Word: toxins
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...news: the enzyme inhibitor is a known toxin to humans...
Just as alarming are new discoveries about unexpected sources of mercury contamination. While coal-fired power plants and chemical factories are familiar culprits, a recent study reveals that wetlands are mercury time bombs; if hit by wildfire, they release centuries' worth of accumulated toxin in a single, sudden blaze. In addition, there's a growing body of research that reveals the extent to which medium to high levels of exposure to the metal can harm adults as well as children, causing a wide range of ills--including fatigue, tremors, vision disorders and brain, kidney and circulatory damage. All told...
...testing their blood and feathers, Evers found that all of them were indeed contaminated, some in concentrations exceeding 0.1 parts per million. That doesn't sound like much, but it's a lot higher than it ought to be, and it's surely on the rise. So far, the toxin hasn't disrupted the birds' reproductive cycle, but researchers fear that it will before long. What's more, if the birds are contaminated, so are other animals that eat the same diet--not to mention predators that eat the birds. Says Evers: "It creeps up the food chain and continues...
...nearly succeeded. In 1997 two Israeli Mossad agents in Amman tried to assassinate Mashaal, who was allegedly running money and supplies to Palestinian militants in the occupied territories, by smearing his neck with poison. Both would-be assassins were caught, and as Mashaal was dying from the lethal toxin, Jordanian authorities made a deal: they would release the captured Mossad agents in exchange for an antidote to save Mashaal's life. The Israelis complied, and the uproar generated by the botched assassination attempt catapulted Mashaal to the top tier of Hamas' leadership, which had been depleted by Israel's targeted...
...after all, is an effective barrier against many kinds of threats. But anytime you get a break in that barrier--even a tiny cut--there's a chance some bacteria will get inside and infect the wound. What makes MRSA germs particularly dangerous is that they excrete a potent toxin that attacks the skin, causing an abscess that's often mistaken for a spider bite. Normally, the body can wall that area off. But if the infection spreads, treatment with antibiotics may be called...