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USAID's Shah speaks about agency's operations, efforts to build sustainable solutions to hunger in Foreign Policy interview

In an interview with Foreign Policy, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah speaks "about how he is reinventing USAID, an often-embattled agency charged with helping the world's poorest countries develop, while at the same time dealing with crises around the globe," the magazine reports.

5 May 2012

UNFPA Director urges India to address family planning needs

India "has to actively and aggressively address the issue of family planning" in order to improve human development indicators, including health, education and living standards, UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin said Wednesday, Reuters reports.

4 May 2012

Reuters examines challenges related to estimating number of undernourished people worldwide

"Calculating the number of hungry people around the world at any given moment, let alone predicting how that number is likely to change in the future, is no easy task," Reuters reports in an article examining the numerous challenges of estimating the number of undernourished people worldwide and noting the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is expected to release new data and methodology in October "as part of its annual report on food insecurity."

4 May 2012

WFP, UNHCR concerned about food, water insecurity in border areas between Sudan, South Sudan

The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) "has warned clashes along the border between Sudan and South Sudan threaten to plunge the region into widespread hunger" and "said it is scaling up its humanitarian operation in South Sudan to assist a growing number of refugees and displaced people," VOA News reports.

4 May 2012

Researchers create new systematic assessment for malnutrition

A new systematic assessment of malnutrition, created by researchers at Penn State, will aid dietitians and other health care providers in diagnosis and treatment.

4 May 2012

Study finds possible link between ghrelin hormone and hedonic eating

When eating is motivated by pleasure, rather than hunger, endogenous rewarding chemical signals are activated which can lead to overeating, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

3 May 2012

Hypothalamic neuropeptide changes cause obesity in low-birth-weight babies

It seems improbable that a baby born underweight would be prone to obesity, but it is well documented that these children tend to put on weight in youth if they're allowed free access to calories. Now, researchers believe they understand why this happens.

3 May 2012

FAO head calls on oil-, mineral-rich countries to establish fund to fight hunger in Sahel

Speaking at a conference in Brazzaville, Congo, on Friday, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva "appealed to oil- and mineral-rich nations to set up a fund to combat the food crisis gripping the Sahel desert region and other parts of Africa," Agence France-Presse reports.

30 Apr 2012

Airborne drones could provide innovative method of delivering food, medicines

In a Foreign Policy opinion piece, former U.S. Ambassador Jack Chow, who served as a special representative for HIV/AIDS under former Secretary of State Colin Powell and currently is a professor at Carnegie Mellon's Heinz College of Public Policy, examines the challenges of delivering humanitarian aid and how "[t]he technological versatility of airborne drones, the flying robots that are already transforming warfare, ... has the potential to revolutionize how humanitarian aid is delivered worldwide."

30 Apr 2012

Food-insecure mothers associated with childhood obesity

While eating too much food can cause obesity, the fear of not having enough food may lead to the same result, according to a study to be presented Saturday, April 28, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston.

30 Apr 2012

U.S. government made 'strong progress' in fight against world hunger, but much remains to be done, report says

According to the 2012 Progress Report on U.S. Leadership in Global Agricultural Development (.pdf), released by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on Thursday, "[t]he U.S. government risks losing the gains it has made in fighting world hunger unless it maintains its effort of the last three years in improving global agricultural practices and food security," Reuters reports.

27 Apr 2012

Florida Senator Marco Rubio addresses future of U.S. Foreign Policy

"On April 25, Foreign Policy at Brookings hosted Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for a major address on the future of U.S. foreign policy," according to an event summary on the organization's website.

27 Apr 2012

Researchers define structure of key part of human obesity receptor

Medical researchers at the University of Sheffield have defined the structure of a key part of the human obesity receptor- an essential factor in the regulation of body fat- which could help provide new treatments for the complications of obesity and anorexia.

27 Apr 2012

Feed the Future examines 'whole-of-government approach' to fighting global hunger

Tjada McKenna, deputy coordinator for development for Feed the Future, and Jonathan Shrier, acting special representative for global food security and deputy coordinator for diplomacy for Feed the Future, examine efforts to end global hunger through a "whole-of-government approach" in this article on the initiative's webpage.

27 Apr 2012

GSK receives FDA approval for Votrient to treat advanced soft tissue sarcoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Votrient (pazopanib) to treat patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma who have previously received chemotherapy. Soft tissue sarcoma is a cancer that begins in the muscle, fat, fibrous tissue, and other tissues.

27 Apr 2012

Draft farm bill includes 'promising' fixes to U.S. food aid system

In this post in the Center for Global Development's (CDG) "Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Blog," Connie Veillette, director of CGD's rethinking U.S. foreign assistance initiative, comments on a draft farm bill released by Congress last week, which she writes "includes some promising fixes to the notoriously inefficient U.S. food aid system."

26 Apr 2012

Aid agencies appeal for additional funding to address food insecurity in African Sahel

A coalition of "aid agencies said on Monday they are facing a multi-million dollar funding shortage to deal with a food crisis in the Sahel," News24 reports.

26 Apr 2012

Scientists identify linchpin of fat metabolism

Humans are built to hunger for fat, packing it on during times of feast and burning it during periods of famine. But when deluged by foods rich in fat and sugar, the modern waistline often far exceeds the need to store energy for lean times, and the result has been an epidemic of diabetes, heart disease and other obesity-related problems.

26 Apr 2012

Liver may be the key to weight regulation: Study

A team of Australian researchers have found that the liver could hold the key to treating obesity. They found that the liver plays a major role in regulating weight by communicating with the brain. The study will be published in the Journal Diabetes.

23 Apr 2012

Malawi's Mutharika left 'positive legacy' by showing how Africa 'can feed itself'

Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika, who died April 5, may be remembered for corruption and mismanagement, but his "positive legacy" is his creation of "an agriculture-led boom in Malawi, one that pointed a way for Africa to overcome its chronic hunger, food insecurity, and periodic extreme famines," Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

21 Apr 2012

Appetite News and Research

USAID's Shah speaks about agency's operations, efforts to build sustainable solutions to hunger in Foreign Policy interview

UNFPA Director urges India to address family planning needs

Reuters examines challenges related to estimating number of undernourished people worldwide

WFP, UNHCR concerned about food, water insecurity in border areas between Sudan, South Sudan

Researchers create new systematic assessment for malnutrition

Study finds possible link between ghrelin hormone and hedonic eating

Hypothalamic neuropeptide changes cause obesity in low-birth-weight babies

FAO head calls on oil-, mineral-rich countries to establish fund to fight hunger in Sahel

Airborne drones could provide innovative method of delivering food, medicines

Food-insecure mothers associated with childhood obesity

U.S. government made 'strong progress' in fight against world hunger, but much remains to be done, report says

Florida Senator Marco Rubio addresses future of U.S. Foreign Policy

Researchers define structure of key part of human obesity receptor

Feed the Future examines 'whole-of-government approach' to fighting global hunger

GSK receives FDA approval for Votrient to treat advanced soft tissue sarcoma

Draft farm bill includes 'promising' fixes to U.S. food aid system

Aid agencies appeal for additional funding to address food insecurity in African Sahel

Scientists identify linchpin of fat metabolism

Liver may be the key to weight regulation: Study

Malawi's Mutharika left 'positive legacy' by showing how Africa 'can feed itself'

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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