Persistent and potentially dangerous mold is a problem mostly in New Orleans, where buildings spent days and in many cases weeks under water. That's more than enough time for moisture to permeate walls and floors and provide an ideal growth medium for mold.

Health and environmental officials Wednesday urged residents returning to flood-affected areas to quickly clean up mold contamination to avoid potential illnesses. Small amounts of mold can be cleaned by homeowners themselves. Moldy surfaces over 10 square feet require professional removal, said Steven Redd, MD, chief of the CDC's Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch.

"Those [surfaces] that can't be cleaned need to be removed," Redd told reporters.

The dog flu is almost identical to a horse flu that's been in the U.S. for a long time.

Humans don't get the virus from horses. And they probably won't get it from dogs, says Ruben Donis, DVM, PhD, chief of the molecular genetics section at the Influenza Branch of the CDC.

The dog flu is known medically as the H3N8 influenza virus.

"H3N8 has been in horses for over 40 years. In all these years we have never been able to document a single human infection," Donis says. "That is not to say there isn't any risk. We will monitor all possible human exposures, but at this point there is no reason to panic."

A newly discovered virus has killed dogs in at least seven states, and veterinarians, kennel operators and pet owners are concerned because researchers say there is no vaccine and dogs do not have immunity to the new flu.

Dr. Cynda Crawford, an immunologist at the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine, said in an audio interview posted on the university Web site that the disease is only deadly in rare cases -- about 10 percent in puppies and old dogs -- but is of concern because it is spreading rapidly.

A healthy skin sample is taken from the patient, and split in the laboratory to separate out the surface cells, known as keratinocytes.

These cells are then cultured for two to three weeks, and made up into a suspension.

At the same time other skin cell tissue from the patient is put through a different type of meshing machine, known as a meek mesher.

Instead of creating a string vest pattern of tissue, this machine cuts the skin sample into tiny little squares.

The cultured cells are then sprayed on to the small pieces of tissue and combine to create new skin for the patient.

Getting a quick result is important for hospital screening and isolating infected patients to prevent disease outbreaks.

The e-nose gives a result within minutes, which is much faster than the current way of analysing ear, nose and throat swabs, which involves sending samples off to the lab and waiting 72 hours for a result.

Tests on hospital patients showed it could correctly detect three strains of Staph aureus, including MRSA, with more than 99% accuracy.

However, it cannot yet distinguish MRSA from its close cousin MSSA (methicillin-sensitive Staph aureus), which does respond to convetional antibiotics unlike MRSA.

Health officials fear that if the virus combines with the human influenza virus, it could become highly infectious and lead to a global flu pandemic.

According to the BBC correspondent in Jakarta, Rachel Harvey, the increase in the number of suspected cases in Indonesia could be partly due to an increase in public awareness.

There is now saturation coverage of the bird flu outbreak on television, radio and in newspapers, she says.

"With increased surveillance its not unusual that you would pick up more cases," said Dr Margaret Chan, the WHO's representative on bird flu.

Released yesterday, the annual survey of employers' health benefits found that for the first time in nearly a decade, less than half of businesses with nine or fewer workers offer health insurance. Among those small firms, 47 percent provided coverage in 2005, down from 58 percent in 2002 and 53 percent in 1996.

"Small businesses have made the call that to stay alive, health care isn't something they can provide. I think it's a tragic calculation," said Peter Lee, president of Pacific Business Group on Health, which buys health insurance for large employers.

"The danger of that is that small business is the driver of the American economy," he said.

The survey also found that the cost of health insurance for working Americans grew by 9.2 percent this year, ending four consecutive years of double-digit increases but still far outpacing the rate of inflation. Premiums increased an average of 11.2 percent in 2004.

A team from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has shown that by using a cancer vaccine based on the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, they can cure mice with established breast tumors. Cancer vaccines, which are more properly described as immunotherapy, work by boosting an immune response against tumor-associated antigens. Using Listeria, the researchers, led by Yvonne Paterson, PhD, Professor of Microbiology, delivered the tumor-associated antigen HER-2/Neu to immune cells. HER-2/Neu is overexpressed in 20 to 40 percent of all breast cancers and also present in many cancers of the ovaries, lung, pancreas, and gastrointestinal tract. These cells eventually enlist killer T cells to seek out and destroy the tumor cells that display the HER-2/Neu molecule.

"We found that we can stop the tumor from growing out to 100 days, at which time we stopped measuring since this is a long time for experiments of this type," says Paterson. "The tumors stopped growing or went completely away." The researchers published their findings in the September 15 issue of The Journal of Immunology.

"It took a while to dissect what elements of an immune response were best able to cause the rejection of established tumors," she says. "But in the last couple of years it has paid off and we are very excited to see the technology finally being tested in cancer patients. The dream of the cancer immunotherapist is to provide an alternative and more humane way of controlling metastatic disease than current chemotherapies."

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Stephen Johnson said samples of floodwater in New Orleans were "highly contaminated with bacteria, both E (Escherichia) coli and coliform, and high levels of lead".

He told the CNBC network that tests are being done on sediment, which is contaminated in some areas with a lot of oil and which scientists say could store chemical toxins for years.

"Obviously, we're concerned about both the ecological effects of the storm as well as effects on industry, particularly the fishing industry," Johnson said.

In a teleconference with journalists, environmental scientists underlined that the EPA needs to stay vigilant.

