Whole Foods is ordering a massive recall of one type of its cheese from its stores nationwide after Food and Drug Administration officials found Listeria in a sample test.

FDA officials discovered that there was Listeria Monocytogenes in an uncut wheel of one particular cheese: Papillion Organic Roquefort. As a result, the stores are ordered to get rid of them as soon as possible, regardless of the sale-by date, according to an ABC Radio report.

A statement was posted on Whole Foods’ website that all of this type of cheese would be recalled.

No illnesses have been reported yet, but that doesn’t mean the company is in the clear. It can take up to 60 days for Listeria to incubate after infecting someone, making it tough to track the disease.

Listeria infections are quite deadly, with a 20 percent mortality rate. They mostly affect the very young, very old, and people with compromised immune systems. They can also make pregnant women very sick and can result in a miscarriage.

Listeria is usually accompanied by high fever, headaches and stiffness, and abdominal pain and diarrhea. It is usually transferred into the body by eating tainted food, so people should take proper precautions both in preparing and storing food in order to avoid getting an infection.

The first documented case of Listeria was in 1924 after two researchers independently discovered a bacteria tied to animal outbreaks. They wanted to name it Listerella in honor of pioneering surgeon Joseph Lister, but that was taken by other bacteria and therefore it was given the name Listeria. Listeriosis is described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as “a serious infection usually caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, is an important public health problem in the United States.”

Whole Foods’ statement on why they were ordering the recall: “Whole Foods Market is recalling cheese sold in all stores nationwide that came from its supplier because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women. Consumers should seek immediate medical care if they develop these symptoms.”

A new drug called ocrelizumab has just passed two large clinical trials with flying colors, cutting multiple sclerosis relapses by nearly 50 percent.

The drug, produced by Switzerland-based company Roche, beat out Merck’s Rebif — an older treatment — which has a strong track record, according to a Reuters report.

In addition, ocrelizumab cut by a quarter the advancement toward disability in patients in a separate study for those with primary progressive multiple sclerosis, which affects 15 percent of patients. There is not yet any treatment at all for this form of the disease.

Ocrelizumab does not have the severe side effects of other drugs out there — the most potent of which are used to treat more advanced stages of the disease. If this effectiveness can be proven, this along with the low side effects could make it the next MS miracle drug that could make the manufacturer billions of dollars per year, and potentially improve the quality of countless lives for those suffering from MS.

The findings were presented at a congress in Barcelona, Spain. In the trials, Rebif cut relapses by a third, but the new drug showed drops of 46 and 47 percent, a huge improvement. Roche will try to get it approved by regulators early next year, which means it could release it to the market in about a year’s time.

The fact that ocrelizumab is gentle on patients is important, because MS sufferers have an abnormal immune system, and the more potent drugs have some unpleasant side effects.

The new drug would be administered via intravenous drip — not ideal for patients, but it can be timed with regular neurologist visits to minimize inconvenience.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society says that MS is an “an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body,” its website states. “The cause of MS is still unknown – scientists believe the disease is triggered by as-yet-unidentified environmental factor(s) in a person who is genetically predisposed to respond.”

“In multiple sclerosis (MS), damage to the myelin coating around the nerve fibers in the central nervous system (CNS) and to the nerve fibers themselves interferes with the transmission of nerve signals between the brain, spinal cord and the rest of the body,” the site adds. “Disrupted nerve signals cause the symptoms of MS, which vary from one person to another and over time for any given individual, depending on where the damage occurs. The diagnosis of MS requires evidence of at least two areas of damage in the CNS, which have occurred at different times.”

Many consumers want to know whether antibiotics were used in producing the meat we eat. Now a California law is about to make it easier to find antibiotic-free meat.

This weekend, California is expected to adopt a state law severely limiting the use of antibiotics in meat production, according to Time magazine. Major food companies including McDonald’s, Tyson and Foster Farms have previously announced voluntary steps to source meat from producers that avoid antibiotics, but California’s law will make the state the first with legal limits on the use of the drugs.

In much livestock farming, most antibiotics are used not to treat disease but to avoid health problems related to crowded conditions or to promote faster growth. Under the California law, antibiotics could be used only with a veterinarian’s prescription.

Growing rates of antibiotic-resistant diseases in humans has spotlighted the use of the drugs in livestock production. Many public health experts are concerned that the massive use of antibiotics in factory farming for growth promotion and sub-therapeutic uses could spur the spread of resistant diseases from animals to humans.

More than two million people annually are infected with resistant bacteria, with 20,000 deaths. California’s position as the country’s largest agricultural state suggests the state’s law may have an impact nationwide.

It may sound obvious that having sex more often can increase the odds of having a baby. But two new studies have found surprising new effects on women’s fertility from regular sexual activity.

