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Aid groups, U.N., U.S. discuss response to Haiti's earthquake as year anniversary approaches

On Friday, the Office of the U.N. Special Envoy to Haiti said that 63.6 percent of the aid international donors "pledged to Haiti in 2010 after a devastating earthquake nearly one year ago" has been disbursed, Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C reports (1/7).

11 Jan 2011

Food price rise will affect 'millions,' FAO economist says

Abdolreza Abbassian, an economist with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), on Friday "warned of a 'worrying rise' in food prices which will affect millions of people following unexpected shortfalls in major cereals owing to bad weather in 2010," Agence France-Presse reports.

10 Jan 2011

Green tea may help in Alzheimer’s disease: Study

A new study finds that a cup of green tea may protect against Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The researchers looked at the effects of a concentrated green tea extract that had been treated in the laboratory to mimic the effects of normal digestion.

9 Jan 2011

News outlets examine potential implications of record high food price levels

Though world food prices "jumped to a record high" in the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) latest index, the agency "is drawing comfort from the absence of widespread riots, usually the defining element of a food crisis," the Financial Times reports looking at the factors that have led some food prices to rise significantly without sparking international panic.

7 Jan 2011

Intrexon Corporation, ZIOPHARM enter partnership to develop, commercialize DNA-based therapeutics

ZIOPHARM Oncology, a small molecule late-stage oncology drug development company, and Intrexon Corporation, a next generation synthetic biology company, announced today a global exclusive channel partnership in oncology where ZIOPHARM will develop and commercialize DNA-based therapeutics using Intrexon's UltraVector Technology.

7 Jan 2011

Opinions: Global health top foreign policy issue; Global food security; Opiate-substitution programs in Eastern Europe; Feed the future; Foreign aid lessons

In response to a story examining 2011's top foreign policy issues, Serra Sippel, president of the Center for Health and Gender Equity, writes in a letter to the editor, published in The Hill, that "[g]lobal health was disturbingly absent from" the story. "Global health policy is at a critical turning point right now with the impending implementation of President Obama's Global Health Initiative, which will change our fundamental approach to health programs and policy," according to Sippel.

7 Jan 2011

Sudan referendum approaches, highlighting health, development challenges facing the south

"Southern Sudan is scheduled to start voting on January 9 on whether to become an independent country or remain part of Sudan, Africa's largest nation which has been wracked by decades of conflict," CNN reports (Wilkinson, 1/5).

6 Jan 2011

Research says regular intake of green tea can prevent Alzheimer's disease

Regularly drinking green tea could protect the brain against developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, according to latest research by scientists at Newcastle University.

6 Jan 2011

FAO's food price index for December 2010 exceeds 2007-2008 levels

"Food prices hit a record high" in December, exceeding 2007-2008 levels when price spikes resulted in riots around the world, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Wednesday in its monthly Food Price Index, the Financial Times reports (Blas, 1/5).

6 Jan 2011

Setting the date: House scheduled to vote Jan. 12 on health law repeal

House GOP leaders have scheduled for Jan. 12 a much-awaited and politically charged vote to repeal the health law. In the background, news organizations report on the positions being taken by Democrats who may have voted against the measure the first time around and how Republicans plan to explain the budget implications of this repeal effort.

5 Jan 2011

Low-fat lupin proteins

In emerging countries such as China or Brazil, meat consumption is rising dramatically. Indeed, worldwide consumption of red meat has quadrupled since 1961. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) expects increasing prosperity to lead to a doubling of global meat production by the year 2050. The question is whether our planet, with its limited farmland resources, will still be able to meet all of our needs into the future.

4 Jan 2011

Fundamental similarities in response to wasp infection and blood cancer development

Tiny parasitoid wasps can play an important role in controlling the populations of other insect species by laying their eggs inside the larvae of these species. A newly hatched wasp gradually eats the host alive and takes over its body.

