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European E. coli outbreak becoming deadliest on record

A strain of E. coli causing severe kidney damage in hundreds and leading to at least 18 deaths in affected European countries has been the focus of increasing media attention worldwide, with headlines proclaiming the advent of an "entirely new super-toxic" bug, and warning of "mutant killer bacteria."

Researchers keeping a close eye on the situation say that this kind of language risks creating excessive hype, and is potentially misleading. Bacteria evolve continuously and swap genes on an ongoing basis, and it's still unclear whether we're dealing with a type of bug we've seen before.

"In the environment an E.coli type or strain picks up genetic material from other organisms leading to mixing of its genetic structure. It's a big natural experiment taking place in the environment," says Dr Fiona Thomson-Carter, General Manager of Environmental Health and currently acting CEO at ESR.

"New E. coli strains appear with some frequency, so this is not too surprising, and further the CDC reported today that this strain -- although rare -- has been seen clinically before," says Prof. Kurt Krause, Head of the Weber Centre for Infectious Disease at the University of Otago.

"What's potentially more important is the degree of pathogenicity displayed by this strain. We'll know more about this in the next few weeks, especially if we begin to see a wave of secondary infections. If the outbreak dies out after this wave of primary infections, as would be expected, that would be reassuring," he says.

The outbreak has led to a remarkably high incidence of complications, in particular a usually rare kidney disease. It is this aspect of the outbreak that is causing the most concern amongst researchers, with Dr Robert Tauxe of the US CDC affirming that it has caused more deaths and severe complications than any previous E. coli outbreaks.

For further comments on the outbreak from New Zealand and international researchers, see the SMC website.

News of an unrelated Japanese outbreak of E. coli, with links to Australian beef is also beginning to emerge. For comments check the AusSMC's website.

Cellphones 'Possibly Carcinogenic'

On Wednesday the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released a monograph classifying exposure to mobile phones as "possibly carcinogenic to humans", or in Group 2B by their classification system.

Based on their review of the available information (including last year's Interphone study), the WHO subsidiary agency found that wireless phone use may increase the risk of glioma, a malignant brain cancer. The official monograph release is available here.

While the announcement may sound dire, it must be noted that the the 2B classification in fact applies to many everyday substances including coffee, lead and gasoline. Although not proven to be carcinogenic, 2B agents are recognized as having at least some evidence to indicate a potential carcinogenic effect.

In response to the findings, Dr Martin Glendhill from the National Radiation Laboratory cautioned, "...this data is subject to a lot of uncertainty and it is acknowledged that biases in the data could be responsible for the apparent risk."

More research is called for to clarify the exact cancer risk - if any - posed by mobile phone use. Jonathon Semet, Chair of the IARC working group stated, "More people are using mobile phones...nearly five billion people worldwide. As the numbers continue to grow, people will be exposed for longer and longer...there's a need for further research and tracking."

Further expert commentary and a round-up of national media coverage are on the NZ SMC website. An Australian SMC briefing on the IARC process is also available.

Teen health report to guide policy

A comprehensive government report on adolescent health has highlighted the difficulties faced by New Zealand youth and provides a first step in minimising them.

On Wednesday the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor, Sir Peter Gluckman, launched the report, 'Improving the Transition: Reducing Social and Psychological Morbidity during Adolescence'.

The document draws on the expertise of dozens of scientists and health experts to create an evidence base on which future policy can be built.

The extensive report covered a wide range of topics such as alcohol and drug abuse, sexual health, education, depression, suicide and social media. It aims to provide a clear and scientific basis for policy makers to appraise initiatives and interventions for the future.

Speaking at the report launch Sir Peter stated, "There's no magic bullet here, we're going to have to take a long term view, if we are to improve the lot of young New Zealanders"

He also stressed the need for early intervention with at risk children, rather than picking up the pieces later, saying ''It is now clear that early childhood is the critical period in which executive functions such as the fundamentals of self-control are established.''

A podcast of Sir Peter and other experts speaking at the launch of the report, recorded by the SMC, is available here.

Our round up of national media coverage can be found here.

World Science Festival

href="http://r20.rs6.net/tnjsp?llr=oh9uarcab&et=1105773604468&s=112&e=001hLnnQQyE2fwRBkum2ruutWx1kwS9_WtWCAlITay2DwJmgEKxlAAv2zB7E1jAoI2Do2im_k2Xnfp-3qcU9PgkArDZmj_to-WN2HpMDVfcWsjzA6r1UWU0fg==" target="_blank">The World Science Festival is currently underway in New York.

The world's leading scientific minds join renowned artists and influential thinkers for a five-day celebration of science through discourse and debate, dance and theater, film, music and the visual arts.

As well as featuring world-famous actors and muscians, the festival boasts science superstars like James Watson, Oliver Sacks and Simon Singh.

