GMOs with health benefits have a large market potential
Ghent, Belgium (SPX) Jan 15, 2015 -
Over the last years, various GM crops with health benefits have been developed in which genes, mostly originating from other organisms, have been added. Notable examples include rice enriched with pro-vitamin A (also known as 'Golden Rice') and folate-enriched rice, developed at Ghent University.
Fifteen years after the development of 'Golden Rice', which was the first GMO with health bene ...
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A twist on planetary origins
Boston MA (SPX) Jan 15, 2015 -
Meteors that have crashed to Earth have long been regarded as relics of the early solar system. These craggy chunks of metal and rock are studded with chondrules - tiny, glassy, spherical grains that were once molten droplets. Scientists have thought that chondrules represent early kernels of terrestrial planets: As the solar system started to coalesce, these molten droplets collided with bits ...
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Flu shot just 23 percent effective: US
Miami (AFP) Jan 15, 2015 -
This US winter season's flu vaccine has been just 23 percent effective at preventing doctor visits for people of all ages, according to health authorities' early estimates out Thursday.
The flu vaccine for 2014-2015 is not the worst ever - the past decade has ranged from 10 percent to 60 percent effective - but its record is worrying enough that the Centers for Disease Control and Preventi ...
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China's aquaculture sector could rebalance global fish supplies
Stanford CA (SPX) Jan 15, 2015 -
In a new paper in Science a research team led by Stanford postdoctoral scholar Ling Cao and Professor Rosamond Naylor offers the clearest picture to date of China's enormous impact on wild fisheries. The study also presents a more sustainable alternative to the current practice of using wild-caught fish to feed farm-raised fish.
China is the world's leading producer, consumer and processor ...
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UN Ebola czar says epidemic has 'passed the tipping point'
United Nations, United States (AFP) Jan 15, 2015 -
The Ebola crisis has "passed the tipping point" and there is now a reasonable chance the deadly outbreak could end quickly, the UN special envoy said Thursday.
UN Ebola coordinator David Nabarro welcomed fresh data from the World Health Organization showing that all three hardest-hit countries in West Africa had registered the lowest weekly tally of new cases in months.
"I'm absolutely d ...
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Uniqlo pledges to improve factory conditions in China
Tokyo (AFP) Jan 15, 2015 -
Japanese clothing giant Uniqlo on Thursday pledged to improve working conditions at its Chinese suppliers and beef up monitoring following claims that the firms were putting employees at risk.
The chain's parent company Fast Retailing said it was ushering in changes after the Hong Kong-based Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM) released a study this week that said fac ...
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Oil prices rally from brink of six-year lows
New York (UPI) Jan 15, 2015 -
Positive economic sentiment from OPEC, coupled with global currency movements, pulled crude oil price indices back Thursday from near six-year lows.
The bear market for crude oil, down substantially from June 2014 highs above the $100 per barrel mark, has sparked early 2015 fears of stagnation in the global economy. Russia, which relies heavily on oil export revenue, is expected to expe ...
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