AgroBiotech Initiative

Is Coconut Oil Worth the Hype? Have you heard about the new “miracle food”? Oh, you’ve got to try it. Did you know it cures cancer? And whitens your teeth? And prevents Alzheimer’s? It also reduces inflammation and improves your memory. It even clears your skin! What am I talking about? Why, coconut oil, of course. Coconut oil is being hailed as the next big thing, and its purported benefits seem never-ending. Perhaps you've read about coconut oil’s miraculous properties on the internet, or maybe a family member or friend espoused its greatness. But is coconut oil the real deal, or is this another case of a trendy health food getting overblown? STACK investigates.     Coconut Oil Nutrition Facts   Before we talk about the benefits of coconut oil, let’s look at its basic nutrition facts. One tablespoon of coconut oil delivers 117 calories, 14 grams of fat, 12...

A growing number of scholars had urged the government to reform the rules, introduced in the late 1970s to prevent population growth spiraling out of control, but now regarded as outdated and responsible for shrinking China's labor pool. For the first time in decades the working age population fell in 2012, and China, the world's most populous nation, could be the first country in the world to get old before it gets rich. By around the middle of this century, one in every three Chinese is forecast to be over 60, with a dwindling proportion of working adults to support them. The announcement was made at the close of a key Party meeting focused on financial reforms and maintaining growth between 2016 and 2020 amid concerns over the country's slowing economy. China will "fully implement a policy of allowing each couple to have two children as an active response to an ageing population", the party said in a statement carried by the official Xinhua ...

University of Ibadan in partnership with the University of Illinois, Chicago, USA and University of Loyola, Chicago have discovered a permanent cure for Sickle Cell Anaemia. This was revealed during a brainstorming session by sickle cell experts at the University Teaching Hospital UCH, Ibadan on Wednesday. The new method is called first blood and marrow stem cell transplant, BMT, which experts say it is much more effective than the conventional method of stem  cell transplant which exposes patients to radiation and could cause cancer. The cure of the deadly disease, according to the Professor of Medicine, Victor Gordeuk, who is the Director, Sickle Cell Centre, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA and his colleagues, Prof. Damiano Rondelli, also from the same university and Prof. Bamidele Tayo, University of Loyola, Chicago this new treatment is done through bone marrow transplant and that it is less risky. The experts who were flanked by the Chief Medical Director, UCH, Pr...

 The World Health Organization stressed Thursday that an explosive report this week linking the consumption of processed meat to cancer was not calling for people to stop eating meat altogether. The WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) caused shockwaves Monday when it released a report analysing 800 studies from around the world, concluding that processed meats such as sausages, ham, and hot dogs cause bowel cancer, and red meat "probably" does too.  Meat producers slammed the report, with Australia's agriculture minister calling it "a farce", and the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) saying IARC "tortured the data to ensure a specific outcome". The United Nations agency cited research attributing about 34,000 cancer deaths per year worldwide to diets high in processed meat. The agency acknowledged this was dwarfed by the estimated one million cancer deaths attributed to tobacco smoking,...

    Take your face off without any irritation   Today’s makeup can stand up to heat, long hours of wear, and even a Soul Cycle session. While this saves us the worry of having to reapply all the time, it does have a serious downside: Trying to get all that damn product off. Constant scrubbing is a disaster for your lashes and can cause major irritation to the delicate eye area and sensitive skin. Here’s how to gently (yet completely) remove your makeup. Protect Your Eyes The skin around your eyes is the thinnest on your face. That’s why it’s prone to irritation, inflammation (hello, bags!), and dark circles. So first things first: A fragrance-, oil-, and alcohol-free liquid makeup remover is a great gentle option for everyday use. Apply two to three drops of liquid makeup remover on a cotton pad, and hold it on your eye for 20 to 30 seconds, says Viviana Martin, the Director of Global Artistry and Pro-Artist Relations for Kevyn Aucoin. This ...

4 Ways to Stay Awake Without Caffeine  1. Watch A Viral Video Pausing your day to watch a bunch of kids do the Whip/Nae Nae could actually make you feel more alert (plus…it’s amazing). That’s because tuning in to something entertaining helps you lose that zoned-out feeling you get when you’ve been staring at your computer screen for too long, Andrews says. “Changing your focus for a few moments, engaging in something pleasurable. 2. Drink a Glass of Water If you’re working out nearly every day, it might not just by muscle fatigue that’s slowing you down. “I think that dehydration probably is under-appreciated, particularly for people who are regular about exercise,” Andrews says. “People get up to the alarm clock every day and by Friday they are down as many as 10 hours of sleep.” Being dehydrated can actually affect the way blood moves to your brain. “One of the main systems that feels the effects [of dehydration] is blood volume, and when blood volume i...

