“We urgently need an alternative method to fight bacterial infection. One promising method for killing bacteria is to use bacteriophages: viruses that infect and kill bacteria … As a type of virus, phages cannot live and reproduce alone. Viruses need to invade a host cell, consume the host’s nutrients to make more copies of themselves, and lastly get out of the host cell – often by…
See moreTag: Food
Childhood obesity and parents’ influence
Child obesity is a major global health problem in both developed and developing countries. Tens of millions of children (perhaps as many as 15-20% of all children) are overweight or even obese by the age of 5 or younger. “Obese children are likely to become obese adults and are at higher risk of developing a range of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), type…
See morePostmenopausal bone health and nutrition
Quick bibliography: 5 reviews/recent articles on postmenopausal bone health and nutrition. Classic review: Ilich, J. Z. & Kerstetter, J.E. (2000). Nutrition in Bone Health Revisited: A Story Beyond Calcium. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 19 (6), 715-737. [Cited by] “Osteoporosis is a complex, multi-factorial condition characterized by reduced bone mass and impaired micro-architectural structure, leading to an increased susceptibility to fractures. Although most of…
See moreWhat’s the best way to get eggs from chickens?
At an exhibit in Iowa, USA, a comparison of the ways of getting eggs from chickens: The “conventional housing” is demonstrated: And, is touted over “cage-free” and “free-range” emphasizing safety and health: Yet, the birds are packed into cages and an actual production facility looks more like this: And, laws impacting the availability of “cage-free” and “free-range” have been influenced by corporate egg producing groups….
See moreWe need action
Land and water degradation, food and water supply shortages, drug-resistant infections from overuse of antibiotics, overuse of pesticides and disease, sea level rise affecting coastal areas, microplastics/single-use plastic pollution on land and in the oceans, rapidly melting ice at the Poles, heatwaves, droughts, extreme rainfall, powerful hurricanes, and more –> people and animals migrating, people and animals dying. It’s real, it’s happening now, and it’s…
See moreCorporate farming and its consequences in the U.S. Midwest
News: I live in Iowa, USA; I’ve lived here all my life–60 years. My parents, born in the 1920’s, both grew up on small family farms. I had relatives who farmed all their lives. Agriculture is still held up as a virtue here … even though, in 2019, fewer and fewer people in Iowa (only about 2.5% of Iowa residents) actually live and work on…
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