Health Highlights: Feb. 6, 2008

Chinnery and his colleagues used normal embryos created by a man and a woman who had defective mitochondria (a cell's energy source) in her eggs. Mistakes in the genetic code of mitochondria can cause serious problems such as epilepsy and mental retardation in children.

The researchers transplanted the embryos from that couple into emptied eggs donated by a second woman who had healthy mitochondria. So far, the researchers have used this method to create 10 embryos, which haven't been allowed to develop for more than five days, theAPreported.

If further tests over the next few years prove successful, the process might become available to parents undergoing in-vitro fertilization, Chinnery said.

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FDA Warns of Food Poisoning From Gulf Coast Fish

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory Tuesday to seafood processors on recent foodborne illnesses linked to fish carrying the ciguatera toxin.

The toxic fish were harvested in the Gulf of Mexico, near Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary south of the Texas-Louisiana coastline, according toUPI.

Several recent illnesses of ciguatera fish poisoning, or CFP, have been confirmed in Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, Mo., the FDA said, and the illnesses were linked to fish caught near the marine sanctuary. According to theAssociated Press, there have been at least 28 reported cases across the country, with the first case being reported in late November.

The FDA said it now considers CFP a food safety hazard likely to occur in grouper, snapper, and hogfish captured within 10 miles of the marine sanctuary and in amberjack, barracuda and other wide-ranging species captured within 50 miles of the sanctuary.

Ciguatera poisoning is caused by the consumption of tropical reef fish that have assimilated ciguatoxins through the marine food chain from toxic microscopic algae. The toxins that cause ciguatera cannot be destroyed by cooking or freezing, and toxic fish do not look or taste differently from nontoxic fish. The only way to detect CFP is through laboratory testing, the FDA said.

Symptoms of ciguatera poisoning include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, headache, vertigo and muscular weakness.

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Olivier Dip Recalled

Possible contamination withClostridium botulinumhas prompted a voluntary recall of Parmesan & Asiago Dip with Garlic & Basil, made by Olivier Olive Oil Products, Inc. of St. Helena, Calif.

The dip was distributed to William-Sonoma retail stores nationwide and to Olivier Napa Valley retail stores located in Truckee and St. Helena, California. The recall covers dip with the following lot codes: OPA 34171; OPA 23471; OAP 17271; OAP 17671; OAP 36061; OAP 36161; OPA 33961. The lot code information is located on the side of the glass jar where there is no label. The recalled dip is in 11.76 ounce jars.

Clostridium botulinumbacteria can cause life-threatening illness or death. Symptoms of botulism include: general weakness, dizziness, double-vision and trouble with speaking or swallowing. Difficulty in breathing, weakness of other muscles, abdominal distension and constipation may also be common symptoms. People experiencing these problems should seek immediate medical attention. There have been no reported illnesses in relation to the recalled dip.