Bacillus thuringiensis: Profile of a bacterium - Basic info Apr 4, 2007 Basic info Print Send Bacillus thuringiensis It has been known for over a hundred years that certain common, soil-dwelling bacteria - Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) - have a toxic and deadly effect on insects. The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is found everywhere – it has been isolated from soil samples, leaf surfaces and insects. The bacterium was first discovered in silkworms in 1901 by a Japanese scientist, who named it Bacillus sotto, although he remained unaware of its special characteristics. Field trials with Bacillus thuringiensis to control the European corn borer were being conducted as early as the late 1920s and in 1938 the first commercial Bt preparation (Sporeine) came onto the market in France. Since the introduction of the first Bt preparations in crop protection, more and more new, previously unknown strains of Bacillus thuringiensis have been identified, each of which affects only certain insect groups. Targeted use How the Bt toxin works
Low-fat yogurt intake during pregnancy may heighten child allergy risk, study Mothers who consume low-fat yogurt products during pregnancy may give birth to children with a higher risk of developing allergies such as asthma and hay fever, a study has found. A team led by Ekaterina Maslova, from the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, aimed to assess whether conjugated fatty acids (CLA) found in dairy products could offer children protection against development of allergies. This followed the reporting of immune-modulating and protective effects for CLAs in animal studies. Presenting findings during a recent poster presentation at the 2011 European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress, Maslova et al said dairy products were an important source of micronutrients, fatty acids and probiotics that could “modify the risk of child asthma and allergy development”. Milk offers asthma protection Women were recruited between 1996 and 2002, and were interviewed twice – before and after pregnancy. Results explained Source: Unpublished.
The Congressional Debate Over What Makes Food "Natural" Kinja is in read-only mode. We are working to restore service. Would we have to label every food as genetically modified then? Just because we haven't opened up a plant's genome and tampered with it until recently, we have been genetically modifying all of the foods that we eat for thousands of years. As I understand it, the typical banana can't even breed on its own because we've bred it to stop producing seeds, but no one believes that eating a banana will turn them into a mutant banana-person. (Note to self-sell this idea to Syfy network). Alternatively, could we just take all of the money that will have to be used for labeling and give that to educate people about the GMO issue? Flagged
Pregnant? Some Foods May Raise Baby's Asthma, Allergy Risk (Getty Images) By Denise Mann SUNDAY, Feb. 28, 2010 (Health.com) — As if mothers-to-be don’t have enough to worry about, new research suggests that eating certain foods during pregnancy or while breast-feeding may raise the baby’s risk of allergies and asthma later in life. The good news is that if women—particularly those in allergy-prone families—avoid nuts, eggs, and milk during and after pregnancy, they may lower their child’s risk of developing food allergies or asthma, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in New Orleans. Expectant women who consume little folic acid—a type of B vitamin recommended during pregnancy to prevent birth defects—may also be less likely than women who consume more to have children with asthma, according to a second study, also presented at the meeting. The studies come at a time when food allergies are on the rise among kids in the United States.
Retail Food Protection > Growing Sprouts in Retail Food Establishment - CFP Issues 02-III-01 and 04-III-012 See more Food Safety Information Concerning Sprouts. See all Retail Food Protection Regulations, Codes & Code Interpretations . December 2004 Fresh produce is an important addition to a healthy diet, however, some produce, including sprouts, the germinating form of seeds and beans, have been implicated in foodborne illness. In July 1999, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an advisory to the public, "Consumers Advised of Risks Associated with Raw Sprouts" (Ref. 4) based on the continued reports of illness from consuming raw sprouts. In October 1999, FDA released two guidance documents to provide recommendations to seed suppliers and sprout producers to reduce microbial food safety hazards common to the production of sprouts. Sprouts may include alfalfa, clover, sunflower, broccoli, mustard, radish, garlic, dill and pumpkin as well as mung, kidney, pinto, navy, soy beans and wheat berries (wheat grass). Contamination of seeds appears to be sporadic and usually at low levels.
Status and Stress Maxwell Holyoke-Hirsch Although professionals may bemoan their long work hours and high-pressure careers, really, there’s stress, and then there’s Stress with a capital “S.” The former can be considered a manageable if unpleasant part of life; in the right amount, it may even strengthen one’s mettle. What’s the difference? That sense of control tends to decline as one descends the socioeconomic ladder, with potentially grave consequences. Even those who later ascend economically may show persistent effects of early-life hardship. Even those who become rich are more likely to be ill if they suffered hardship early on. The British epidemiologist Michael Marmot calls the phenomenon “status syndrome.” Dr. So the stress that kills, Dr. How they induce it is instructive. Biologists explain the particulars as a fight-or-flight response — adrenaline pumping, heart rate elevated, blood pressure increased — that continues indefinitely. All hope is not lost, however.
Modern wheat a "perfect, chronic poison," doctor says (CBS News) Modern wheat is a "perfect, chronic poison," according to Dr. William Davis, a cardiologist who has published a book all about the world's most popular grain. Davis said that the wheat we eat these days isn't the wheat your grandma had: "It's an 18-inch tall plant created by genetic research in the '60s and '70s," he said on "CBS This Morning." "This thing has many new features nobody told you about, such as there's a new protein in this thing called gliadin. Asked if the farming industry could change back to the grain it formerly produced, Davis said it could, but it would not be economically feasible because it yields less per acre. "If three people lost eight pounds, big deal," he said. To avoid these wheat-oriented products, Davis suggests eating "real food," such as avocados, olives, olive oil, meats, and vegetables. "It's really a wheat issue." Some health resources, such as the Mayo Clinic, advocate a more balanced diet that does include wheat.