While common fertility recommendations suggest to women that sex during ovulation is most important for conception, the new studies found that even when women had sex outside the timeframe for ovulation, their bodies were producing higher levels of certain cells that are believed to help prepare for pregnancy. The studies were conducted by the Kinsey Institute, according to the Huffington Post.

One of the studies followed thirty women, sixteen of whom were sexually active and fourteen who abstained from sex, through all phases of their monthly cycles. In the women who were sexually active, the Kinsey researchers found higher levels of so-called type 1 and 2 helper T cells, which boost the immune system and aid in preparing for pregnancy, respectively.

The second study showed similar changes in the T cells and also found increased levels in proteins that the cells use to communicate pregnancy readiness.

The lead researcher noted that the studies are the first to show that sexual activity may cause a boost in the bodies’ immune system that is linked to cellular changes that support conception.

A 20-month-old toddler has died after his family visited a petting zoo at the county fair.

Authorities believe that a deadly strain of E. coli was the culprit in Colton Guay’s death, which likely was caused by contact with animals at a petting zoo at the Oxford County Fair, according to a Fox News report.

Most strains of E. coli are harmless, but this particular strain was a deadly one that can result in anemia and kidney failure. Children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems are most at risk to this disease, which caused Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in Colton. HUS destroys red blood cells and disables the filtering system of the kidneys, which has the end result of organ failure. HUS is the most common cause of kidney failure in children, based on National Institutes of Health data as reported by Fox.

It has not been confirmed that the petting zoo caused Colton to come down with an infection, but authorities strongly suspect this to be the case because another toddler has contracted HUS that was also at the petting zoo.

Colton’s father, Jon Guay, and his wife Beth were reportedly devastated. Jon Guay posted on his Facebook page that they had experienced a very painful event and had to endure taking their son to the hospital and watching him suffer from severe diarrhea and brain seizures, until he eventually died at the hospital. This event happened around the same time as the couple got news that they were expecting a girl in February.

There is “no pain worse than losing the life of your [child],” he said in the post.

Testing companies have long promised consumer genetic testing for a wide range of health conditions, but to date much of the testing has been seen by many scientists as speculative. Now in a reversal, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the green light to one test offered by a California gene testing firm.

Nearly two years ago, the FDA ordered the gene testing firm 23andMe to halt its direct-to-consumer sales of screenings it was offering for health issues, including tests that purported to show clients whether they have an increased risk of conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s disease to breast cancer, to addiction and dozens more. At the time, the company ceased its sales of such tests in the U.S., according to Fast Company.

But the company continued selling the screenings in other countries, and in the U.S. consumers could still receive ancestry testing from 23andMe.

Now FDA has for the first time approved a 23andMe genetic test for a disease. The company may sell consumers a kit they can use to test for Bloom Syndrome, a rare disorder linked with an increased risk of cancer. In addition, 23andMe can offer consumers test kits for some similar diseases, like cystic fibrosis and Tay-Sachs, that are linked with each parent having copies of the abnormal genes that are linked with the disease.

As a condition for allowing the sales for these health conditions, FDA is requiring 23andMe to educate consumers about the purposes and value of such genetic tests, despite the obvious conflicts of interest. The agency’s decision does not clear the company to offer the wide range of health screenings it previously marketed to consumers.

The company’s co-founder Anne Wojcicki, who was formerly married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, is a carrier of Bloom Syndrome.

Getting to work in the morning is a necessity, but new research says that how you get there may affect your health.

In a study published this summer in the journal Transportation Research, researchers from Montreal’s McGill University surveyed almost 4,000 people about how they commute to work or school.  Despite the cold Canadian winters, people who walked reported the least stress, with people riding public transit just behind.

Drivers reported by far the highest stress levels, according to a Gizmodo report.

This is not the first study to equate commuting by car with increased stress levels. A 1998 study found that people who drove to work had significantly higher heart rates and blood pressure, and a harder time tolerating frustration than those who took the bus.

A 2012 study found even more dire health issues related to long commutes by car. Looking at 4,200 drivers over several years, the research found that those with longer car commutes had worse cardio-respiratory fitness, higher blood pressure, and were more likely to be overweight.

In fact, research has shown that every hour spent in the car makes a person 6 percent more likely to be obese, while every hour spent walking reduces your odds of being overweight by almost 5 percent.

Malaria and roundworm parasites cause suffering to millions of people worldwide, but now thw Nobel Prize committee has recognized three doctors for discoveries aimed at treating the debilitating conditions.

The team of doctors William Campbell and Satoshi Omura, and doctor Tu Youyou became the first Nobel Prize winners of 2015 with the announcement Monday by the Stockholm based group. The team and Dr. Youyou will split the $960,000 prize money, according to Time magazine.

