to buy troubling amount from lab

Jul 1, 08 4:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - An Illinois man has been arrested for possession of a deadly neurotoxin found in puffer fish, reports CNN. Authorities were alerted after the man, claiming to be a doctor, attempted to purchase a significant amount of tetrodotoxin from a New Jersey lab. The poison—1,200 times more deadly than... More »

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fish • poison • toxin • neurotoxin • puffer fish

Botox May
Move from
Face to Brain

Anti-wrinkle toxin traveled to rats' central nervous system

Apr 3, 08 10:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - Botox can spread from the face to the brain, scientists who injected rats with the anti-wrinkle treatment say. Traces of the toxin turned up in the rats' brain stems three days after it was injected into their whisker muscles, Bloomberg reports. A dermatologist says the findings call for further investigation,... More »

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rats • wrinkles • brain • toxin • Botox • cosmetic treatments • scientific research

Man Says
He Had Ricin
for Self-Defense

He admits having it in hotel, says he did not plan to hurt anyone

Mar 18, 08 7:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Las Vegas man hospitalized by exposure to ricin in his hotel room told his brother he  did not intend to hurt anyone with it, the AP reports. Roger Bergendoff, who regained consciousness last week after a month, admitted possessing the biological agent but said it was for self-defense. "... More »

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FBI • Las Vegas • toxin • Nevada • Poison • suspected terrorists • biological weapons • ricin • Roger Bergendorff • Erich Bergendorff

 Man in
 Ricin Case 
 Wakes Up 

FBI questioning 57-year-old about toxin found in Las Vegas hotel room

Mar 14, 08 5:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - The man at the center of the Las Vegas ricin investigation regained consciousness today, although he remains hospitalized in critical condition, the Associated Press reports. Roger Bergendorff, 57, had been in a coma since Feb. 14; he has already been questioned by FBI agents about the toxin—considered a "... More »

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terrorism • FBI • Las Vegas • poison • toxin • Nevada • biological warfare • biological weapons • ricin • Roger Bergendorff

Utah Home Searched
in Ricin Case

Suburban neighbors evacuated

Mar 3, 08 7:03 AM CST
(Newser) - FBI agents yesterday searched the former Utah home of a man clinging to life after apparent ricin poisoning in his Las Vegas hotel room. Neighbors within a two-block area were evacuated but were later allowed to return to their homes.  Local residents described the man as a mild-mannered, down-on-his-luck... More »

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FBI • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • Las Vegas • storage • poison • Utah • toxin • ricin

Firearms, Anarchist Book Found With Ricin

Man in critical condition; others test negative for deadly poison

Mar 1, 08 11:17 AM CST
(Newser) - The authorities who discovered ricin in a Las Vegas hotel room also recovered firearms and an “anarchist-type textbook” with an earmarked entry about the lethal toxin, CNN reports. The 57-year-old man whose room contained the poison remains hospitalized in critical condition and unable to speak with investigators, but seven... More »

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • Las Vegas • poison • toxin • ricin • Extended Stay America • castor beans

UPDATED

Man in Critical Condition After Stay in Ricin Room

No apparent terror motive in toxin mystery

Feb 29, 08 3:05 PM CST
(Newser) - A man who stayed in a Las Vegas hotel room where ricin was found yesterday has been hospitalized for 2 weeks after exposure to the toxin and is in critical condition, CNN reports. A friend retrieving his belongings discovered the ricin. "We don't know who it belongs to or... More »

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Las Vegas • poison • toxin • biological weapons • ricin

'Terror Toxin' Found in Vegas

Police hunt source of container found in hotel room

Feb 29, 08 6:58 AM CST
(Newser) - Las Vegas police have discovered the deadly toxin ricin at a long-stay hotel, CNN reports. It's "100% ricin," said a police official. "We did have enough ricin to be concerned. At this point, it has been contained and is not a threat to anybody." Three policemen,... More »

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Las Vegas • extremists • toxin • biological weapons • ricin

'Toxic Sperm' Linked to
Child Ills

Gene material in sperm may be hurt by heavy drinking, smoking: study

Feb 19, 08 2:50 AM CST
(Newser) - Men who smoke or drink heavily may transmit genetic abnormalities through their damaged sperm, leading to child health complications, miscarriages or stillbirth, researchers have found. The effects of environmental toxins on paternal health—long held to be far less important than that of mothers—may play a crucial role in... More »

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fatherhood • health • alcohol • sperm • smoking • conception • childbirth • toxin • genetic abnormalities

Missing Link
in Pneumonia Deaths Found

Antibiotics useless against toxin causing lung infection

Aug 23, 07 4:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - Many pneumonia patients die despite receiving treatment, and a new study finds that an infectious toxin unaffected by antibiotics can cause the deaths. One of the researchers involved in the study, published in the journal Immunity, tells Reuters that scientists are working to find a treatment for sometimes-fatal bleeding in... More »

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medical breakthrough • health • antibiotics • medical research • treatment • illness • pneumonia • toxin

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