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DfID report examines agriculture for nutrition projects, makes recommendations for researchers

A recently released report commissioned by the U.K. Department for International Development (DfID) examines research projects on agriculture for nutrition and "reveals eight gaps that are currently being neglected, including specific target groups -- particularly rural workers and non-rural populations -- as well as a lack of methodologies to guide research in the field," SciDev.Net reports.

14 Sep 2012

Humanitarian situation better, still tenuous, in Zimbabwe as E.U. scales down assistance, IRIN reports

Though the number of people in Zimbabwe in need of food aid has dropped from seven million in 2002-2003 to one million currently, the number could still rise by 600,000 in 2013, IRIN reports in an analysis of the humanitarian and political situation in the country.

14 Sep 2012

Women, girls must be at center of water, food security efforts

Noting "World Water Week recently concluded in Stockholm with a special emphasis on the linkages between water and food security," Lakshmi Puri, assistant secretary-general and deputy executive director of U.N. Women, writes in this Inter Press Service opinion piece, "Creating a water- and food-secure world requires putting women and girls at the center of water- and food-related policies, actions and financing."

13 Sep 2012

Scheduled high-fat diet can reset circadian metabolism and reduce body weight

New research from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem shows that a carefully scheduled high-fat diet can lead to a reduction in body weight and a unique metabolism in which ingested fats are not stored, but rather used for energy at times when no food is available.

13 Sep 2012

Democrats, Republicans can agree on U.S. accomplishments in global health, development

"With back-to-back Republican and Democratic National Conventions, it's natural to focus on our differences," but "I am heartened to see the bipartisan support that exists for U.S. leadership in the world -- particularly for our global development efforts," Dan Glickman, former secretary of agriculture and chair of the Board of the Center for U.S. Global Leadership, writes in a Politico opinion piece.

11 Sep 2012

Private sector plays important role in agribusiness success, feeding billions

"Severe droughts, rising grain prices and food shortages -- the latest headlines are an urgent call for action," and "it is time to step up our response," Suma Chakrabarti, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and Jose Graziano da Silva, director-general of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), write in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

7 Sep 2012

New findings establish connection between microRNAs and cellular metabolism

New findings establish a connection between microRNAs and cellular metabolism, suggesting that a drug designed to inhibit these tiny molecules -- once considered to be "junk" DNA -- would have a positive effect against obesity.

7 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Anti-abortion Democrats praise health law; A defense of the Medicare cost-cutting board

The big question heading into the Democratic Convention is just how forcefully the party will defend the Affordable Care Act, which the president fought to pass and then declined to sell. On Tuesday, an unusually vocal endorsement of the law came from an unlikely source: Anti-abortion Democrats.

6 Sep 2012

U.N. food agencies urge world leaders to take action on food prices

"World leaders must take swift, coordinated action to ensure that food price shocks do not turn into a catastrophe that could hurt tens of millions of people in coming months, the United Nations' food agencies said in a statement on Tuesday," Reuters reports.

5 Sep 2012

New MILLENNIUM VILLAGES PROJECT launched in northern Ghana

The Guardian examines a new Millennium Villages Project (MVP) -- "the integrated approach to rural development spearheaded by Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University's Earth Institute" -- that was launched last week in northern Uganda "by Ghana's new president John Dramani Mahama and U.K. international development secretary Andrew Mitchell."

5 Sep 2012

Chemical properties of green tea benefit memory and spatial learning

It has long been believed that drinking green tea is good for the memory. Now researchers have discovered how the chemical properties of China's favorite drink affect the generation of brain cells, providing benefits for memory and spatial learning. The research is published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.

5 Sep 2012

Green tea chemical found to boost memory

It has long been believed that drinking green tea is good for the memory. Now researchers have discovered how the chemical properties of China’s favorite drink affect the generation of brain cells, providing benefits for memory and spatial learning. The research is published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.

