Health News: Foodborne illness sickens over 80 child protection employees ♦ CDC 1 death 24 Illnesses in listeria outbreak linked to soft cheese

Foodborne illness sickens more than 80 Ontario child protection employees More than 80 child protection employees in Brantford, Ontario, were reportedly sickened by a foodborne illness after a recent day-long stress management conference. Andy Koster, executive director of Brant Family and Children’s Services, said that between 80-100 workers had called in sick starting last Friday,

CDC 1 death 24 Illnesses in listeria outbreak linked to soft cheese Whole genome sequencing has allowed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to connect at least 24 Listeria infections over the past five years to soft cheese. The 24 illnesses in nine states have been report since Aug. 8, 2010. One death was reported from Ohio. Twenty-one people were hospitalized. Five illnesses were pregnancy-related; one resulted in a fetal loss

.Novel mechanism of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes Insensitivity to insulin, also called insulin resistance, is associated with type 2 diabetes and affects several cell types and organs in the body. Now, scientists have discovered a mechanism that explains how insulin-producing cells can be insulin resistant and insulin sensitive at the same time. The findings may lead to future novel treatment strategies for type 2 diabetes,

Silk and ceramics offer hope for long-term repair of joint injuries Driven by the need to develop more effective therapies requiring less recovery time for common joint conditions such as osteoarthritis, an international team of researchers has developed an integrated two-part scaffold for implantation into damaged joints -- with cartilage scaffold made from silk, and bone scaffold made from ceramics. This combination of materials allows stem cells to successfully populate the graft and differentiate into cartilage and bone cells. The cells fill the damaged areas to reconstitute the original structure of the joint, after which the scaffold biodegrades, leaving the smooth surface required for a pain-free, functioning interface.

Patients with type 2 diabetes should be prioritized for obesity surgery When considering overall costs of healthcare, obese patients with type 2 diabetes, especially those with recent disease onset, should be prioritized for obesity surgery over those without type 2 diabetes, experts say, since many patients see a reversal of diabetes after surgery and thus need fewer expensive diabetes medications or treatment for complications in future