London | Reuters –– Scientists in Britain say they have developed a way of genetically modifying and controlling an invasive species of moth that causes serious pest damage to cabbages, kale, canola and other similar crops worldwide. In what they said could be a pesticide-free and environmentally-friendly way to control insect pests, the scientists, from […] Read more
Genetically modified diamondback moth offers pest control hope
WHO agency says insecticides lindane, DDT linked to cancer
London | Reuters — The insecticide lindane, once widely used in agriculture and to treat human lice and scabies, causes cancer and has been specifically linked to non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) also said that DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) probably causes cancer, with scientific […] Read more
Cattle parasite study points to possible way to fight malaria
London | Reuters –– Herds of African cattle may hold the secret to new ways of fighting parasitic diseases such as malaria, which kills some 600,000 people a year, scientists said on Friday. The researchers from the University of Edinburgh found that cows are protected from a parasite that causes a deadly disease called East […] Read more
Mutating H7N9 bird flu may pose pandemic threat, scientists warn
London | Reuters –– A wave of H7N9 bird flu in China that has spread into people may have the potential to emerge as a pandemic strain in humans, scientists said Wednesday. The H7N9 virus, one of several strains of bird flu known to be able to infect humans, has persisted, diversified and spread in […] Read more
UN team investigates Saudi surge in deadly MERS virus
London | Reuters –– An international team of United Nations human and animal health experts has flown to Saudi Arabia to investigate a recent surge in cases of a deadly virus causing Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Speaking from Riyadh on Friday, a spokeswoman for the World Health Organization-led team said it was worried by […] Read more
‘Superbugs’ that can overpower antibiotics are spreading — WHO
With antibiotic resistance rife across world, a WHO expert says ‘world is headed for post-antibiotic era’
Reading Time: 2 minutes The spread of deadly superbugs that evade even the most powerful antibiotics is no longer a prediction but is happening right now across the world, say UN officials. Antibiotic resistance has the potential to affect anyone, of any age, in any country, the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) said in a report. It is now […] Read more
Journal withdraws controversial French Monsanto GM study
Reading Time: 2 minutes The publisher of a controversial and much-criticized study suggesting genetically modified corn caused tumours in rats has withdrawn the paper after a year-long investigation found it did not meet scientific standards. Reed Elsevier’s Food and Chemical Toxicology (FCT) journal, which published the study by the French researcher Gilles-Eric Seralini in September 2012, said the retraction […] Read more
New H7N9 bird flu resists drugs without losing ability to spread
Scientists have found that a mutation in a new strain of bird flu infecting people in China can render it resistant to a key first-line treatment drug without limiting its ability to spread in mammals. The discovery means that unlike seasonal flu strains, which often become less transmissible when they develop resistance to drugs like […] Read more
Journal withdraws controversial GM corn study
The publisher of a controversial and much-criticized study suggesting genetically modified corn caused tumours in rats has withdrawn the paper after a year-long investigation found it did not meet scientific standards. Reed Elsevier’s Food and Chemical Toxicology (FCT) journal, which published the study by the French researcher Gilles-Eric Seralini in September 2012, said the retraction […] Read more
Study of human transmission of new bird flu raises worries
The first scientific analysis of probable human-to-human transmission of a deadly new strain of bird flu that emerged in China this year gives the strongest evidence yet that the H7N9 virus can pass between people, scientists said on Wednesday. Research published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) analyzing a family cluster of cases of H7N9 […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
