While vast quantities of peels from the aloe vera plant are thrown out every year as agricultural waste, this natural ingredient has potential to be a powerful insecticide, new research suggests. “It’s likely that millions of tons of aloe peels are disposed of globally every year,” said principal investigator Debasish Bandyopadhyay, from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. “We wanted to find a way to add value and make them useful.” The plant’s rinds can naturally ward off bugs because of several bioactive compounds found in extracts from the peels. The researchers will present their results this week at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society, held online and in San Francisco. Bandyopadhyay noticed when he was visiting a local aloe vera production center, that insects left the aloe leaves alone, even as they attacked the leaves of other plants. He asked the CEO of the company if he could take the rinds back to his lab. While some home gardeners have begun to use aloe gel as an ingredient in natural pesticides, these recipes don’t always include the peels. Currently, aloe peels are typically used to create biomass to improve soil quality at aloe farms. However, this rotting agricultural waste can release methane and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to global climate change. Conversely, recycling the peels to develop a…  read on >  read on >

Mosquitoes can be a big pest, leaving behind itchy bumps on skin and potentially spreading serious diseases, such as West Nile virus. Sam Telford III is a professor of infectious disease and global health at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and a commissioner for the Central Massachusetts Mosquito Control Project. Some counties in his state have detected West Nile virus this summer, and he said the risk will peak in the next few weeks. That’s why it’s important to protect yourself from mosquitoes. But some products meant to deter them work, and others don’t do the job. What works & doesn’t Citronella, for example, is less effective than other products such as DEET, according to Telford. Patio appliances that heat repellents to keep groups safe outdoors were shown to be highly effective against four species of mosquitoes. Wearables, however, don’t reduce mosquitoes’ attraction to humans, Telford pointed out. While some think wearing long sleeves and long pants will help, keep in mind that mosquitoes can bite through tight-fitting clothing if it’s made of thin material. A better alternative is to wear loose-fitting clothing that has been treated with an insecticide like permethrin (0.5%). Use caution with clothing that is still wet from treatment. It is toxic to cats. Insect repellents with active ingredients such as DEET, picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon…  read on >  read on >

Punishing heat is a fact of life inside America’s prisons without air conditioning, and it is taking a serious toll on prisoners’ mental health. When the outside thermometer hits 90 degrees Fahrenheit or more, a new study shows that prison suicide risk jumps 36%, in comparison to when temperatures are in the 60s. The finding comes from a look at the Louisiana prison system, one of the largest in the United States. It has been embroiled in legal action due to lack of air conditioning and extreme heat. “Many of the spaces within prisons where incarcerated people eat, work and sleep do not have air conditioning,” said study author David Cloud, who led the study as a doctoral student at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta. The problem is particularly serious across the American South, Cloud said, pointing out that while extreme heat is dangerous for anyone in any environment, the prison population is particularly vulnerable. “We are all feeling the effects of extreme heat, and I think most people recognize how spending too much time in the heat can affect their energy levels, mood and overall state of well-being,” he said. “There is a reason that we have systems in place to warn people to take caution and adjust their daily routines when the heat becomes dangerous.” But, Cloud noted, there…  read on >  read on >

Many Americans diagnosed with cancer continue to drink alcohol regularly — sometimes heavily and sometimes during treatment, a new study shows. The study, of over 15,000 U.S. cancer survivors, found that 78% were current drinkers. And of them, significant percentages said they binged or engaged in other “risky” drinking. The same patterns were seen even among people undergoing cancer treatment. Experts said the findings are concerning, in part because alcohol increases the risk of certain cancers. Drinking during cancer treatment, meanwhile, may interfere with the effectiveness of some therapies or boost the chances of side effects. “There were a lot of risky drinking behaviors in this study, which is surprising,” said senior researcher Yin Cao, an associate professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. It is true, Cao said, that there is still a lot left to learn about how drinking — including problem drinking — affects cancer survivors’ health over the long haul. There’s limited information, for example, on whether drinking after a cancer diagnosis increases the chances of a recurrence. On the other hand, heavy drinking has well-known health hazards. And there already are “clear guidelines” encouraging everyone — cancer survivor or not — to limit their drinking, for a host of health reasons, Cao said. Those include guidelines from the American Cancer Society (ACS), which say that alcohol use…  read on >  read on >

Some menstrual products — pads, tampons, cups and underwear — contain harmful “forever chemicals,” according to new research into the contents of these essential items. Researchers analyzed more than 100 period products looking for fluorinated compounds, an indicator of potentially harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The products typically don’t list ingredients on their packaging. PFAS include more than 12,000 compounds that can resist water, stains and sticking. They don’t break down easily in the environment or the human body, but instead accumulate. While exposure to these compounds has been linked to some cancers and immune suppression, there are few regulatory limits on PFAS or period products in the United States or Europe. Researchers presented their findings Sunday at a meeting of the American Chemical Society, in San Francisco. “Of course, you’re concerned for the wearer, but we’re also concerned about the ecological impact because PFAS are ‘forever chemicals,’” said principal investigator Graham Peaslee, a professor of physics at the University of Notre Dame. “Once these products are thrown away, they go to landfills and decay, releasing PFAS into groundwater,” he said in a meeting news release. “And we, or later generations, could end up inadvertently ingesting them.” How much PFAS can pass from materials to skin is unknown. For this study, researchers analyzed a variety of period products, from single-use to reusable products.…  read on >  read on >