Kraft Foods, a major producer and conglomerate of cheese, has revealed that it is taking the issue of intestinal parasites (i.e. worms and such) very seriously - to the point that it's planning to include a new ingredient in its cheese products that should take care of the pesky pests. This unusual new product is aimed at Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Check out the details of this endeavor after the jump.

With international concern for climate change snowballing to pressure industrialized nations to come clean, ethanol is perhaps the most popular solution being touted by scientists and politicians. But some environmentalists and the National Research Center beg to differ.

Ethanol is derived mainly from raw crops such as corn and emits very little pollutants when used as automotive fuel. This would be a logical alternative to fossil fuels, but some scientists say that we'll end up moving the pollution from the air to the Earth's hydrosphere.

For President Bush's plan of increasing ethanol production 300 percent by 2017 to happen, huge amounts of corn crops must be planted to serve the industry.

This could pose a threat to water systems because a huge amount of nitrogen-based fertilizers and pesticides would be used to grow the crops. These fertilizers and pesticides are likely to eventually find their ways into the water of streams, rivers and seas, damaging the ecosystem as a result of microorganism casualties with a chain effect hitting bigger species.

Food supplies in developing nations may also be compromised as they struggle to produce and allocate the crops needed for human and fuel consumption.

Finally, the availability of water to irrigate a huge amount of crops was questioned by the National Research Center report. Not only will it be difficult to find means to water huge tracts of land, it was also a concern as to what quality of water will eventually come out of fields saturated by fertilizers. "From a water quality perspective, it is vitally important to pursue policies that prevent an increase in total loadings of nutrients, pesticides, and sediments to waterways," conclude the experts.

Researchers from the Leicester School of Pharmacy have discovered that Salvestrol Q40, a chemical found in high quantities in Tangerine peel, has been found to kill off cancer cells. When the said substance comes in contact with infected units, it turns into the P450 CYP1B1 enzyme and kills the offending cells.

For those who haven't heard of Salvestrol 40, it is a type of Phytoalexin that is normally used by plants to stave off insect and fungi attacks. It is also found in other plants, specifically members of the Brassica family such as Broccoli and Brussel Sprouts. While this might seem easily obtainable, the Salvestrol level in food have been dropping because plants have become reliant on pesticides and fungicides.

In spite of this, the project's lead researcher Dr Hoon Tan was happy about the findings saying that "It is very exciting to find a compound in food that can target cancers specifically." He has already formed a company with is colleagues in an effort to develop the findings into a natural anti-cancer cure.

This discovery could potentially lead to a whole new approach in conducting cancer-related research. Who knows, it might even eventually provide us with the long-sought for golden cure to the deadly disease.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has pointed out in a recent report that biofuels might cause more harm than good. The organization claimed that the use of biofuels is unsustainable and could possibly disrupt markets without the expected environmental benefits.
 
Biofuels came into vogue some time ago as a means of reducing energy reliance, boosting farm revenues, and to help fight global warming. Unlike conventional fuels, this product is made from grains, oilseeds, and sugar, products considered renewable. However, the OECD stated that it is hurting the environment more and is even pushing up food prices.

The group cited the use of fertilizer, acidification, as well as biodiversity loss and agricultural pesticides as far more damaging overall than the negative effects created by petrol and diesel. They didn't propose this without a potential solution to the problems biofuel was supposed to fix though, they pointed out that:

A liter of gasoline or diesel conserved because a person walks, rides a bicycles, carpools or tunes up his or her vehicle's engine more often is a full liter of gasoline or diesel saved at a much lower cost to the economy than subsidizing inefficient new sources of supply.

This may be the case, but until further action is taken to investigate the full impact of biofuels, it will remain as one of the stronger alternatives to normal fuels.

A few months ago, we reported that bees have been mysteriously disappearing and its reasons are still unknown. There has been a lot of speculation as to why this is happening - some thinkers believe that sunspots are the culprit, while there are others who think that a particular fungus is to blame. Now a Cornell University expert is revealing his findings about this occurrence.

