Hawaiian genetically modified papayas have been found at a farmer's plantation in Kanchanaburi province, a study revealed yesterday.
Piyasak Chaumpluk, from Chulalongkorn University's Department of Botany, who conducted the study, said the papaya in Kanchanaburi would be sent to a local fresh market, a supermarket in a department store and for export to other countries.
He presented his findings to a seminar entitled "2012 Food Security Assembly" organised by BioThai Foundation, the Sustainable Agriculture Foundation, and Alternative Agriculture Network.
Piyasak collected 319 samples of plants that may be genetically modified (GMO). Of this number, some 27 samples were cotton, 74 samples were papaya, 108 samples were rice, 105 samples were maize. The rest were chilli, tomato, and yellow bean.
According to his laboratory study, 29 samples of Hawaiian papaya in Kanchanaburi were found to the tainted with GMO and nine samples of cotton were also contaminated with GMO in Kanchanaburi and Sukhothai provinces.
Three years ago, Piyasak had found GMO contamination in maize for animal feed and cotton.
Two years after the Deep Water Horizon drilling platform exploded, the true impact of the Gulf Oil Spill remains in question - and justice is elusive. In light of this, we look back at Photographer Daniel Beltra's shocking visual journal of the disaster.
Kids at Sugg Middle School in Florida don't just learn about history -- they make it.
For the last four years, students and faculty at Sugg have celebrated Earth Day by hosting the Recycling Round-Up, an event aimed at collecting as many plastic bottles as possible from throughout the school district over an eight hour period. But what started as a lesson on the possibilities of mass recycling soon turned into a heated competition on an international scale.
When the program first debuted in 2009, spearheaded by Sugg Middle School social studies teacher Shannon DeGaetano, students managed to collect and recycle only 14,000 bottles. Although it was certainly a positive contribution to the environment, it wasn't exactly a remarkable feat. By 2010, however, thanks to some extensive community outreach, that total had spiked to a whopping 5,440 pounds of plastic bottles -- earning the school a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for most plastic bottles collected in eight hours.
Many fruits and vegetables taste better eaten the day they're harvested from the garden. But what if you need to store your crop before you can prepare it? It's possible to store your fruits and veggies using old technology and avoiding plastic altogether for zero waste storage.
How-To:StoreFruitsandVegetables.
Tipsandtrickstoextendthelifeofyourproducewithoutplastic.The Ecology Center Farmers' Markets produced a large list of ways to store your produce without using plastic to push the markets and customers toward zero waste. Below is a sampling of the plastic-free tips and tricks of vegetable and fruit storage.
Nine out of 10 academies are selling pupils junk food such as crisps (chips), chocolate and cereal bars that are banned in maintained schools to protect children's health, research has revealed.
The findings from a study by the School Food Trust (SFT) contradict the education secretary Michael Gove's claim that the academies he champions are following the high nutritional standards introduced in 2008-09 after the chef Jamie Oliver exposed how unhealthy many school lunches were.
The research shows 89 out of 100 academies were selling at least one of the snack foods high in sugar, salt or fat that were outlawed by Labour to rid schools of products that were bad for children and damaging their concentration. Their sale in dining halls, tuckshops and vending machines is exposing children to temptations that will normalise consumption of sweet treats, campaigners warned.
Much like the reduction/eradication of most infectious diseases (which vaccines try to take credit for), improved hygiene is the best weapon against the Superbug:
The campaign to improve hand hygiene in hospitals in England and Wales contributed to a significant fall in the rates of superbug infections, according to a report. The study published on the BMJ website showed the amount of soap and hand gel being used tripled during the campaign. At the same time, levels of MRSA and C. difficile infections in hospitals fell.
Hospital superbugs were once a real fear for many patients. In response the Clean Your Hands campaign, funded by the Department of Health, was introduced in all hospitals by June 2005. Alcohol gels were put by bedsides, posters reminded staff to wash their hands and there were regular checks to ensure hands were kept clean. By 2008, the total amount of soap and alcohol gel being purchased by hospitals trebled, going from 22ml per patient per day to 60ml per patient per day. Rates of MRSA more than halved in the same time period and C. diff infections fell by more than 40%.
