DOGS AND POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER.

Dogs are usually a therapy aid for people with post traumatic stress disorder, helping them to stay balanced and healthy.Post traumatic stress disorder is a mental condition provoked by traumatic experiences usually associated with war and military personnel. The military dogs that accompany the officers to war, are now showing signs of the PTSD. A recent report confirms this and also the fact that not only war dogs are susceptible; read more here http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/11/canine-ptsd-us-military-working-dogs

THE FORCE OF THE COCKROACH'S BITE.

A cockroach's bite packs a lot of force,at least 5 times stronger than a human's teeth.The cockroach bite can exert a force 50 times the body weight.The cockroach has the ability to activate muscle fibers in their jaws to boost their bite. The cockroach's bite ranges from quick and feeble bites to powerful, long-lasting ones. “The weaker and shorter bites are generated by relatively fast muscle fibres, while the longer and stronger bites were possible by activating muscle fibres that take time to reach their maximum force to cope with heavy duty tasks. This just further emphasizes the need to keep our environment pest free, the economic loss due to these pests are enormous.The use of insecticides should be encouraged to reduce loses , proper storage of feed and food materials are important. Read more of this study;http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/11/cockroaches-grind-jaws-five-times-stronger-than-humans-says-research.

BIOTECHNOLOGY : A PARADIGM SHIFT.

Biotechnology making better crops and livestock by careful selection of traits to increase yield,produce disease and pest resistance and drought resistance products. This entails a collection of specific technique to improve plant and animals. Every living form; plants,animals and even micro organisms have codes called genes, which are information about what that living form.These genes represent traits about that living form that cannot be easily recognized by looking at the organism.Welcome to genetic engineering!!!. 

 The work on genes dates back to sir Mendel; who explained how traits can be transferred and also what traits to expect in selective breeding both in plants and animals.This method was adopted to produce desired progeny. 

 The work has progressed over the years with enormous technological development....resulting in biotechnology in agriculture. Agriculture has evolved over the years with many innovations to solve pressing issues such as food scarcity, diseases, environmental factors (such as flood,drought and arid region ),food preservation and lower yields. 

These issues have been identified as major causes of lack of food security thus various solutions have been proffered typically biotechnology; which is the use of genetically engineered strains of plants and animals to produce better strains with higher yield and enhanced flavors. Farmers have been improving plants and animals through selection and breeding desirable traits.

Bio technology enhances breeders ability to make improvement in crops and livestock,this is achieved through various techniques used to improve plants and animals. Bio technology use gene modification,genetic improvement and genetic engineering.

Crops improved with transferred DNA referred to as genetic improvement have been developed to aid farmers to increase productivity . Biotechnology holds the key to food security with higher yield and better products Genetic modification/genetic improvement/genetic engineering; refers to the process where there is transfer of useful characteristics into plants and animals. 

This process allows transfer of specific traits to plants or animals to produce improved and better versions.Crops improved with genetic modification aid farmers to increase productivity by reducing crop damage from weeds,diseases and insects. 

 Molecular markers; the use in agriculture involves the use of DNA of a plant/animal that posses desirable trait,even when not visible.This has resulted in breeding that are more specific and ensure better products. This process has been used by the international institute of tropical agriculture to produce cow pea resistant to bruchid, disease resistant white yam and cassava resistant to cassava mosaic disease. 

Molecular markers is useful to identify undesirable genes that can be eliminated in future generation. Molecular diagnosis are methods to detect genes/gene products that are very precise and specific.Molecular diagnosis are used in agriculture to accurately diagnose crops and livestock diseases

.The application in agriculture is vaccine production,these vaccines are cheaper,better and safer.They are stable at room temperature,hence refrigeration is not necessary making it very acceptable in remote villages. In the Philippines, biotechnology has been used to develop an improved vaccine to protect cattle and water buffalo against hemorrhagic septicemia. Tissue culture; this is the regeneration of plants in laboratory from disease-free plant part.

This technique allows for the reproduction of disease free planting material for crops.This method has been used to produce improved crops such as pineapples,bananas,pawpaws and avocados. This tissue culture has also been used in food production especially cheese making,,also in animal husbandry where a sheep(dolly) was produced from mammary cells. 

 The potential of biotechnology is explosive and can solve food scarcity issues and environmental pollution and food poisoning from use of pesticides.The process of biotechnology have produced crops that have been engineered to produce their own Bt protein(bacillus thuringiensis) a soil bacterium that contains a protein

JUTE LEAVES, VITAMIN C AND DOG FOOD.

Jutix rice!!! what is this ??? well its a highly nutritious delicacy that your dogs will love. Jutix rice is a recipe made from jute leaves and rice. Jute leaves also called "EWEDU", is a highly nutritious vegetable packed with vitamin A,C,E; this makes them very valuable in preventing free radicals from damaging body cells. The vitamin A,also has added value in improving vision,vitamin C also helpful in stimulating appetite,curing cancer, reduces cholesterol levels. The vitamin C essential for old and young dogs.The jute leaves can be an energy boost for lethargic animals,debilitated and sick animals. Jute leaves has a low caloric value,so you can incorporate it in diet without excessive weight gain, these leaves can also be used to control diarrhea.The benefits of jute leaves are enormous and these can be prepared and served with other feed stuff to provide a balanced meal for your dog. JUTIX RICE; INGREDIENTS;jute leaves. fish/meat/chicken. rice. PREPARATION 1) pick the jute leaves,rinse and set aside. 2) get a pot,pour some water in it,add stock/fish broth. 3)put a pinch of potash. 4) put the jute leaves and allow to boil. 5) after 5 minutes, use the kitchen broom to cut the jute leaves,continue beating with the broom until all are cut to small bits and with a drawy texture. 6)set the jute leaves aside. next prepare the already washed and cooked meat or fish; these can be cut to bits, or cubes or shredded,and set aside. Rice, wash the rice,then boil.The final stage is when all the various feed stuff are mixed; put the rice in a bowl,then pour the jute leaves stew and mix.The last phase is to add the fish or meat ,mix properly and serve. The jutix rice is ready.