Kauffman, who was the chief investigator for the 9/11 clean up, also said that the Bush administration engaged in the same practice after 9/11?covering up the truth about the dangers in the air and water and lying to the public in the weeks after the disaster. Kauffman said that over 75% of the heroes who responded to 9/11 have gotten sick and in some cases have died because of exposure to toxins at Ground Zero, and that he fears a similar fate will befall relief workers and residents in the Gulf Coast now.

All the 1,000 children studied were born between April 1972 and March 1973.

At age five, seven, nine and 11, parents were asked how much TV they watched. At ages 13 and 15, the teenagers themselves were questioned.

Between the ages of five and 15, children were found to watch an average of 2.33 hours of TV per weeknight. Aged 13 to 15, they watched an average of 24.6 per week. At each age, the amount of TV watched was consistent with the child's BMI.

The links were stronger in girls, which the researchers say may be linked to the differences in lifestyle and physical make-up of between teenage boys and girls.

Scientists from Denmark drew their conclusions after studying 6,689 women over a period of 18 years, and speculated that it may be because daily stress suppressed production of estrogen, which is a risk factor in breast cancer.

"Prolonged-low key stress of everyday life results in a persistent activation of stress hormones which may impair estrogen synthesis and may therefore be related to lower risk of breast cancer," they wrote.

However, they warned that stress was not a health cure, given that high levels had also been associated with increased risk of potential killers like heart disease.

They also noted that their findings were at odds with studies in Finland and Sweden -- the former found no link between daily stress and breast cancer while the latter found a direct association with higher risk.

Carbon nanotubes, incredibly strong molecules just billionths of a meter wide, can function as scaffolds for bone regrowth, according to researchers led by Robert Haddon at the University of California at Riverside. They have found a way to create a stronger and safer frame than the artificial bone scaffolds currently in use.

Human bones are both organic and inorganic. The organic part is made of collagen, the most abundant protein in mammals. The inorganic component is hydroxyapatite, a type of calcium crystal. The collagen forms a sort of natural scaffold over which the calcium crystals organize into bone. The idea in Haddon's research is to use the nanotubes as substitutes for the collagen to promote new bone growth when bones have been broken or worn down.

"Nanotubes are already a big deal in the rubber and elastomer industries," Tour said. "It's going to be a big deal in the medical industry. When we talk about enhancing rigidity in the medical field, one immediately thinks of bones. That's a good place to start."

Vibrio vulnificus is a bacterium that lives in warm seawater. People usually get it by eating contaminated seafood or by exposure to tainted seawater through an open wound. People with weak immune systems (especially those with chronic liver disease) are more vulnerable to it.

"All of these things could persist in the environment around the flooded area for quite some time," even once the water is gone, says Alm.

"There have been a number of scientific studies that have shown that these bacteria and viruses can persist in sediments [and] soils," she says. "One of the things that we've been looking at in particular is these bacteria. They seem to be pretty stable in the environment."

"Americans get more of their antioxidants from coffee than any other dietary source. Nothing else comes close," says study leader Joe Vinson, Ph.D., a chemistry professor at the university. Although fruits and vegetables are generally promoted as good sources of antioxidants, the new finding is surprising because it represents the first time that coffee has been shown to be the primary source from which most Americans get their antioxidants, Vinson says. Both caffeinated and decaf versions appear to provide similar antioxidant levels, he adds.

He cautions that high antioxidant levels in foods and beverages don't necessarily translate into levels found in the body. The potential health benefits of these antioxidants ultimately depends on how they are absorbed and utilized in the body, a process that is still poorly understood, says Vinson, whose study was primarily funded by the American Cocoa Research Institute.

Besides keeping you alert and awake, coffee has been linked to an increasing number of potential health benefits, including protection against liver and colon cancer, type 2 diabetes, and Parkinson's disease, according to some recently published studies. But there's also a downside: Java can make you jittery and cause stomach pains, while some studies have tied it to elevated blood pressure and heart rates. More research is needed, particularly human studies, to firmly establish its health benefits, Vinson says.

While the findings would seem to encourage people to go out and drink more coffee, Vinson emphasizes moderation. "One to two cups a day appear to be beneficial," he says. If you don't like coffee, consider drinking black tea, which is the second most consumed antioxidant source in the U.S. diet, Vinson says. Bananas, dry beans and corn placed third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said his agency is concerned about potential disease outbreaks and was sending medical experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He urged residents of the coastal area to boil water and follow food safety precautions as well as to avoid situations that might lead to carbon monoxide poisoning from generators.

"You have sewage contaminating the water supply," said Dr. Irwin Redlener, head of Columbia University's National Center for Disaster Preparedness. "You not only have the danger of the sewage itself, the need for water is one of the primary needs that must be fulfilled and people will drink dirty water, if they get thirsty enough."

Even if non-contaminated water can be found to drink, the water flooding homes and streets may pose a significant hazardous material situation.

"There's all the chemicals within the city -- from the gasoline storage facilities, storage plants, and of course coffins. We will have a large number of coffins released," explained Ivor van Heerden, director of the Center for the Study of Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes in Baton Rouge. "This all mixed together in New Orleans is what we term this 'toxic gumbo.'"

Apparently emergency workers have already reported corpses floating in the flood waters, and experts in infectious diseases warn the flood waters might also carry epidemic-causing diseases such as typhoid fever, cholera and leptospirosis.

In a swamp area such New Orleans, there is also a serious risk from mosquito- borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and West Nile virus.

As disease spreads and emergency workers struggle to treat those most vulnerable, the combination of contaminated water, a lack of sanitation, and heat, could help trigger the spread of a number of bacteria such as E.coli and salmonella.