Food News and Research

RSS

Volatile food prices likely to continue, threatening food security in developing world, FAO says

"Drought in some areas and heavy rain in others are keeping world food prices near record levels, threatening the food supply for poorer, food-importing countries," the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in its biannual report on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reports.

9 Jun 2011

Poplar bud extracts can serve as good source of antioxidants for skin creams

Antioxidants are popular anti-aging ingredients in skin creams, and now scientists are reporting a new source of these healthful substances - leaf buds of poplar trees. Their study appears in the ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

9 Jun 2011

Neurologix reports new results from NLX-P101 Phase 2 trial against Parkinson's disease

Neurologix, Inc. announced today several new results from the Company's successful Phase 2 clinical trial for its novel, investigational gene therapy NLX-P101 for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) as part of a comprehensive presentation of study findings to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee.

9 Jun 2011

Yikes! 5,085 kilojoules and 80.5 grams of fat in one burger

After the naming of a Hungry Jack's burger as the unhealthiest in the nation, all state governments are planning to introduce legislation requiring fast food outlets to list the energy content on their menus.

9 Jun 2011

ACAAI issues updated guidelines for treating stinging insect hypersensitivity

Spring and summer bring bees, wasps, hornets and yellow jackets and, this year, updated advice for those who are allergic to these pesky stinging insects. More than half a million people go to emergency rooms and at least 50 die each year from insect stings.

9 Jun 2011

DASH diet comes out on top

DASH diet, often recommended to help adults lower their blood pressure has ranked over more popular options in a ranking of 20 diets by U.S. News & World Report. The DASH diet, the magazine concluded, was the best overall. Government approved DASH standing for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension was chosen by the magazine’s panel of nutrition experts among other things, being nutritious, easy to follow and protecting against heart disease and perhaps diabetes.

8 Jun 2011

Food poisoning with E coli low but Salmonella high

According to public health officials this Tuesday, progress has been made in combating the microbes behind 50 million yearly U.S. food poisoning cases. These affect one in six Americans. This comes from the newest federal FoodNet report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that shows that total food-borne illnesses dropped by nearly a quarter in the last decade and a half, but salmonella infections have steadily refused to drop, climbing slightly in recent years.

8 Jun 2011

UC Davis and BGI partner to conduct large-scale genome sequencing and functional genomics programs

The University of California, Davis, and BGI, the world's largest genome sequencing institute, agreed today (June 8) to form a partnership to conduct large-scale genome sequencing and functional genomics programs, focusing initially on the areas of food security; human and animal health and wellness; and biodiversity and environmental health.

8 Jun 2011

Therapeutic equivalent to replace penicillin

Antibiotics are among the greatest achievements of medical science. But lately the former multi-purpose weapon fails in the battle against infectious diseases. Bacteria are increasingly developing resistance to antibiotics. Researchers have now found a therapeutic equivalent which could replace penicillin and related phamaceuticals.

8 Jun 2011

Cooperation is key to finding global food security

"We need a global approach to achieving food security," Tom Daschle, former Senate majority leader and chair of the DuPont Advisory Committee on Agricultural Innovation and Productivity for the 21st Century, writes in a Politico opinion piece.

8 Jun 2011

University of Maryland School of Pharmacy to host National Leadership Roundtable on June 9

With a collective eye on ongoing health care reform efforts, the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy on June 9 will be hosting a timely and wide-ranging National Leadership Roundtable on how an expanded role for pharmacists is improving health outcomes and health care expenditures in communities nationwide.

8 Jun 2011

New book explores food and eating habits among prehistoric people

From the paleolithic diet to the raw food diet, many health-conscious Americans now want to eat the way they believe our ancient ancestors ate.

8 Jun 2011

Cabozantinib shows early promise in treatment of prostate cancer spread to the bone

A new drug to treat prostate cancer shows early promise, particularly against tumors that have spread to the bone, a multi-site study shows.

8 Jun 2011

BPA affects development of uterus in female primates

Exposure in the womb to bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical widely used in the food and medical industries, causes changes in female primates' uterus development, new research suggests. The results will be presented Tuesday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

8 Jun 2011

Health officials rule out sprouts as source of German E. coli outbreak

Health officials in Germany are continuing to search for the source of an E. coli outbreak after tests on suspected sprouts from a farm in the north of the country came back negative, Deutsche Welle reports. The outbreak has killed 22 people and sickened more than 2,000 (Hallam/Penfold, 6/6).

8 Jun 2011

'Designer' probiotic bacterium neutralises E. coli toxin

A potential life-saving treatment for severe E. coli food poisoning outbreaks - developed more than a decade ago - hasn't gone forward into clinical trials because of lack of commercial interest.

8 Jun 2011

As health care technology advances, costs increase

The device industry has launched an aggressive campaign to avoid tighter Food and Drug Administration rules that would help generate the information needed to show whether newer devices are actually superior to the ones they replace.

8 Jun 2011

Eating at wrong time of the day reduces fertility in fruit flies

Dieticians will tell you it isn't healthy to eat late at night: it's a recipe for weight gain. In fruit flies, at least, there's another consequence: reduced fertility.

8 Jun 2011

FDA grants orphan drug designation for Edison's EPI-743 to treat inherited mitochondrial diseases

Edison Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the United States Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to EPI-743 for treatment of inherited mitochondrial respiratory chain diseases.

8 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Confronting 'giant' Medicare choices; first lady's anti-obesity campaign; Calif. insurance rules

Sometimes life presents you with a basic philosophical choice. Americans are going to have to confront a giant one over the next several years. It starts in the wonky world of Medicare. ... Democrats have much greater faith in centralized expertise. ... [Republicans] have much greater faith in the decentralized discovery process of the market.

8 Jun 2011