Archive for the ‘food’ category: Page 236
As many as 2 billion people could be fed from the estimated 1.4 billion tons of food waste the world generates each year.
May 17, 2019
Citrus Farmers Facing Deadly Bacteria Turn to Antibiotics, Alarming Health Officials
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: biotech/medical, food, health
Deadly Germs, Lost Cures
In its decision to approve two drugs for orange and grapefruit trees, the E.P.A. largely ignored objections from the C.D.C. and the F.D.A., which fear that expanding their use in cash crops could fuel antibiotic resistance in humans.
An orange picker collecting oranges on a grove in Zolfo Springs, Fla. Credit Credit.
May 17, 2019
AI-powered ‘knowledge engine’ a game-changer for antibiotic resistance
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: biotech/medical, food, health, robotics/AI
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rozda1m1l1A
A groundbreaking project to tackle one of the world’s most pressing and complex health challenges—antimicrobial resistance (AMR)—has secured a $1 million boost. UTS will lead a consortium of 26 researchers from 14 organisations in the development of an AMR ‘knowledge engine’ capable of predicting outbreaks and informing interventions, supported by a grant from the Medical Research Future Fund.
“AMR is not a simple problem confined to health and hospital settings,” explains project Chief Investigator, UTS Professor of Infectious Disease Steven Djordjevic. “Our pets and livestock rely on many of these same medicines, so they find their way into the food chain and into the environment through animal faeces.”
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May 17, 2019
Natural compound found in broccoli reawakens the function of potent tumor suppressor
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: biotech/medical, food, genetics
Your mother was right: Broccoli is good for you. Long associated with decreased risk of cancer, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables—the family of plants that also includes cauliflower, cabbage, collard greens, Brussels sprouts and kale—contain a molecule that inactivates a gene known to play a role in a variety of common human cancers. In a new paper published today in Science, researchers, led by Pier Paolo Pandolfi, MD, Ph.D., Director of the Cancer Center and Cancer Research Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, demonstrate that targeting the gene, known as WWP1, with the ingredient found in broccoli suppressed tumor growth in cancer-prone lab animals.
“We found a new important player that drives a pathway critical to the development of cancer, an enzyme that can be inhibited with a natural compound found in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables,” said Pandolfi. “This pathway emerges not only as a regulator for tumor growth control, but also as an Achilles’ heel we can target with therapeutic options.”
A well-known and potent tumor suppressive gene, PTEN is one of the most frequently mutated, deleted, down-regulated or silenced tumor suppressor genes in human cancers. Certain inherited PTEN mutations can cause syndromes characterized by cancer susceptibility and developmental defects. But because complete loss of the gene triggers an irreversible and potent failsafe mechanism that halts proliferation of cancer cells, both copies of the gene (humans have two copies of each gene; one from each parent) are rarely affected. Instead, tumor cells exhibit lower levels of PTEN, raising the question whether restoring PTEN activity to normal levels in the cancer setting can unleash the gene’s tumor suppressive activity.
May 17, 2019
Automated agriculture: Can robots, drones, and AI save us from starvation?
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: drones, food, robotics/AI
In their never-ending quest for increased efficiency, many farmers are now turning to agricultural robots to cut down on operation costs. But can automation give agriculture the boost it needs to meet the demands of 9 billion people?
May 15, 2019
Worms Frozen for 42,000 Years in Siberian Permafrost Came Back to Life and Started Eating
Posted by Paul Battista in categories: biological, food
“Thus, our data demonstrate the ability of multicellular organisms to survive long-term (tens of thousands of years) cryobiosis under the conditions of natural cryoconservation,” the researchers said in a study published in Doklady Biological Sciences.
May 15, 2019
Chemical mixtures pose ‘underestimated’ risk to human health say scientists
Posted by Xavier Rosseel in categories: food, health
This year, the European Union heavily restricted four types of phthalates in consumer products because of their possible health effects. Phthalates are plasticisers, ubiquitous chemicals that soften plastics in many consumer products. They are present in food wrappings, clothes, packaging, car parts, cosmetics and fragrances.
Over time, these plasticisers end up in the air, soil, water, food and household dust. They can also end up in our bodies. This is worrying because they are implicated in reproductive abnormalities in mammals. Studies of people have linked plasticisers to sperm damage, lower fertility, early puberty in girls and thyroid effects. The phthalates will be now legally be restricted to 0.1% in weight in articles used by consumers or in outdoor areas.
But scientists are increasingly concerned not just about single chemicals, which are found in people’s bodies at levels that are usually not toxic, but about what happens to toxicity when these chemicals mix.
Continue reading “Chemical mixtures pose ‘underestimated’ risk to human health say scientists” »
May 15, 2019
Understanding the power of honey through its proteins
Posted by James Christian Smith in categories: chemistry, food
Honey is a culinary staple that can be found in kitchens around the world. Its long shelf life and medicinal properties make it a unique, multipurpose natural product. Although it seems that a lot is known about the sweet substance, surprisingly little is known about its proteins. Check out research in the Journal of Natural Products with new data on honey proteins that could lead to new medicinal applications:
American chemical society: chemistry for life.
May 14, 2019
It’s in the weeds: Herbicide linked to human liver disease
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: biotech/medical, food, health
Glyphosate, the primary ingredient in Monsanto’s popular weed killer Roundup, has been linked to liver disease in animal models. In a new study, the first of its kind, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine report an association between the herbicide and negative effects upon the human liver.
In a study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, a team led by Paul J. Mills, Ph.D., professor and chief in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine, examined glyphosate excretion in the urine samples of two patient groups—those with a diagnosis of NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, a type of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease or NAFLD), and those without. The results, they found, were significant: Regardless of age, race, body mass index (BMI), ethnicity or diabetes status, glyphosate residue was significantly higher in patients with NASH than it was in patients with a healthier liver.
The findings, coupled with prior animal studies, said Mills, suggest a link between the use of commercial glyphosate in our food supply, which has increased significantly over the past 25 years, and the prevalence of NAFLD in the United States, which too has been on the rise for two decades.
Continue reading “It’s in the weeds: Herbicide linked to human liver disease” »