Visit the website to see whats on and watch dozens of amazing events live via the web. The festival runs from the 1 - 5 of June.

Quoted: Otago Daily Times
"It's a matter of how one wishes to interpret the statement 'possibly causes cancer'"

Assoc. Prof Brian Cox, University of Otago
on the IARC 2B classification for cellphone exposure

New from the SMC

In the news:

Active games good for kids - A recent New Zealand study has examined the effects of playing 'active' video games, finding that the exercise component of such games can be beneficial for overweight kids. Writing for the New Zealand Herald, Martin Johnston covers the study.

Reflections on science:

Seismic fear mongering or time to jump ship? Following this weeks furor over canterbury earthquake risk, Dr Mark Quigley from Canterbury provides a clear analysis of how the odds of aftershocks are calculated.

Colin James on evidence-based policy - Writing his final column for the Dominion Post, Colin James examines some recent and upcoming situations that highlight a potential shift in government away from "kick-and-punch personality politics" and towards policy with a more scientific basis.

From the AusSMC:

Garnaut Climate Review - The AusSMC has collected expert comments regarding the recent release of the government commissioned Garnaut Review 2011, which covers Australia's future regarding climate change and carbon pricing.

Associate Professor Caroline Sullivan from Southern Cross University also provides her opinions about what the report's findings mean for taking action to minimise climate change.

Sciblogs highlights

Some of the highlights from this week's posts include:
Why waiology? - SciBlogs welcomes to the team hydrologist Daniel Collins, whose new blog explores the ebb and flow of water research in New Zealand.
Waiology

The veggie-burger disease? -Following the concerning European outbreaks, Siouxsie Wiles tackles the very topical issue of E coli food poisoning.
Infectious Thoughts

New fish species discovered on our doorstep - Peter Griffin looks back on the successful research expedition to the remote Kermedec Islands.
Griffins Gadgets

What Geeks can Learn from Gays - How can science raise its public profile? Michael Edmonds thinks there might be a thing or two to be learned from the gay community.
Molecular Matters

The sarcastic fringeheads - Alison Campbell presents a fish whose bizarre looks are only matched by its equally bizarre name.
Bio Blog

Space Archaeology and the Discovery of Buried Egypt - You can throw away the pick and shovel - satellites are the new archeological workhorse! Brigid Gallagher voyages to the final frontier.
Digging the Dirt

Christchurch No More Risky than Wellington. But Does That Make a Good News Story? - A shaken city, a media leak and some misrepresented stats. Geologist Jesse Dykstra slams the media circus that erupted this week over "23%" Canterbury quake odds.
Shaken not Stirred

Research highlights

Please note: hyperlinks point, where possible, to the relevant abstract or paper.

Active Gaming: Kids who engage in 'active' video games that require an physical action component - think Wii, Kinect and Playstation Move - have a lower body mass mass index (BMI) than their peers. The findings come from a study conducted by University of Auckland researchers and is the first large scale study of its kind globally.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Land use affects nitrate uptake in Taupo streams: Researchers have found that near Lake Taupo, streams originating from pine or pasture catchment areas have significantly higher rates of nitrogen uptake than streams originating from areas with native vegetation. However they also have much higher levels of nitrate export, leading researchers to conclude that overall sequestration of nitrogen in these environments is only temporary at best.
New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research

Biomarkers and disease, beware the hype: Frequently-cited studies involving associations of biomarkers often report effect sizes that are larger than estimates from meta-analyses evaluating the same associations. The findings come from a new study looking back over the results of initial studies declaring a strong association between a genetic variation or blood protein and a particular disease. An accompanying editorial emphasises the need for caution when interpreting results, stating that follow-up studies often find a less pronounced relationship.
Journal of the American Medical Association

'Big alcohol' needs watching: A new editorial in this week's PLoS Medicine states the influence of "Big Alcohol" in the health arena deserves as much scrutiny as Big Pharma and Big Tobacco, especially in light of evidence of bias in funded research, unsupported claims of benefit, and inappropriate promotion and marketing by the alcohol industry. The authors argue that the statistics about problem drinking are troubling enough, but what also demands more attention and research is the influence of the alcohol industry on health research, government policy, and public perceptions of the harms and benefits of alcohol.
PLoS Medicine

Single mums suffer in midlife: Unwed mothers face poorer health at midlife than do women who have children after marriage, according to a new United States study, which examined the researchers found that women who had their first child outside of marriage described their health as poorer at age 40 than did other moms. The authors of the study suggest that the result maybe the consequence of the high levels of stress and the poor economic conditions faced by single moms. The issue is of increasing importance as there are more single mothers than ever before approaching middle age.
American Sociological Review

Pasture reduces Auckland stream biodiversity: A study of Auckland streams has found that streams running through open pasture have less species diversity than streams surrounded by native forest or protected by trees.The authors of the study conclude that fencing and replanting native woody vegetation along riverbanks can effectively "replace" lost native forest cover, maintaining the biodiversity values of headwater streams at a similar level.
New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research

