Catherine – Page 97 – News by Nature

Can A GM Banana Solve Uganda’s Hunger Crisis?

17Dec

By CatherineNo Comments

Can A GM Banana Solve Uganda’s Hunger Crisis?

Trials for a GM banana variety, which is resistant to wilt and contains vitamin A, have been ongoing since 2004 in an effort to improve production. The law will mean this crop can be released to the public. “Now that the law has been passed, we’re able to go for open-field trials [of the technologies] before releasing them to the public,” says Priver Namanya Bwesigye, a plant biotechnologist at the National Agricultural Research Organisation. She adds that GM bananas could be released for public use in 2021. Other GM trials include developing cassava resistant to brown streak, drought-resistant maize, and bollworm-resistant cotton. Critics say GM crops will make farmers beholden to big agribusiness by having to buy seeds every season. Farmers in Uganda produce between 80% and 85% ...

12Dec

By CatherineNo Comments

Diet

Want More Brain Energy? Try this Diet!

What doesn’t kill brain cells might make them stronger. The brain cells of mice who regularly fast may grow more than usual once they get food again, according to research presented at the Society for Neuroscience’s annual meeting in November and first reported by New Scientist. One particular protein may be behind the growth: brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). In humans, BDNF may be involved in learning and memory. Levels of this protein tend to decline as a person gets older, especially if someone is diagnosed with a disease that can affect cognitive functions like Alzheimer’s. However, levels of this protein increase in mice that have been fasting by up to 50 percent. In theory, Mattson said, BDNF might be stimulating cells to produce more mitochondria. Mitochondria are oft...

Popularity of Botanical in the U.S. Market

6Dec

By CatherineNo Comments

Botanicals

Popularity of Botanical in the U.S. Market

Botanical dietary supplements continue to be popular in the United States. The American Botanical Council (ABC) recently published the Herb Market Report 2016, which listed a number of reasons behind the current interest by consumers. Botanicals that are believed to be beneficial for overall health—rather than a specific health condition—showed greater increases in sales. In alignment with this is the uptick in sales of a number of adaptogens--substances that allow the body to better resist various stress factors. Plants in this category include ashwagandha, Asian ginseng, mushrooms and Rhodiola. The increased interest in herbs used in Ayurvedic medicine has also been obvious by the fact that Boswellia, turmeric, and fenugreek posted some of the largest gains in 2016. But the success...

28Nov

By CatherineNo Comments

Remedies

Antibiotics or Home Remedies

For parents, it can be hard to tell whether your child's illness requires antibiotics or if there are other ways to effectively treat his or her symptoms. To prevent overuse of these drugs, it's important to know when home remedies can be used instead of antibiotics. "If your child has an ear infection, consider using over-the-counter pain relievers in place of antibiotics," says Tiffany Casper, D.O., a Mayo Clinic Health System family physician. "Children's ear infections usually improve within two to three days, especially for kids who are 2 years or older. If your child's health does not improve within a few days, it would be wise to take them in to see their provider." "Instead, Dr. Casper suggests offering your child warm liquids, such as tea or soup. These can have a soothing e...

GMO Expert Voices Concerns About Engineered Foods

28Nov

By CatherineNo Comments

Genetically Modified Foods

GMO Expert Voices Concerns About Engineered Foods

The Ecology Action Centre and the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network are hosting an international expert in genetically modified organisms at talks in Halifax, Truro and Charlottetown this week to try to answer that question and others. Lucy Sharratt, a coordinator with the biotechnology network, said genetically engineered salmon is already available to Canadian consumers, and genetically modified apples and potatoes have been approved in Canada but aren’t yet on the market. “We’re so excited to have Dr. Steinbrecher come and speak because we want to have a discussion about the potential of the science and how, as a society, we should introduce new technology, and that involves public engagement and it involves good government regulation, and if we have new technologies in front of...

Antibiotics or Home Remedies: What’s best?

24Nov

By CatherineNo Comments

Remedies

Antibiotics or Home Remedies: What’s best?

For parents, it can be hard to tell whether your child's illness requires antibiotics or if there are other ways to effectively treat his or her symptoms. "Children's ear infections usually improve within two to three days, especially for kids who are 2 years or older. If your child's health does not improve within a few days, it would be wise to take them in to see their provider," says Tiffany Casper, D.O., a Mayo Clinic Health System family physician. Dr. Casper recommends antibiotics for an ear infection if: • Your child is 6 months old or younger. • Your child is between 6 months and 2 years old and has moderate to severe pain. • Your child is 2 years old or older and experiencing severe symptoms. Ice cream, frozen fruit pops or cold beverages may soothe a sore throat. O...

People Are Losing Their Minds Over The CICO Diet

16Nov

By CatherineNo Comments

Diet

People Are Losing Their Minds Over The CICO Diet

Another day, another diet (or another diet headline at least) and this new diet, named CICO for “Calories In, Calories Out” is particularly appealing because you can eat whatever you like and still lose weight. Sprouted on the Reddit website, it is claimed that the CICO diet works wonders as it allows dieters to eat whatever types of foods they like, in whatever form they want, as long as they consume fewer calories than they burn — the good old weight loss equation. As such we are likely to see the CICO Diet in the pile of old, useless diets in a few short months. So here are just some of the reasons it is unlikely you can eat masses of cake, fast food, and sugary processed snacks while dropping the kilos. 1. Weight loss is not a one size fits all model While we often talk ab...

Using CBD to Achieve Balance and Wellness

15Nov

By CatherineNo Comments

Wellness

Using CBD to Achieve Balance and Wellness

If it feels like you’re trying to do too many things at once lately, you’re not alone. The average American worker gets just over 10 minutes of work done before getting distracted by something, whether it’s important or not. More than 40% of Americans admit to browsing the internet while watching TV, and nearly half of us check our email at the movie theater (not cool, by the way). Most of us know by now that juggling—or trying to juggle—all these responsibilities at once means that other priorities fall by the wayside. Too often, our efforts to live a healthy lifestyle get swallowed up in a sea of screens, notifications, reminders, and to-do lists. A healthy diet, quality sleep, and staying active are all important factors. But there are some other easy decisions anyone can make to ...

Is Insulin Resistance Linked to Diet Quality?

12Nov

By CatherineNo Comments

Diet

Is Insulin Resistance Linked to Diet Quality?

A new study published in the Journal of Nutrition examined the role of diet quality in increasing rates of insulin resistance in a Chinese population. As you consume a meal, glucose (sugar) from the carbohydrates you ingest is released into the bloodstream. This triggers a response causing your body to produce the hormone insulin, enabling the glucose to be absorbed by the cells in your body to be used for energy. As the glucose enters your body’s cells, the concentration of glucose in your blood decreases. Insulin resistance is a condition in which cells cannot respond normally to insulin. This leads to high blood sugar, which eventually leads to type 2 diabetes. Over the past 20 years, China has experienced rapid economic growth, concurrent with shifts in diet and physical activity...

10Nov

By CatherineNo Comments

Genetically Modified Foods

Is Uganda ready for GMOs?

The Parliament of Uganda recently passed the National Biosafety Act 2017. The law is intended to provide a legal and regulatory framework for the safe development and application of “biotechnology”, not “Biosafety”, in the country. The advancement of modern biotechnology has been popularised as a powerful tool in alleviating poverty and enhancing food security. Uganda is a signatory to the Cartagena Protocol which mandates parties to ensure an adequate level of protection in the field of safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms resulting from biotechnology. Over the years, Uganda has been progressively promoting the adoption of genetically modified (GM) varieties. A number of confined field trials have been conducted: for example, genetically modified (GM) bananas...