Bacteria

An analysis of mice in the Big Apple finds that many harbor bacteria that can make humans sick if exposed to the animals' droppings. Some of the bacterial strains were resistant to antibiotics.

Manufacturers didn't provide data showing the chemicals are safe and effective, the FDA says. It says there's no evidence that they do a better job at preventing illness than plain soap and water.

The outbreak of drug-thwarting bacteria that contributed to the deaths of two patients at a UCLA hospital isn't likely to spread further, doctors say. Still, drug resistance is trouble nationwide.

The government wants to make your chicken meat safer to handle. The USDA is proposing legal limits on the chicken parts that are contaminated with salmonella bacteria.

A natural compound kills germs that have become resistant to antibiotics, researchers say. If it works in humans, it could help combat diseases like tuberculosis.

Penicillin, the wonder drug discovered in 1928, works in ways that are still mysterious almost a century later. One of the oldest and most widely used…

In the first study to look at would-be diseases carried by New York City rats, scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia…

In many countries, eggs aren't refrigerated and they're still considered safe to eat. But in the U.S., we have to chill them, because we've washed away the cuticle that protects them from bacteria.

http://media.soundmedicine.org/segments/122108_full.mp3Topics for this week include: Holiday Medical Myths Debunked; Did You Know?: Women's Heart Attacks…