ANIMAL THERAPY FOR BETTER HEALTH.

Getting around used to be a challenge for 11 year-old Bella Burton. Because of a rare genetic condition called Morquio Syndrome that affects her bones, she couldn't walk without crutches, and often used a wheelchair. That all changed when she got her Great Dane, George. All pets change their owners lives for the better — but the bond between this service dog and his little girl is truly special. Watch the story that has everybody talking: Read more at http://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/1387/This-Little-Girl-Couldn-t-Walk-Until-She-Met-Her-REALLY-Great-Dane#jIoHXIZ3Zm86xVPz.99 Dr. Paul Weiss, a pediatric dentist from Williamsville, N.Y., has reportedly trained his golden retriever, Brooke, to act as a therapy dog to calm the nerves of his young patients. Read more at http://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/1386/This-Dentist-Brings-His-Dog-To-Work-To-Calm-Nervous-Children#iL9mRl8AsCJz3VkY.99 "If a child is afraid of getting her teeth cleaned, Brooke can sit next to them in the chair and the kid can have their hand on the dog," Weiss told Buffalo Business First. "The gratification of taking a nervous child and turning them into someone who’s comfortable at a dentist’s office is really something great," he added. Therapy dogs like Brooke can help patients ease tensions, lower blood pressure and increase positive attitudes. Weiss added that Brooke is only called upon if the child wants her in the room, and is always accompanied by another staff member. Read more at http://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/1386/This-Dentist-Brings-His-Dog-To-Work-To-Calm-Nervous-Children#iL9mRl8AsCJz3VkY.99

XYLITOL DANGER TO DOGS.!!!

The inclusion of xylitol in some peanut butter has raised the red flag on the use as dog treats. Read more here;http://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/1392/A-New-Ingredient-In-Some-Peanut-Butters-Is-Deadly-To-Dogs-Here-s-What-You-Need-To-Know

BIOTECH KEY TO FOOD SECURITY.

Biotechnology is one of the various ways of using scientific principles and techniques to produce crops that are pure strains and resistant to diseases. Biotechnology,nanotechnology,genetic engineering are all scientific interventions to produce better crops,improve plants,animals and microorganisms to enhance their value. The world today is faced with population explosion; the growth of the population is not at the same rate as food production and processing leaving most developing countries on poverty threshold and food scarcity. The world now is looking at strategies for food security and sustainability to eliminate hunger and eradicate poverty. Biotechnology has actually shown great potential to achieve food security in the agricultural sector where it has been used to develop plant strains that are resistant to pests and diseases. 

Biotechnology has also been employed to improve food processing,nutritional value better flavor and productivity of plants,vegetables and other food crops. Agric biotechnology is the use of scientific techniques to modify and improve crops by selective breeding. Advances in science especially in the field of molecular biology has provided scientist with ability to manipulate food at molecular level referred to as genetic engineering

.The technique employed in genetic engineering is the transfer of DNA from species with specific desired traits into distantly related organisms. Genetic engineering allows the transfer of one or more traits from specific organism,plants,animals and microorganism and introduce them to new strains to come up with genetically modified strains with better productivity. The technology era has brought with it innovation , information , inputs and institutional support to enhance economic growth and development.The use of technology to ensure food security cannot be overemphasized,and so many options are at our fingertips to ensure food sustainability. 

 Food can be cultivated in nutrient media instead of soil, and this is done in a controlled environment this system is referred to as hydroponics /aeroponics depending on the conditions of growth.This system enables farming even in your room or balcony or any small space that can house the system you want to adopt. Technology bringing change in its track; who could have imagined farming without soil or land? can you imagine planting tomatoes or vegetables or even yam in a column -like stand or table? 

Welcome to the world of BIOTECH; feeding the world with ease. Biotech, are you still skeptical?? dont really understand or know the benefits?? 

 A local Hawaiian plant pathologist named Dennis Gonsalves had an idea. He spliced a snippet of the DNA of the virus into the papaya genome — and it worked. It made the papaya resistant to the virus. “His pioneering work is credited with rescuing the papaya industry,” says Ronald. “Twenty years later, no other method is as effective.” 80% of all Hawaiian papaya is now engineered in this way. Next, she brings us to Bangladesh, where a caterpillar pest is ravaging the eggplant crop. “To control this pest, farmers spray insecticides 2 to 3 times a week, sometimes even twice a day,” says Ronald. Of course, this threatens their own health. “It’s estimated that 300,000 people die every year because of exposure and misuse of insecticides.(http://blog.ted.com/why-genetic-engineering-of-plants-is-vital-for-food-security-pamela-ronald-speaks-atgolden rice-ted2015/)