"After months of uncertainty over the future of the program, the Agricultural Marketing Service's Microbiological Data Program, which tests produce for disease-causing pathogens like E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Listeria, has officially gone into shutdown mode, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official confirmed Tuesday."

"Seville, with a population of about 300, is one of dozens of predominantly Latino unincorporated communities in the Central Valley plagued for decades by contaminated drinking water."

"A team led by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Public Health has found that the 'superbug' methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is prevalent at several U.S. wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs)."

"A Homeland Security Department undersecretary has told Janet Napolitano she has doubts about a new version of the nation's troubled system for detecting a biological attack."

"The West Nile virus epidemic of 2012, the worst in a decade, may be notorious for yet another reason: The virus, in some cases, is attacking the brain more aggressively than in the past, raising the specter that it may have mutated into a nastier form, say two neurologists who have extensive experience dealing with the illness."

"A week after Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast, parts of the Northeast are still reeling from the wind, rain and flooding. Though the darkened Manhattan skyline may be the hurricane's most obvious consequence, the storm's health impacts may be the more significant and longest-lasting."

"Voters in the city of Wichita rejected fluoridated water on Tuesday, as they did in 1964 and 1978."

"PHILADELPHIA -- Pennsylvania officials reported incomplete test results that omitted data on some toxic metals that were found in drinking water taken from a private well near a natural gas drilling site, according to legal documents released this week."

"How the industry kept scientists from asking: Does sugar kill?"

"Federal regulators have announced the results of a September inspection blitz targeting 13 coal mines in seven states 'previously cited for violations regarding respirable dust sampling ... inadequate dust control ... and hazard complaints' involving excessive coal dust."

"Heart attacks dropped by one-third in one county in Minnesota after two smoke-free workplace ordinances went into place, a new study shows."

"BEIJING — A week of protests against the planned expansion of a petrochemical plant in the port city of Ningbo turned violent on Friday and Saturday when demonstrators attacked police cars and tossed bricks and water bottles at officers, according to accounts from participants posted on the Internet."

"Despite sweeping reform of food safety laws intended to make what we eat less dangerous, the number of Americans falling ill or dying from contaminated food has increased 44% since last year, according to a report released Wednesday."

"Researchers say that some chemicals have unexpected and potent effects at very low doses — but regulators aren't convinced."

"San Onofre is among the facilities to be studied in the $2-million pilot program conducted by the National Academy of Sciences."