According to Nicholas Calderone, the Cornell entomology professor, finding the cause of the problem is vital for U.S. agriculture as many fruits and crops rely on honeybees for pollination. He explains that "just like in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster there are a lot of conflicting and inaccurate reports circulating in the media. What we do know is that there are an awful lot of dead bees. We are looking for patterns."

Among the possible causes of the bee deaths are genetically modified food, mites, pathogens, pesticides, and even electromagnetic radiation from cell phones. Calderone clarifies that actual causes are still unknown. A possible culprit pointed out by scientists is a class of insecticides called neonicotinoids - they are widely detected on pollen at low concentrations in other countries experiencing the same thing.

Apparently, neonicotinoids at certain levels may impair the bees' abilities to learn; scientists hypothesize that, due to this, bees may leave their hives and get lost. Calderone believes that this study could use more research. Another reason could be miticides used to combat mites. It has been hypothesized that miticides can accumulate in the bees' wax combs to levels that could harm the bees.

It's a good thing that a lot of people seem to care about this problem. As of now, Cornell and other universities are putting together funding plans to research and investigate the cause of the bee deaths. The federal government is thinking of allotting millions of dollars for long-term programs aimed at improving the honeybees' health.

The American Academy of Neurology will hold its 59th annual meeting in Boston from April 28 to March 5. One of the more pressing topics that will be presented is the recent study saying how wars affect soldiers' and veterans' brain structure.

Accordingly, the change in brain structure is somehow related to multiple health symptoms. The study employed 36 veterans of the first Gulf War (1990-1991). Half of this population showed multiple problems such as joint pain, fatigue, forgetfulness, headaches, skin rash, nausea, and difficulty in concentrating. The other half had a lower number of symptoms.

The study found out that those veterans with more health problems had a significantly smaller (5%) cortex compared to those with lesser symptoms. The two areas of the brain connected to thinking and memory were also smaller. Even the rostral anterior cingulated gyrus was 6% smaller as well.

Authored by Boston University School of Public Health Dr. Roberta White, the study also revealed that those with smaller brain volume performed worse on learning and memory tests. White commented,

We don't know the cause of these differences in the veterans' brain volumes, but the hypothesis is that they are related to exposure to hazardous substances during the first Gulf War. Many troops were exposed to hazardous substances such as pesticides, and other studies have shown that exposures to these substances affect the central nervous system.

White will explain further the study a scientific poster session at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 1, 2007. The meeting will be held in Exhibit Hall A of the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

More than a month ago, we covered a story about bees disappearing for a yet unknown reason. The hypotheses presented on this mysterious disappearance of bees called Colony Collapse Disorder, were the following: pesticides, mites, and/or poor management of the bee farmers.

But in a study made by Barbara Shipman, mathematician and daughter of a bee researcher, a different reason for the disappearance of bees was given: sunspots. A sunspot is a region on the Sun's surface that is marked by a lower temperature than its surroundings and intense magnetic activity. Sunspots follow an estimated 11-year cycle, corresponding to increases in solar activity.

Whatever have sunspots to do with honeybees? Shipman studied the complex dance that honeybees do when signaling pollen sources to their colony. As a mathematician, Shipman analyzed that this complex bee-dance is influenced by things such as polarization of the light of the sun and local variations of the earth's magnetic field.

Shipman's studies suggest that bees are sensitive to quantum-mechanical effects such as magnetic fields and electromagnetic waves. In the bee disappearance case, it may be no coincidence that the predicted next solar maximum in 2010 could be the most intense ever. This view suggests that because of the coming sunspot peak, the quantum field to which bees may be sensitive could have been disturbed.

Let's put it this way: because of Shipman's views, scientists are suggesting that the Colony Collapse Disorder may have been caused by bees losing their navigation skills because of the disturbed magnetic activity. They may have flown skyward, attempting to keep up with the rapidly moving target of home in six dimensions. Or, hyperdimentsional bee-eaters could have emerged from the sunspot, phasing the bees out of existence on contact.

Sounds weird now, but someday maybe we'll understand it better. As physicist David Hathaway puts it, "We don't know why this works. The underlying physics is a mystery. But it does work."