A case against genetic modification? A case against vaccination?
Scientists at A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology (IMB), in collaboration with doctors and scientists in Jordan, Turkey, Switzerland and USA, have identified the genetic cause of a birth defect known as Hamamy syndrome[1]. Their groundbreaking findings were published on May13th in the prestigious journal Nature Genetics. The work lends new insights into common ailments such as heart disease, osteoporosis, blood disorders and possibly sterility. 2. Hamamy syndrome is a rare genetic disorder which is marked by abnormal facial features (Annex A) and defects in the heart, bone, blood and reproductive cells. Its exact cause was unknown until now. The international team, led by scientists at IMB, have pinpointed the genetic mistake to be a mutation in a single gene called IRX5. 3. This is the first time that a mutation in IRX5 (and the family of IRX genes) has ever been discovered in man. IRX5 is part of a family of transcription factors that is highly conserved in all animals, meaning that this gene is present not only in humans but also in mice, fish, frogs, flies and even worms. Using a frog model, the scientists demonstrated that Irx5 orchestrates cell movements in the developing foetus which underlie head and gonad formation.
Hospitals in large cities act as breeding grounds for the superbug MRSA prior to it spreading to smaller hospitals, a study suggests. Researchers found evidence that shows for the first time how the superbug spreads between different hospitals throughout the country. The University of Edinburgh study involved looking at the genetic make-up of more than 80 variants of a major clone of MRSA found in hospitals. Scientists were able to determine the entire genetic code of MRSA bacteria taken from infected patients. They then identified mutations in the bug which led to their emergence of new MRSA variants and traced their spread around the country. Dr Ross Fitzgerald, of The Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh, who led the study said: "We found that variants of MRSA circulating in regional hospitals probably originated in large city hospitals. The high levels of patient traffic in large hospitals means they act as a hub for transmission between patients, who may then be transferred or treated in regional hospitals."
Nearly 1 in 5 lower-income parents report costs forced their children to cut back on sports, according to U-M's National Poll on Children's Health
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - In an era of tight funding, school districts across the country are cutting their athletic budgets. Many schools are implementing athletic participation fees to cover the cost of school sports. But those fees have forced kids in lower-income families to the sidelines, according to a new poll that found nearly one in five lower-income parents report their children are participating less in school sports.
"Diabetes is now a national security issue as it threatens all aspects of our nation's well-being," says Journal Editor-in-Chief David B. Nash, MD, MBA, Dean, Jefferson School of Population Health (Philadelphia, PA).The Diabetes 2025 Model for the U.S. projects a continuous and dramatic increase in the diabetes epidemic and makes it possible to estimate the potential effects of society-wide changes in lifestyle and healthcare delivery systems. Predictions for individual states and population subgroups are highlighted in an article published in Population Health Management, a peer-reviewed journal.
n">Children face a growing risk from "button" batteries, according to a U.S. study showing a near doubling of emergency room visits in the past two decades as the objects can cause electrical or chemical burns if swallowed. Most of those emergency room trips are due to coin-shaped batteries that have become ubiquitous in toys, remote controls and hearing aids and represent a shiny temptation to curious toddlers, according to a study in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics."Button" batteries carry extra risks, experts said, because they can send an electrical current through esophageal tissue, eventually even burning a hole in the trachea or the esophagus - without children showing any signs of immediate injury.
For all we know about the complex relationship between obesity and health, experts still face a fundamental problem: The tools used to measure body fat can fail to give a true sense of a person's weight-related health risks.
A new review suggests that a simple measurement -- the ratio of one's waist circumference to height -- is significantly better at gauging cardio-metabolic risk than body mass index and waist circumference, two common measures.
In data being presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Lyon, France, researchers reviewed 31 scientific papers to determine the effectiveness of using BMI (a ratio of height to weight) versus measuring one's waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio, to gauge risk. Looking through the studies, they hoped to see which best detected problems like high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes, abnormal body fat levels and metabolic syndrome.