4 Jan 2011

New food safety standards for manufacturers, processors

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, expected to be signed into law shortly by President Barack Obama, will set the bar higher for food manufacturers, processors and importers, as well as retailers of private label products, according to attorney Janice Lai, a partner in LeClairRyan's Hartford office.

30 Dec 2010

Foot and mouth disease outbreak in South Korea

South Korea is facing an outbreak of foot and mouth disease reported Seoul’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Foot and Mouth Disease is a highly contagious and sometimes fatal disease that can affect cloven-hoofed animals including pigs, sheep, cattle, deer and goats. Humans are usually not affected. The three most recent cases take the total number reported in South Korea to 56 with more than 400,000 animals destroyed since November 29.

28 Dec 2010

New York Times reports on how foreign governments, investors are pushing some African farmers off land

"Across Africa and the developing world, a new global land rush is gobbling up large expanses of arable land. Despite their ageless traditions, stunned villagers are discovering that African governments typically own their land and have been leasing it, often at bargain prices, to private investors and foreign governments for decades to come," the New York Times writes in an article that examines the factors contributing to investors' growing interest in such land.

24 Dec 2010

U.N. food official highlights food security challenges in world's most populous nation

U.N. Special Rapporteur on the right to food Olivier De Schutter said Thursday that recent food price spikes in China, "in the world's most populous nation," underscore the country's food security challenges resulting from decreasing amounts of arable land, Agence France-Presse reports.

24 Dec 2010

TFAH applauds Congress for final passage of FDA Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010

Trust for America's Health applauded Congress today for final passage of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010. Because of the bill, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will have the authority it needs to help prevent foodborne illnesses for the first time ever.

23 Dec 2010

Dieting trends in 2011

As the hectic holiday season comes to a close and a new year approaches, many consumers are once again vowing to adopt weight loss goals to shed those unwanted pounds. But with obesity increasing at alarming levels across the globe, a number of health experts are urging a new approach to help fight the nation's burgeoning weight problem.

23 Dec 2010

Today's Opinions: Congressional funding vote leaves out health law; Price controls on health; Tough choices in Washington State

The Senate passed the Continuing Resolution 79-16 this afternoon. Another way of saying that: The Senate voted to defund the implementation of both health-care reform and financial-regulation reform.

23 Dec 2010

Inconsistent, incomplete labeling of alcoholic beverages taking health, safety toll on drinkers

The National Consumers League (NCL) has once again called on the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to issue a final rule to improve alcohol beverage labeling.

21 Dec 2010

Agriculture News and Research

Aid groups, U.N., U.S. discuss response to Haiti's earthquake as year anniversary approaches

Food price rise will affect 'millions,' FAO economist says

Green tea may help in Alzheimer’s disease: Study

News outlets examine potential implications of record high food price levels

Intrexon Corporation, ZIOPHARM enter partnership to develop, commercialize DNA-based therapeutics

Opinions: Global health top foreign policy issue; Global food security; Opiate-substitution programs in Eastern Europe; Feed the future; Foreign aid lessons

Sudan referendum approaches, highlighting health, development challenges facing the south

Research says regular intake of green tea can prevent Alzheimer's disease

FAO's food price index for December 2010 exceeds 2007-2008 levels

Setting the date: House scheduled to vote Jan. 12 on health law repeal

Low-fat lupin proteins

Fundamental similarities in response to wasp infection and blood cancer development

New food safety standards for manufacturers, processors

Foot and mouth disease outbreak in South Korea

New York Times reports on how foreign governments, investors are pushing some African farmers off land

U.N. food official highlights food security challenges in world's most populous nation

TFAH applauds Congress for final passage of FDA Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010

Dieting trends in 2011

Today's Opinions: Congressional funding vote leaves out health law; Price controls on health; Tough choices in Washington State

Inconsistent, incomplete labeling of alcoholic beverages taking health, safety toll on drinkers

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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