Health News :Blue bell creameries suspends operations at Oklahoma plant ♦ Food service permit suspended at arizona winery ♦ Shigella infections becoming resistant to antibiotic

Blue bell creameries suspends operations at Oklahoma plant following listeria outbreak After Listeria in ice cream from Blue Bell Creameries sickened five adults in Kansas, the company announced Friday that it is voluntarily suspending operations at its manufacturing plant in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

Food service permit suspended at arizona winery The Pinal County Public Health Services District has temporarily suspended the food establishment permit of the Windmill Winery in Florence, AZ, after a wedding at the facility on March 19 was linked to a Salmonella outbreak.

CDC: Shigella  infections becoming resistant to recommended antibiotic Research conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests a greater proportion of Shigella infections in the United States are now resistant to a very important antibiotic. Shigella causes an estimated 500,000 cases of diarrhea in the United States annually ..

DNA can't explain all inherited biological traits, research shows  Characteristics passed between generations are not decided solely by DNA, but can be brought about by other material in cells, new research shows. Scientists studied proteins found in cells, known as histones, which are not part of the genetic code, but act as spools around which DNA is wound. Histones are known to control whether or not genes are switched on

'Open' stem cell chromosomes reveal new possibilities for diabetes Cells of the intestine, liver and pancreas are difficult to produce from stem cells. Scientists have discovered that chromosomes in laboratory stem cells open slowly over time, in the same sequence that occurs during embryonic development. It isn't until certain chromosomal regions have acquired the 'open' state that they are able to respond and become liver or pancreatic cells.

Health Research: Antibacterial plastic: Plastic plus egg whites ♦ Harmless bacteria helpful against meningococcal outbreaks ♦ Painful knee and hand osteoarthritis

Black patients more likely to be readmitted after hip, knee replacement surgery  A new study found that black and Hispanic patients were 62 and 50 percent, respectively, more likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days after total joint replacement surgery

Harmless bacteria may be helpful against meningococcal outbreaks  Nasal drops of harmless bacteria can inhibit a related bug that sometimes causes meningococcal disease, according to new findings. The study -- conducted among college students, a group at higher risk for this often serious illness -- suggests a new approach that could help suppress outbreaks of the disease,

Recycling histones through transcription  Cells reuse a part of the histones which are used to pack DNA, according to research conducted on yeast cells. However, researchers say that it is likely that similar mechanisms are important for human beings as well.

Recipe for antibacterial plastic: Plastic plus egg whites  Bioplastics made from protein sources such as albumin and whey have shown significant antibacterial properties, findings that could eventually lead to their use in plastics used in medical applications such as wound healing dressings, sutures, catheter tubes and drug delivery, according to a recent study.

Is painful knee and hand osteoarthritis in women associated with excess mortality?  Researchers present a study that compares mortality rates of women with painful knee and hand osteoarthritis with the mortality of unaffected women from the same community; demonstrates higher risk of early death in the group with painful knee osteoarthritis.