 Green tea is the first herbal tea ever brewed, dating back to as far as 2737 B.C., and its unique effects on the human body have kept it popular over the last 4700 years. Interestingly, most common types of tea – green, black, yellow, and white – all come from the same plant: Camellia sinensis . The different end products depend on processing. Green tea is processed gently to minimize oxidation, so many of its most useful compounds stay intact. You can prepare green tea as a beverage and also add it to recipes. Some people even use its extract for medicinal purposes. Read on to learn about the many benefits of green tea.  Fight inflammation and protect your heart with polyphenols Green tea is loaded with polyphenols, a class of potent antioxidant compounds. Studies suggest that green tea polyphenols may protect you from aging and inflammation associated with oxidative stress. Specifically, green tea is a great source of catechins and flavonoids, the same po...

 suggests that the two aspects of job control -- decision-making and the application of skills -- should be treated separately when evaluating levels of job stress and health. "Many people point to 'eating too much and not moving enough' as the cause of obesity," said lead author Mr. Christopher Bean. "While this might explain how weight gain often happens, it does not acknowledge things such as environmental, psychological, social or cultural factors -- these are some of the important why reasons that obesity happens." For the study, researchers from University of Adelaide, Central Queensland University and the University of South Australia analyzed data from 450 middle-aged participants who worked in both blue and white-collar positions. Along with health data (height, weight, waist circumference), participants provided information on the psychosocial qualities of their work. The results show the nature of people's job...

Biotechnology is making an increasing contribution to the Global Animal Health (AH) field in the areas of vaccine development, diagnostics and biopharmaceuticals. The Global AH market was worth $23 billion in 2013 and includes products for both livestock and companion animals with relative sales being split 60/40 between these species. The market is also split between pharmaceuticals (62%), biologicals (26%) and medicinal feed additives (12%). ( Animal Pharm, May 2014 ) While traditional vaccines are still produced by culture of the pathogen followed by inactivation of the agent, an increasing number of vaccines use recombinant antigens, molecularly attenuated live viruses or deletion mutants. With the need to sometimes be able to differentiate between vaccinated and infected animals, marker genes are also now being inserted into viral vaccines to allow for this discrimination. In the area of diagnostics, recombinant proteins provides a reliable sources of antige...

ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION IN POULTRY Artificial Insemination (AI) is an important tool to improve the reproductive performance of birds especially broiler breeders and turkey where fertility is low due to heavy body weight.  Even though AI is well developed technique in cattle, is not so well developed in poultry because no standard technique is available to store poultry semen for a long period.  The techniques available at present permits to collect semen and use it for insemination immediately with or without dilution using semen diluents at 1: 2 ratio.  Semen collected from one cock is sufficient for inseminating 5 to 10 hens depending upon the semen volume and sperm concentration.  At farms, where AI is practiced the males are kept separately in individual cages where sufficient space is available for movement of the birds.  There should be a particular team of workers to associate collection and insemination of semen.  Frequent cha...

 The United Nations Predicts That The World Will Need Twice  As Much Food by 2050 . Still, fewer acres are used for farming each year and water for irrigation is limited. in this challenge, Biotechnology Centers in the world sees opportunity to develop solutions. Biotechnology offers tools to help boost agriculture and increase food production by 100 percent. to modernize agriculture, our agricultural Biotechnology initiative brings together farmers,  educators and leaders in policy, business and science. Agri-biotech companies produce seeds that require fewer pesticides, herbicides and  fertilizers to grow and also yield larger, higher-quality crops. When you look at the whole range and breadth of what agricultural biotechnology can do for us, it is well beyond food on the table. Plants can now manufacture vaccines and other life-saving medicines. We have higher levels of antioxidants and other healthy compounds in fruits and vegetables. Agri-biotech is...

Farmers, scientists and doctors are delivering new solutions to achieve better health and  well-being.  Farm land and greenhouses are where food is grown and where medicines and ingredients for functional foods are manufactured from plants. this new landscape is propelled by advances in plant breeding, transgenic crops and marker- assisted selection. on the horizon are solutions to the challenges of feeding, fueling, clothing and healing the world, which will improve economy. Companies like (Medicago, Nanovector and SoyMeds) use plants as the basis for vaccines and treatments for cancer. at the Bent Creek institute in asheville and the North Carolina research Campus in Kannapolis, scientists are harnessing the bioactive compounds in plants to produce more-healthful foods and natural medicines. Biotechnology is being used to make a cleaner environment, safer and more nutritious foods, and diagnostics and therapeutics for humans and animals. Supporting all this agricultur...

 Fish farming is one of the numerous ways to create self-employment in Nigeria but of course it is one of the neglected aspect of agriculture in Nigeria. It's a fact that there are lots of potential money generating avenues in the agricultural sector that is yet abandoned and neglected by Nigerians. Most Nigerians are confortable white a white collar job that pays few thousand naira monthly while neglecting the benefits that comes with self employment. Fish Farming is a potential employment opportunity in Nigeria, and it is simple to set up a fish pond in your own back yard and it require very little initial capital. I believe that production of more fish will definitely answer to the increasing global meat demand, it is gathered from CNN that a meal of fish contains nutrients that is very beneficial to human health when compared with other kind of meat eaten by humans. It is very low in bad fat but rich in "good fat" which aids anti bodies in fighting disea...