News
How Cranberries Impact Infection-Causing Bacteria
July 15th 2013Consuming cranberry products has been anecdotally associated with prevention of urinary tract infections (UTIs) for over 100 years. But is this popular belief a myth, or scientific fact? In recent years, some studies have suggested that cranberries prevent UTIs by hindering bacteria from sticking to the walls of the urinary tract, thanks to phytochemicals known as proanthocyanidins (PACs). Yet the mechanisms by which cranberry materials may alter bacterial behavior have not been fully understood.
Black-Legged Ticks Linked to Encephalitis in New York State
July 15th 2013The number of tick-borne illnesses reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is on the rise. Lyme disease leads the pack, with some 35,000 cases reported annually. In the Northeast, the black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) that spread Lyme disease also infect people with other maladies, among them anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and as a new paper in the journal Parasites and Vectors reports Powassan encephalitis.
