Health News: how caramel apples caused that listeria outbreak ♦ Switching off streetlights at night does not increase car crashes ♦ Effects over time of tobacco tax increases i

Experts determined how caramel apples caused that listeria outbreak In November 2014, health officials began investigating two concerning clusters of Listeria infections that seemed to be related. The two strains of bacteria had already killed at least five people and hospitalized a few dozen others by the time they got on the case, and they wanted to find the source and stop it as quickly as...

Switching off streetlights at night does not increase car crashes, crime Reduced street lighting in England and Wales is not associated with road traffic collisions or crime, according to research. The study suggests that local authorities can safely reduce street lighting at night, saving energy costs and reducing carbon emissions

Effects over time of tobacco tax increases in New Zealand Annual 10 percent tobacco tax increases in New Zealand over the next 20 years should lead to health gains, net health system cost savings and modest reductions of about 2 percent to 3 percent in health inequalities between indigenous and non-indigenous people, according to a new study.

Free radicals may not be so destructive after all New research challenges the most popular theory about why our bodies deteriorate in old age. Scientists know that as we grow older our cells accumulate particles, called free radicals. It has long been thought that free radicals wreak havoc by damaging proteins and impairing their function – but the new research shows that proteins can survive unscathed.

Exercise mimic molecule may help treat diabetes and obesity Scientists have developed a molecule that acts as an exercise mimic, which could potentially help treat type 2 diabetes and obesity. The new molecule, called 'compound 14', inhibits the function of a cellular enzyme called ATIC, which is involved in metabolism, leading to the build-up of a molecule called ZMP in cells. This increase in ZMP makes cells think that they have run out of energy by activating the cell's central energy sensor, known as AMPK, thereby causing cells to try and increase their energy levels by increasing glucose uptake and metabolism