5 Sep 2012

Study finds little significant difference in health benefits between organic and conventional foods

You're in the supermarket eyeing a basket of sweet, juicy plums. You reach for the conventionally grown stone fruit, then decide to spring the extra $1/pound for its organic cousin. You figure you've just made the healthier decision by choosing the organic product - but new findings from Stanford University cast some doubt on your thinking.

4 Sep 2012

Sri Lanka succeeds in reducing malaria cases by 99.9% since 1999

Despite nearly three decades of conflict, Sri Lanka has succeeded in reducing malaria cases by 99.9 percent since 1999 and is on track to eliminate the disease entirely by 2014.

30 Aug 2012

FAO launches water management framework at World Water Week opening ceremony in Sweden

At the opening ceremony of World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, on Monday, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) "launched a framework that will help combat food insecurity by providing methods to better manage water resources in agriculture and reduce waste," the U.N. News Centre reports.

29 Aug 2012

World leaders, scientists gather in Stockholm for World Water Week; Researchers warn overconsumption draining world's water supply

Some 2,500 officials, policymakers and scientists will gather this week at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) for the largest annual meeting on water development issues as the international community recognizes World Water Week, observed August 26-31, VOA News reports. According to the news service, this year's theme is "water and food security."

28 Aug 2012

U.N. calls on countries to develop national drought, climate policies

"The world urgently needs to adopt drought-management policies as farmers from Africa to India struggle with lack of rainfall and the United States endures the worst drought it has experienced in decades, top officials with the U.N. weather agency said Tuesday," the Associated Press reports.

23 Aug 2012

U.S. drought threatens global economy, food security, HSBC report warns

"America's worst drought for 25 years is threatening the global economy as it cripples the country's grain production and sends the price soaring," the International Business Times reports, adding, "According to a report by HSBC, bloated food prices loom over the global economy and present the temptation for governments to hoard produce."

22 Aug 2012

Given the chance, world's poor, underserved communities could end hunger, poverty

In this post in Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, Eric Holt Gimenez, executive director of Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy, reflects on the global implications of a drought in the U.S., writing, "If the 2008 and 2011 food price crises are any guide, the global effects of the U.S. drought are fairly predictable."

22 Aug 2012

Viewpoints: The importance of hepatitis C testing; Medicaid needs to provide coverage for circumcision

I consider myself to be a fortunate person. I have a good education, a great job and excellent health insurance. I am a baby boomer who has aged reasonably well and can look forward to a fairly comfortable retirement. I am also fortunate because I was diagnosed with hepatitis C by a proactive and knowledgeable doctor in the late 1990s and had the opportunity to be treated and cured. The odds are that if I had not been diagnosed and treated, I would be on a liver transplant list right now, have liver cancer or even be dead from this disease.

22 Aug 2012

Agriculture News and Research

DfID report examines agriculture for nutrition projects, makes recommendations for researchers

Humanitarian situation better, still tenuous, in Zimbabwe as E.U. scales down assistance, IRIN reports

Women, girls must be at center of water, food security efforts

Scheduled high-fat diet can reset circadian metabolism and reduce body weight

Democrats, Republicans can agree on U.S. accomplishments in global health, development

Private sector plays important role in agribusiness success, feeding billions

New findings establish connection between microRNAs and cellular metabolism

Viewpoints: Anti-abortion Democrats praise health law; A defense of the Medicare cost-cutting board

U.N. food agencies urge world leaders to take action on food prices

New MILLENNIUM VILLAGES PROJECT launched in northern Ghana

Chemical properties of green tea benefit memory and spatial learning

Green tea chemical found to boost memory

Study finds little significant difference in health benefits between organic and conventional foods

Sri Lanka succeeds in reducing malaria cases by 99.9% since 1999

FAO launches water management framework at World Water Week opening ceremony in Sweden

World leaders, scientists gather in Stockholm for World Water Week; Researchers warn overconsumption draining world's water supply

U.N. calls on countries to develop national drought, climate policies

U.S. drought threatens global economy, food security, HSBC report warns

Given the chance, world's poor, underserved communities could end hunger, poverty

Viewpoints: The importance of hepatitis C testing; Medicaid needs to provide coverage for circumcision

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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