A Kenyan researcher tries to get people to eat more insects.
Skimmed milk cow
A New Zealand biotech company has identified a pretty special mutation in a Friesian cow called Marge. Marge
produces a normal level of protein in her milk but substantially less fat, and the fat she does produce has much more unsaturated fat. She also produces milk with very high levels of omega3 oils.
The trait is heritable, and a commercial herd producing milk that is healthier and butter that is spreadable right out of the fridge is expected to be ready by 2011. The boffins at ViaLactia are looking for the gene involved.
Position of the American Dietetic Association
Position of the American Dietetic Association: We can conserve natural resources and support sustainability.
New natural anti-oxidant source
The seed extract of the South American Sapindaceae berry guarana (Paullinia cupana) has been found to have high levels of anti-oxidant activity.
Another silver bullet?
The discovery of an enzyme which sits at a crucial step on the metabolic journey from glucose to that important anti-oxidant, vitamin C, opens the way for the kind of silver bullet thinking we have previously been somewhat critical of on this blog. Or it may not. We’ll see.
One of the researchers says:
We now have two strategies to provide enhanced protection against oxidative damage: Stimulate the endogenous activity of the identified enzyme or engineer transgenic plants which overexpress the gene that encodes the enzyme.
But I wonder whether this discovery will also allow the rapid evaluation of cultivars for vitamin C content?