Compared with BMI, measuring waist circumference was considered superior in detecting adverse health outcomes. Waist-to-height ratios were even better at predicting diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, leading the researchers to determine that the measurement was an effective screening tool.
Cancer is the end result of damage inflicted upon critical DNA genes that help regulate cellular growth and maturation. The fact that supplementation with isolated, synthetic alphatocopherol depletes plasma gammatocopherol levels means that the researchers who designed the SELECT trial created a biological catastrophe. The result of their ignorance is that men randomized to receive only synthetic alpha tocopherol suffered significant gamma tocopherol depletion and, consequently, DNA damage from reactive nitrogen species.The fact that higher prostate cancer rates were observed in the group overloaded with synthetic alpha tocopherol in the SELECT trial was predictable and expected based upon fundamental facts Life Extension understood more than a decade ago.
Now that the weather is a wee bit warmer, many of us are thinking about getting outdoors to enjoy the spring air and sunshine.
May offers a welcome chance to get out there and be active, whether it's by taking a walk with friends (good for the body and the soul!), enjoying a bike ride or -- depending on the temperatures where you live -- taking a refreshing dip in the nearest body of water.
All of those activities require fuel, which can come from eating healthy foods -- particularly the fruits and vegetables that are at their peak this time of year.http://www.huffingtonpost.com
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is launching a special inspection at the Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant in Wake County.
Inspectors want to assess the failure of two main steam isolation valves in April.
According to officials, the plant was in the process of cooling down for refueling when the valves failed to close. The valves are critical in certain accident scenarios.
ST. CLOUD, Minn. - A Minnesota farmer who distributes raw milk is due to stand trial next week for food code violations in a case that pits the government's efforts to ensure a safe food supply against consumers' rights to choose what they drink and eat. Alvin Schlangen, 54, is an organic egg farmer in Freeport, about 75 miles northwest of Minneapolis. He doesn't produce milk himself but operates a private club called Freedom Farms Co-op with roughly 130 members who buy various farm products including raw milk. Schlangen picks up milk products from an Amish farm and delivers them to consumers, mainly in the Twin Cities. Schlangen, who faces criminal charges in two counties, is set for trial Monday in Hennepin County District Court. His supporters have planned a rally for Monday at the courthouse in Minneapolis.
WASHINGTON - A new forecast on obesity in America has health experts fearing a dramatic jump in health care costs if nothing is done to bring it under control.
The projection, released Monday, warns that 42% of Americans may end up obese by 2030 (up from 36% in 2010), and 11% could be severely obese, roughly 100 or more pounds over a healthy weight (vs. 6% in 2010).
"If nothing is done, it's going to hinder efforts for health care cost containment," says Justin Trogdon, a research economist with RTI International, a non-profit organization in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park.
NIIW (National Infant Immunization Week) was "celebrated" April 21-28.
If you're like me and have never heard of NIIW, it's "an annual observance to promote the benefits of immunizations and to improve the health of children two years old or younger." This year, for the first time since the group's inception in 1994, NIIW was celebrated as part of WIW (World Immunization Week). WIW is an initiative of the WHO (World Health Organization). [1]
NIIW, according to the CDC, "provides an opportunity to ...focus attention on our immunization achievements and celebrate the accomplishments made possible through successful collaboration." If you click on "Promotional materials" on the Web site, you'll find PR tools and links such as "Pitch and place childhood immunization PSAs all year long." There are even health e-cards doctors can send to their patients. One has a to-do list on the front and includes, in order, "car seats, outlet covers, cabinet covers, baby gates, smoke detectors, vaccines." Another starts with "I promise to" and is accompanied by the typical e-card music and a slew of promises for a pregnant mom, such as taking her pre-natal vitamins, eating a balanced diet, holding her baby all night when he's upset, changing 5,000 diapers a day, and learning everything she can about caring for her baby. It ends with, "I promise to protect you against 14 vaccine-preventable diseases by your 2nd birthday." [2] The site is filled with propaganda like this. Check it out?if you have the stomach for it.