Campbell is an emeritus fellow at Drew University in New Jersey and Omura is a professor emeritus at Kitasato University in Japan. Together they discovered a drug to combat the roundworm parasite responsible for river blindness and lymphatic filariasis, diseases that affect an estimated 18 million people primarily in Africa and Central and South America.

Dr. Tu’s discovery has improved treatment of malaria patients, significantly reducing mortality rates from the disease. The World Health Organization says malaria rates have declined by 47 percent since 2000.

The Nobel Prize committee is expected to announce more prizes, including the physics, chemistry and peace prizes, later this week. All of the 2015 Nobel Laureates will be feted at the annual Nobel Prize award ceremony on the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the founder of the prize.

In what is being called a “breakthrough” discovery, U.S. authorities have signed off on a drug that is designed to treat advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

It’s the deadliest of all cancers, and this drug provides hope to those who suffer from it — it’s called Keytruda, or pembrolizumab, and in a large study using immunotherapy it was tested on about 500 patients who had non-small cell lung cancer, according to the Financial Express.

The findings were fantastic: many of the patients showed significant long-lasting responses to the drug — so many that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave it the official status of “breakthrough therapy” back in October 2014, meaning that it could be fast tracked to treat lung cancer.

Dr. Edward Garon, who is a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles and the lead author on the study, said that the drug could totally transform the way the medical community treats lung cancer. In the past, it would be extremely rare to see this kind of disease response in treatments before this trial, but this provides hope for people dealing with the disease to have a long-lasting response while avoiding chemotherapy and all the unpleasant side effects that are involved in that.

The clinical trial took place over three years, and it found that Keytruda showed a much better response rate than other drugs used to treat lung cancer. The overall response rate was about 19 percent — which means that their tumors were reduced in size by a significant margin. For those who responded positively to the treatment, they saw the average duration of response exceed one year — which may not sound like us, but for someone suffering from the deadliest form of cancer, that is a huge difference.

Keytruda has already been shown in tests to extend the lives of people who have melanoma, but this is the first time it has demonstrated tremendous effectiveness in fighting lung cancer.

Keytruda works by targeting the PD-1 protein. PD-1 acts as an “immune checkpoint” when it binds to the protein PD-L1, a process that keeps the T cells in the immune system from attacking the cancer, according to the report. Keytruda attempts to block this interaction between the protein cells in order to keep the tumors from expressing high levels of PD-L1, a tactic it uses to keep the immune system from attacking it. Keytruda lowers this guard to open up the tumor for attack.

It’s the first time a study has validated that the level of PD-L1 expression is closely tied with clinical outcomes. About a quarter of all screened patients showed a high PD-L1 expression in tumor cells, and these patients responded overwhelmingly well to the treatment — nearly 50 percent, according to the report.

Lung cancer, which is often referred to as carcinoma of the lung, is a malignant lung tumor that results from uncontrolled cell growth in lung tissues. The growth can spread beyond the lung into other parts of the body. The symptoms can include coughing up blood, extreme weight loss, and chest pains, to name a few.

The vast majority of cases are from exposure to tobacco smoke over a long period of time, although 10 to 15 percent of the time, it occurs in people who have never smoked. Usually in these cases it’s due to a combination of genetic factors or exposure to toxins like air pollution or asbestos.

Treatments for lung cancer can involve surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Surgery is more common in the case of non-small cell lung carcinoma, which is what Keytruda is meant to treat, whereas chemotherapy and radiotherapy are preferred in small cell lung carcinoma.

The survival rate of lung cancer sufferers in the United States is dismal, with only about 17 percent of sufferers outlasting the disease five years after diagnosis. It is the most common type of cancer in men and women,a nd it results in the most deaths worldwide at 1.56 million annually as of 2012.

The old saying suggests that “size matters,” but new research finds that for men, the number of sexual partners they have may be more related to their height.

Research by California’s Chapman University published in the journal Evolutionary Psychology relied on surveys of more than 60,000 men and women who identified as heterosexual, according to a Huffington Post story. The study looked for links between height, weight and the number of sexual partners reported by participants of ages 30 t0 44.

The study found that the subjects’ on average had eight sexual partners. But short men averaged up to three fewer partners than tall men, and underweight women also had significantly fewer partners.

Overall, the study found most men and women reported having more than five partners, with about a quarter of men and women reporting having more than fourteen partners. Men of average and above average weight reported having the most sexual partners.

The researchers suggested that underweight women may be having fewer partners due to body image issues and poorer overall health. Shorter men may suffer, they say, as women may perceive a height threshold below which they tend not to consider a man as a potential sexual partner.

A previous study also had bad news for short men, finding that they were likely to marry later than taller men and more likely to divorce.