October 2004

A team of University of Florida researchers has created tiny hybrid particles that can speedily root out even one isolated E. coli bacterium lurking in ground beef or provide a crucial early warning alarm for bacteria used as agents of bioterrorism and for early disease diagnosis.
The study will appear this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Our focus is the development of a bionanotechnology that combines the strengths of nanotechnology and biochemistry to generate a new type of ‘bionanomaterial,’ which has some unique properties,” said Weihong Tan, a UF Research Foundation professor of chemistry and associate director of UF’s Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface. “Because of these properties, we’re able to finish the detection of a single bacterium in 20 minutes.”Continue Reading UF scientists have bionanotechnology recipe to find elusive bacteria

Science News did a story today on E. coli:
Escherichia coli is one of the most dangerous agents of food-borne disease and ingesting contaminated food or water can be deadly, especially for children or the elderly. Quick and accurate testing is crucial for avoiding potential infections, but in order to be effective many current…

A yard sale to benefit 3-year-old Jason “J.J.” Hensley Jr. will be 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday through Oct. 16 at Apartment 155, County Road 177 off Highway 5 South.
Hensley is hospitalized at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock for complications of E. coli. His hospitalization follows the premature birth of a sister, Alyssa, a…

Chris Cline of the Daily Journal reports today that two-year-old Emilie Allen is breathing on her own for the first time in over a week. The Bonne Terre girl was placed on life support on Sept. 29 after having difficulty breathing due to complications of E. coli 0157:H7. Allen came off the ventilator early Friday…

The Greenwood Commonwealth reports that Ken Spencer, the Leflore County Sheriff’s Department’s chief investigator, says he’s doing a lot better and he’s hoping to come home soon. Spencer, 43, was hospitalized in St. Dominic’s Hospital in Jackson last week for kidney failure and an E. coli infection.
Spencer, who has worked for the Sheriff’s Department…

The Almanac did an article yesterday on our firm’s lawsuit against Sodexho on behalf of Sarah Ish, one of 10 residents of The Sequoias hospitalized for E. coli during the two-week outbreak. Her suit was filed September 23 in San Mateo County Superior Court.
From the article:

Mr. Marler, who handles many cases related to

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The Daily Journal did a story on a 2-year-old girl who is on life-support. The mother of the girl said she believes her daughter Emily and her 1-year-old son Carter contracted E. coli on Sept. 18.
The St. Francois County Health Department acknowledged Thursday a presumptive case of E. coli that has been reported in…

The Ig Nobel prize in Public Health went to Jillian Clarke, now a student at Howard University in Washington, for testing the validity of the idea that dropped food is safe to eat if it has spent no more than five seconds on the floor.
In tests with floor tiles deliberately contaminated with E. coli,…