Steps for More, and Better, Sleep Christopher Silas Neal I regret that for most of my adult life, I treated sleep as more a luxury than a necessity. There was always something more to do before I crawled under the covers and turned out the light. I realize belatedly that I might have been more productive — and a lot nicer to live with — if I had given sleep its proper due. By failing to acknowledge chronic sleep deprivation, I dozed during countless cultural events, and on two occasions I fell asleep while driving, barely escaping disaster. About 70 million Americans sleep poorly or not nearly long enough to achieve the full physical, emotional and cognitive benefits sleep can bestow. How much sleep do you need? Given the opportunity to sleep as long as they want, most adults average about eight hours a night. Age also affects the quality of sleep and the amount of time spent in the various stages of sleep. But with age, the time spent in deep sleep diminishes and any number of disturbances can cause awakenings.
A Diet that Fits Your Genes The age of one-size-fits-all nutritional advice is coming to a close, thanks to the surging field of nutrigenomics. Soon, individual decisions about whether to focus on Mediterranean-style dining, low-fat foods or a salt-free diet will get easier as we learn more about our genetic makeup and how it interacts with what we eat. Consider a study published in the September 2013 issue of Diabetes Care. It found that in a group of people who carried a particular genetic risk for diabetes, and an associated higher risk of stroke, eating a Mediterranean diet negated their increased risk of stroke. Conducted in Spain with more than 7,000 participants ages 55 to 80, the five-year study demonstrated that people who carried two copies of the genetic mutation for diabetes and who followed a low-fat diet were almost three times as likely to have a stroke as those who carried one or no copies of the mutation. Tufts Now: You’ve been examining the link between genes and diet for years. M.E.
No Benefit in Sharply Restricting Salt, Panel Finds In a report that undercuts years of public health warnings, a prestigious group convened by the government says there is no good reason based on health outcomes for many Americans to drive their sodium consumption down to the very low levels recommended in national dietary guidelines. Those levels, 1,500 milligrams of sodium a day, or a little more than half a teaspoon of salt, were supposed to prevent heart attacks and strokes in people at risk, including anyone older than 50, blacks and people with high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease — groups that make up more than half of the American population. Some influential organizations, including the American Heart Association, have said that everyone, not just those at risk, should aim for that very low sodium level. The heart association reaffirmed that position in an interview with its spokesman on Monday, even in light of the new report. Photo There are physiological consequences of consuming little sodium, said Dr.
Shrimp's Dirty Secrets: Why America's Favorite Seafood Is a Health and Environmental Nightmare January 24, 2010 | Like this article? Join our email list: Stay up to date with the latest headlines via email. Americans love their shrimp. In his book, Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood, Taras Grescoe paints a repulsive picture of how shrimp are farmed in one region of India. Upon arrival in the U.S., few if any, are inspected by the FDA, and when researchers have examined imported ready-to-eat shrimp, they found 162 separate species of bacteria with resistance to 10 different antibiotics. Understanding the shrimp that supplies our nation's voracious appetite is quite complex. A more responsible farming system involves closed, inland ponds that use their wastewater for agricultural irrigation instead of allowing it to pollute oceans or other waterways. One more consideration, even in these cleaner systems, is the wild fish used to feed farmed shrimp.
An Exam With Poor Results Yvetta Fedorova In America, when a woman goes to her gynecologist, she is typically given a pelvic exam whether or not she has symptoms or concerns that might warrant one. That’s one reason an estimated 63.4 million pelvic exams are performed annually in this country. Now a growing number of experts are asking whether it’s necessary to do so many. “This is not the case in other countries that get better results without doing routine pelvic exams,” Dr. “I’m an American gynecologist, and that’s how we were trained. For most women, Pap smears are now recommended just once every three to five years — and for some, not at all. A woman undergoing the exam is bare below the waist. It’s called a bimanual exam. These experts say that for women who are well, a routine bimanual exam is not supported by medical evidence, increases the costs of medical care and discourages some women, especially adolescents, from seeking needed care. Dr. Dr. Yet Ms. Dr. That is likely to be an uphill battle.
Miami couple forced to rip out 17-year-old veggie garden in their front yard Fruit, flowers, and flamingos are fine in a Miami Shores front yard, but a veggie garden is “inconsistent with the city’s aesthetic character.” That’s why Hermine Ricketts and Tom Carroll were ordered to ax the vegetable garden they’d had for 17 years or pay a daily $50 fine. (Judging by its reputation for tacky tropical print shirts, I’m not sure how much “aesthetic character” Miami actually has, but whatever, city officials.) Here’s Ricketts’ and Carroll’s story in a cutely animated nutshell: Sadly, this is no isolated case. A Michigan woman faced 93 days in jail for planting a garden in her front yard, a Tennessee man’s sunflowers and veggies were deemed a “nuisance,” and an Oklahoma woman’s strawberries, mint, and fruit trees were bulldozed because they were too tall. Now The Institute for Justice’s Food Freedom Initiative, which created the video above, is trying to protect Americans’ rights to grow our own food.