Bees are as interesting, as well as they're useful, but now, they're mysteriously disappearing and researchers and farmers are baffled as to why this is happening. Around a 50 percent loss in the bee population has been reported in 22 states already.

Recently named Colony Collapse Disorder, this phenomenon has decimated commercial beekeeping operations all across the country. But what really sets off this mystery from other bee die-offs in the past are the following clues:

1. Usually, the bodies of dead bees are often littered around their hive, but with the CCD, no dead bees are to be found littered around to give clues about this mysterious ailment. Scientists think they've flown from the hive before dying.
2. Hives look normal from the outside, but when investigated, there are few mature bees to be found taking care of the young.
3. Weakened colonies do not get overrun by the stronger ones. They remain untouched for at least two weeks.

Researchers are convinced that CCD is a real abnormality. They suspect that pesticides, or mites, or poor management by bee farmers must be the reason why the bees are dying the way that they are.

Bees are very important. They gather pollen from the blooms of fruits, vegetables, nuts, melons and many other food crops for the production of honey in wax combs, in turn pollinating plants. Bees pollinate a total of one third of the world's food supply.

With CCD threatening honey and food production, as well as the livelihood of bee farmers, researchers are scrambling to find the culprit behind this mysterious phenomenon.

There's so much hunger in the world, and yet people still find a reason to get angry about a couple of grains. Bayer Crop Sciences has asked the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to approve a new type of modified rice, even as that said rice is currently under fire because of a contamination scandal.

Here's the deal. Bayer reported that trace amounts of an unapproved type rice got into their commercial samples. The selling of unapproved rice for human consumption is illegal, even if the USDA says that the genetically modified rice was harmless. Bayer has received some backlash for the contamination, and there are definitely angry farmers out there right now as the contamination scandal has dropped American rice prices considerably.

You can understand their sentiment if it was found that the rice was harmful, but they still seem to be going on about the harmless rice that got into commercial rice seed and the continued attention to the mistake (which could actually be chalked up as a lesson in not screwing up unless you intend to kill people). It's genetically modified and all, but it isn't exactly Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. Still, the effects of the scandal on the people who grow rice are rather painful, since farming isn't a very lucrative job to begin with.

For those who know something about pesticides, perhaps you can shed light on this. According to the report, the unapproved genetically modified rice is called LL Rice 601, and it was made to tolerate a herbicide called glufosinate ammonium. What is this herbicide supposed to kill exactly, and have you heard of any genetically engineered killer rice? How come no one's made an edible crop that can grow in really inhospitable land, such as badly irrigated soil?

Some organic farmers and activists claim that the organic label in the U.S. has been reduced into a gimmicky marketing tool designed to cash in on the growing demand for organic food products. They also expressed their concerns over loosening regulations as well as the alleged violations of the USDA organic standard by two hugely popular organic brands, Horizon Organic and Aurora Organic Dairy.

The US Department of Agriculture says that any product that carry the "USDA organic" should have at least 95% of its ingredients farmed without using chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, pesticides or any other methods considered unnatural or harmful to the environment. Organic or sustainable farming techniques that merit the 'USDA organic' label include using ducks and insects for pest and weed control, and water conservation and natural methods of soil replenishment.

Making things more complicated is the label "natural". Food products tagged as "natural" is apparently not synonymous with "organically farmed". "Natural" indicates that a product contains no artificial ingredients or artificial food coloring, but how the ingredients were grown or raised is another story.

"It is sort of a marketing gimmick," said Cindy Moore, director of Nutrition Therapy at the Cleveland Clinic. "If you have a product with limited nutrients, making them with organic products isn't going to make it better."

But as far as many consumers are concerned, "organic" equals "healthy" and there are studies that support the equation. Organic food is better for children because their bodies can't handle pesticide residues very well, and the USDA-certified organic label guarantees these products do not contain some 300 synthetic food additives allowed by the FDA in conventional food products.

For others however, buying organic is their way of supporting environment-friendly establishments. Organic food sales in the US grew from 17% to 20% for the past few years while sales of conventional food grows at only about 2% to 3% annually.