Health News Nano tech wound healing in diabetes ♦ Botulism outbreak reminder about canning food safety ♦ Engineering a permanent solution to genetic diseases

Ohio Botulism outbreak reminder about canning food safety COLUMBUS, OH—It was a church potluck like any other. But within days, botulism killed one Fairfield County woman and hospitalized 24...

New ring can diagnose sexually transmitted diseases in a single test A ring with the ability to diagnose sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and trichomoniasis has been developed.

Engineering a permanent solution to genetic diseases New research demonstrates a new technology advancing the field of genome engineering. The method significantly improves the ability of scientists to target specific faulty genes, and then 'edit' them, replacing the damaged genetic code with healthy DNA.

Link between hunger and health care costs Low-income people who struggle to put food on the table also use the health care system more, which means higher healthcare costs.

Nanotech wound healing in diabetes People with diabetes mellitus often suffer from impaired wound healing. Now, scientists have developed antibacterial nanofibers of cellulose acetate loaded with silver that could be used in a new type of dressing to promote tissue repair

Weight Loss Research: Fructose produces less rewarding sensations in the brain ♦ Weighing yourself daily can tip the scale in your favor ♦ Weight-loss surgery may greatly improve incontinence

Weighing yourself daily can tip the scale in your favor For those wishing to lose weight and keep it off, here’s a simple strategy that works: step on a scale each day and track the results. A two-year study found that frequent self-weighing and tracking results on a chart were effective for both losing weight and keeping it off, especially for men.

Weight-loss surgery may greatly improve incontinence For severely obese people, bariatric surgery may have a benefit besides dramatic weight loss: it can also substantially reduce urinary incontinence. This study is the first to examine the longer-term effects of the surgical procedure on incontinence three years after bariatric surgery

Prevalence of overweight, obesity in the United States More than two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese, according to new estimates. Overweight and obesity are associated with a variety of chronic health conditions, which could potentially be avoided by preventing weight gain and obesity.

Eating in the absence of hunger: A recipe for expanding waistline Snacking when you're not hungry can cause weight gain as much as overly large portion sizes and energy-rich foods, a researcher reports.

Fructose produces less rewarding sensations in the brain Fructose not only results in a lower level of satiety, it also stimulates the reward system in the brain to a lesser degree than glucose. This may cause excessive consumption accompanied by effects that are a risk to health, report researchers. Various diseases have been attributed to industrial fructose in sugary drinks and ready meals.

China Wastes !9% of its Grain

A comprehensive new review of food waste in the People's Republic of China has concluded that about 19 of every 100 pounds of grain produced in the country go to waste, with related losses of water for irrigation and farmland productivity.

Food waste is a global problem with an estimated one-third to one-half of food produced worldwide being lost or wasted from farm to fork. Estimates suggest that the United States wastes about 40 percent of food crops. The problem is especially acute in China. With only 6 percent of the world's total water resources and barely 9 percent of the arable land, China nevertheless must feed 21 percent of the world's population. Liu's team set out to document loss and waste of food as a basis for developing policies that could help sustain the food supply in the future.

They found that about 19 percent of rice, wheat and other grain in China is lost or wasted, with consumer waste accounting for the largest portion, 7 percent. The overall loss meant the waste of an estimated 177 billion cubic yards of water used to produce food grown but never eaten — a volume equal to the amount of water Canadian farmers use to grow all their crops. And it meant the waste of 64 million acres of cropland sown and harvested in vain. Liu and colleagues recommended several strategies, including raising public awareness, improving storage systems, mechanizing the harvest of grains and putting in place monitoring programs to track food waste with more precision.

How many people would not have to go hungry around the world if waist could be controlled.

Microbes can Feed the World

A greater emphasis on the role of microbiology in agriculture combined with new technologies can help stop potential food shortages associated with the increase of the world population according to a new report from the American Academy of Microbiology.

Microbes are essential partners in all aspects of plant physiology, but the man's efforts to improve plant productivity focused only on plants, "says Ian Sanders of the University of Lausanne, President the conference that produced the report. "  Optimize the microbial communities living in, on and around the plants, can significantly reduce the need for chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.  "

The report, "  How Microbes can Help Feed the World  "is based on the deliberations of a group of scientists who met for two days in Washington in December 2012 to review a series of questions about how interactions plants microorganisms could be used to increase agricultural productivity in an environmentally and economically responsible.

It begins with a startling statistic: In order to feed the estimated 9 billion by 2050 world population, agricultural yields will increase by 70-100%.

A better understanding of the interactions plant-microorganisms has the potential to increase crop productivity by 20% while reducing the need for fertilizers and pesticides by 20% within 20 years, according to the report. These estimates are based on the recognition that all plants rely on microbial partners to secure nutrients, pathogens and discourage resistance to environmental stress.

"  New technologies make ecosystems plants microorganisms easier to study and investment in this area of research could have important benefits  , "said Marilynn Roossinck, Pennsylvania State University, who helped organize the conference.

Note Check out this informative report .