Bird migration surprises: Research from NIWA and the University of Auckland, investigating the annual movements of New Zealand seabirds migrating within the Pacific Ocean, has revealed that populations are genetically distinct, and have been for centuries as a result of their differing migration behavior. The researchers studied the migratory behaviour and genetics of two populations of Cook's petrel, a small seabird that breeds only in New Zealand. The study surprisingly revealed that the populations are not interbreeding despite the fact they could easily visit each others' colonies during breeding.
Nature Communications

Ocean acidification impacts clown fish hearing: A new study shows that when the brightly coloured tropical clown fish are reared in dissolved CO2 concentrations predicted to occur in the ocean by the end of this century, auditory responses to predator noises are lost. This suggests ocean acidification could have serious consequences for orientation, habitat selection and survival. Images available.
Biology Letters

Fiord-like landscape hidden beneath Antarctic ice: Marine data indicate that the land under East Antarctica formed between 34 and 14 million years ago. Researchers have now used extensive airborne ice-penetrating radar to map the subsurface of the basin. Their data allow a better understanding of the ice-sheet fluctuations that occurred when the land in this region was shaped. They reveal a complex landscape that was likely sculpted by a succession of different glacial configurations carving out large valleys.
Nature

Kids with divorced parents under-perform: Children whose parents get divorced generally don't experience detrimental setbacks in the pre-divorce period, but often fall behind their peers -- and don't catch up -- when it comes to math and interpersonal social skills after their parents begin the divorce process, according to a new study.
American Sociological Review

Studying the neural information super-highway: Tools for modeling traffic on the Internet and telephone systems have been co-opted into studying information flow in brain networks. A new study uses signal processing techniques commonly used for real world networks to assess how much information is being shuttled around a human brain. The researchers found that increased information from sources such as vision (i.e eyes open) caused variability in signal timing, reflecting increased neural "traffic" through the underlying brain regions.
PLoS Computational Biology

Woolly Genome reveals interbreeding: DNA-based study sheds new light on the complex evolutionary history of the woolly mammoth, suggesting it mated with a completely different and much larger species. The research, which appears in the BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology, found the woolly mammoth, which lived in the cold climate of the Arctic tundra, interbred with the Columbian mammoth, which preferred the more temperate regions of North America and was some 25 percent larger.
Genome Biology

Testosterone increases flirting in men: Researchers report a link between testosterone produced during competition between men and subsequent interactions with females. In their study, men engaged in a competitive computer games and had their blood testosterone levels measured. Following this, their interaction with unfamiliar woman was monitored. It was found that men who had the biggest increases in testosterone showed more interest in the woman, made more eye contact, smiled more and talked about themselves more.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Shame and honour drive cooperation: Public shame might seem like a medieval concept but it is experiencing a resurrection with tools like YouTube and Facebook. Can the threat of being shamed or the prospect of being honoured lead to greater cooperation? Researchers from Canada report the threat of shame increases group cooperation by 50 per cent.
Journal of the Royal Society Biology Letters

Ancient hominid's stay-at-home males: New research examining teeth from a group of extinct Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus individuals from two adjacent cave systems in South Africa, has found that more than half of the female teeth were from outside the local area. In contrast, only about 10 percent of the male hominid teeth were from elsewhere, suggesting they likely grew up and died in the same area.
Nature

Lamb poo acts as bacterial reservoir: A study of the pathogens carried by sheep and lamb feces has revealed that lambs can carry significantly higher amounts of E. coli and enterococci bacteria in their waste than sheep, but that levels across age groups are generally low. However, the authors suggest that lambs may contribute to Cryptosporidium contamination of pasture waterways as this study and others have found high levels of the bacteria in lamb feces.
New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research

Policy updates

Some of the highlights of this week's policy news :

Kiwifruit limits placed - MAF has placed restrictions around the movement of kiwifruit nursery plants and material, as part of the ongoing programme to contain the spread of the kiwifruit vine bacterial disease PSA.

H&S report in - Health and safety management is improving but New Zealand can do better to reduce death and injury rates at work, according to a new indicator report released this week.

Ocean protection law -New laws to manage the environmental effects of activities like petroleum exploration and mining within New Zealand waters were announced yesterday by Environment Minister Nick Smith.

EPA Board announced - The Board of the new Environmental Protection Authority was announced by Environment Minister Nick Smith and includes Kerry Prendergast as Chair.

Upcoming sci-tech events

Biophysical Limits and their Policy Implications - Conference - 8-9 June, Wellington

The Challenges of Climate Change and Planetary Limits, and the Implications for Policy Research - seminar by Dr Steve Hatfield-Dodds - 10 June, Wellington.

For these and more upcoming events, and more details about them, visit the SMC's Events Calendar.

ENDS

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