Elephantiasis.

Elephantiasis also called lymphatic filariasis causes extreme swelling in the arms and legs. The disease is caused by the filarial worm, which impairs the lymphatic system and can lead to the abnormal enlargement of body parts, causing pain, severe disability and social stigma. The infection occurs when filarial parasites are transmitted to humans when mosquitoes bites causing hidden damage to the lymphatic system. The painful and profoundly disfiguring visible manifestations of the disease, lymphoedema, elephantiasis and scrotal swelling occur later in life and can lead to permanent disability. These patients are not only physically disabled, but suffer mental, social and financial losses contributing to stigma and poverty. Elephantiasis is caused by several different types of parasitic worms, including Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and B. timori, with Wuchereria bancrofti responsible for 90% of cases and transmitted by the female culex or aedes mosquito. The B. malayi and B.timori responsible for about 10% of cases are usually transmitted by female anopheles or mansonia mosquito. When an infected female mosquito bites a person, she may inject the worm larvae into the bloodstream. The worm larvae reproduce and spread throughout the bloodstream, where they can live for many years. The parasites accumulate in the blood vessels and restrict circulation and cause fluid to build up in surrounding tissues. The common symptoms are 1) fever 2)swelling of arm,legs. 3)swollen testicles(hydrocele) more

Hydroponics a more superior option to organic farming.

Hydroponics a more superior option to organic farming. With the majority of the world population growing concerned with what they consume and what are the actual constituents of the food that makes it to their plates, the debate of food safety and crop growing practices has never been more intense. Individuals are inclined to eat more healthy produce, even when they are dining out, giving rise to a host of restaurants that promise 'organically grown' food ingredients in their cuisine. Indeed, organic farming methods have gained immense popularity over the past few years and are often compared to Hydroponics to ascertain which is a more viable and healthy form of agriculture. There is a growing body of evidence that seems to indicate that closed-loop water recirculation systems like hydroponics and aquaponics (the coupling of fish production with vegetable production) may in fact offer an advantage over soil-based organic growing since the water chemistry of both these systems can be manipulated to boost natural plant bioactives for health benefits. Thus plants grown through Hydroponics have better nutritional value. It has been proven that vitamin content is 50% more in hydroponically grown plants as compared to conventional ones. Hydroponics uses 90% less water than traditional agriculture hence conserving the world's most important resource from depletion. It also manages to prevent soil from degradation, preserving valuable top soil for plants that cannot be hydroponically grown. Given all the added benefits of Hydroponics, the bottom line when it comes to the organic farming and Hydroponics debate is the fact Hydroponics manages to better the former in numerous ways making it a considerably more attractive agricultural method of growing plants. more

Samuel Eto'o and tomatoes.

Samuel Eto'o and tomatoes Yüksel Tohum has named its latest heirloom specialty tomato after Samuel Eto'o, the world famous Cameroonian footballer. According to Yuksel, the tomato variety has a lot of vigor and it is very long-lasting, just like the 36 year old top scorer of Antalyaspor. While being very active on international markets too, Yüksel Seeds still has a leading position on the domestic market in Antalya. For them this was reason to pay tribute to their local football team and give one of their recent tomato strains the name of the soccer player who's career got a new boost after being hired by Antalyaspor. source

USDA introduces cost-effective broiler production for farmers.

USDA introduces cost-effective broiler production for farmers. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has introduced the "Ghana Poultry Project" aimed at increasing the competitiveness of domestic production and processing of poultry meat and eggs in the country. The project has the objective of producing broilers at an average live weight of 2.50kg per bird within 6 weeks, as opposed to the usual 8 weeks. Another objective of the programme is to investigate key factors at the production stage and to showcase more efficient methods of production to increase profitability and to attract more investment into the poultry sector. As part of the programme, USDA together with the Veterinary Services Department (VSD) of Ghana, conducted a cost-effective broiler production demonstrations in Accra at AMAS Farms in Oyarifa to showcase how the project will work. more

Gestational diabetes: A diabetes predictor in fathers.

Gestational diabetes: A diabetes predictor in fathers.Gestational diabetes, a type of diabetes that occurs during pregnancy, affects between three and 20 percent of pregnant women. Those who develop gestational diabetes are seven times as likely to eventually develop type 2 diabetes in the years following pregnancy. Now, in a large study analyzing 20 years of data from Quebec, a team of scientists has demonstrated that gestational diabetes signals future diabetes risk not only in mothers, but also in fathers. The study was published in Diabetes Care,showed that the incident of diabetes was 33% greater in men whose partner has gestational diabetes compared with men whose partners did not have gestational diabetes.more

Energy saving filters for wastewater treatment created.

Energy saving filters for wastewater treatment created. Scientists have invented a new type of nanofilter that could reduce the energy needed to treat wastewater by up to five times. This breakthrough technology took about two years to develop and is now being commercialized across Asia. Scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) have invented a new type of nanofilter that could reduce the energy needed to treat wastewater by up to five times. more

Technology which makes electricity from urine also kills pathogens.

Technology which makes electricity from urine also kills pathogens.A scientific breakthrough has taken an emerging biotechnology a step closer to being used to treat wastewater in the Developing World. Researchers at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) (Ieropoulos & Greenman) have discovered that technology they have developed which has already been proven to generate electricity through the process of cleaning organic waste, such as urine, also kills bacteria harmful to humans. Experts have shown that a special process they have developed in which wastewater flows through a series of cells filled with electroactive microbes can be used to attack and destroy a pathogen -- the potentially deadly Salmonella. source