Researchers warn of risks posed by ‘contaminants of emerging concern’ found in crops, agricultural soil
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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 31-May-2026 12:15 ET (31-May-2026 16:15 GMT/UTC)
In a rare long-term public study that compared the effects of phytochemicals from rosemary and oregano with antibiotic growth promoters, animal scientists with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station found that the natural agents given to weaned pigs supported favorable gut health and growth performance later in their lives by preserving microbial diversity to improve nutrient utilization.
To help protect Americans from colorectal cancer, which is now the leading cause of cancer death for people under 50, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine filed a legal petition today urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to require warning labels on processed meat and poultry products, such as bacon, deli meat, and hot dogs, which have been classified as “carcinogenic to humans” because of their link to colorectal cancer.
USC physician-scientist Mohamed Abou-el-Enein, MD, PhD, has found himself in a win-win situation: winning not one but two awards from the American Society of Gene + Cell Therapy (ASGCT), the leading professional organization in the field.
The first award celebrates Abou-el-Enein as a 2026 Outstanding New Investigator based on his contributions to the field of gene and cell therapy within the first 10 years of his career as an independent investigator.
The second, the 2026 Best of Molecular Therapy Award, honors a paper from his lab that demonstrates exceptional novelty, innovation and scientific significance. This year’s award recognizes “High-dimensional temporal mapping of CAR T cells reveals phenotypic and functional remodeling during manufacturing” by first author Amaia Cadinanos-Garai. Additional authors are Christian L. Flugel, Anson Cheung, Enzi Jiang and Alix Vaissié from the Abou-el-Enein Lab and USC/Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) Cell Therapy Program.