Scientists develop new flu vaccines for dogs.

Scientists develop new flu vaccines for dogs.Scientists at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry have developed, for the first time, two new vaccines for canine influenza.Dogs that have been infected with multiple influenza viruses have the potential to act as "mixing vessels" and generate new flu strains that could infect people. Today, veterinarians use vaccines that include inactivated or killed flu virus, but experts say they provide short-term, limited protection. Scientists created two "live-attenuated" vaccines against H3N8 canine influenza virus, which is currently circulating in dogs in the U.S. Past research shows that live-attenuated vaccines, made from live flu virus that is dampened down so that it doesn't cause the flu, provide better immune responses and longer periods of protection. The study, published in the Journal of Virology, found the live vaccine was safe and able to induce better immune protection against H3N8 canine influenza virus in mice and dog tracheal cells than a commercially available inactivated vaccine.

Restoring the sweet tomato flavor.

Modern tomatoes lack sufficient sugars and volatile chemicals critical to better flavor. Those traits have been lost during the past 50 years because breeders have not had the tools to routinely screen for flavor.The supermarket tomatoes are bigger but they lack the vine flavor that was common some years back from farm fresh products,as the quest to get bigger,juicer faster maturing fruit overshadowed the taste peculiar to tomatoes. The breeding and selection of different strains to achieve bigger fruit has been fingered as the root of the dwindling taste,thus genetic intervention is needed to reverse what was produced years ago. In a study published in the journal Science, Harry Klee, a professor of horticultural sciences with UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, identifies the chemical combinations for better tomato flavor. The first step was to find out which of the hundreds of chemicals in a tomato contribute the most to taste,researchers studied "alleles," the versions of DNA in a tomato gene that give it its specific traits. Scientists then identified the locations of the good alleles in the tomato genome,using genome-wide assessment study. The scientists mapped genes that control synthesis of all the important chemicals,and used genetic analysis to replace bad alleles in modern tomato varieties with the good alleles.

The battle over palm oil in Gabon.

There is a battle over palm oil in Gabon presently,the environmental agencies are pitched against the producers and investors sighting logging/deforestation as an issue. Firstly, the new Gabonese operations of agricultural trading company Olam International was heavily criticized by US environmental NGO Mighty Earth in December. Then Dimensional Fund Advisors, a big US investment firm that had previously been criticized for continuing to invest in palm oil companies, decided to divest two of its portfolios of all such assets, including equity in Wilmar International and Olam. The campaign against palm oil could have profound implications for the sector’s development in Africa. Palm oil cultivation has become controversial because ecologically diverse areas of rain forest are often cut down to allow cultivation to take place. Huge areas of forest have been felled in Indonesia and Malaysia, affecting flora and fauna, and producing air pollution caused by forest fires when land is being cleared for palm oil plantation. According to Friends of the Earth and numerous other environmental NGOs, palm oil plantations are the fastest growing cause of rain forest destruction and an increasingly important cause of climate change. Palm oil produces almost quadruple oil yeild compared to sunflower or rapeseed oil, and the majority of the palm oil is produced in Indonesia and Malaysia. However, African countries have also been targeted for cultivation more recently. Olam is a major player in the global palm oil sector and a big investor in African agri-business. The company currently sources more than 99% of its palm oil from third-party suppliers. In 2011, it set up a palm oil and rubber cultivation joint venture with the government of Gabon, with equity shared 60:40 in favour of the Singaporean firm. Mighty Earth’s ‘Palm oil’s black box’ report claims that environmentally important forest areas have been cleared and the report is accompanied by video footage of tall trees being felled. A spokesperson for Mighty argued: “These forests are the last place any company should be looking to develop plantation agriculture.” continue

Technological advancement in veterinary medicine.

There are significant technological advances available to practitioners as many practices now have complete in-house diagnostics for blood chemistry and blood counts. Test results can now be obtained within a half hour versus being sent out to an overnight referral laboratory. The diagnostic devices also include computerized ECG and digital radio graphs ,which eliminates x-ray film as all the images are uploaded to a computer. These can be sent anywhere by email if needed for further analysis. Ultrasound technology has also improved, allowing for early detection of pregnancies or even some abdominal diseases, resulting in earlier diagnosis and treatment. surgeons are trading scalpel for surgical laser as it is now used routinely for certain procedures. Kittens can now go home the day after a declaw surgery in much more comfort and with no stitches or bandages. These surgeries can be followed by a separate laser as a form of therapy that reduces postoperative inflammation and facilitates healing. An important part of animal health continues to be dental health. Now with digital dental radio graphs and refined oral surgery instruments, the common dental cleaning can help prevent future disease. Portable dental units have been designed to provide ultrasonic scaling, polishing, and high-speed drilling for oral surgery. It has been proven that bacteria from dental disease can decrease health by attacking internal organs. Mobile apps and devices such as trackers have found a place in practice,drones have been used in certain areas to collect/deliver samples to areas that are not motor able. The digital revolution has taken a new turn as the surgeon can access information at the speed of light and also with the touch of an app monitor clients,check appointments and even examine a patient via the phone. Veterinarians can easily connect with colleagues mile -away,offering tips and updates about a case and then there is the possibility of participating in a surgery iles away from your location without moving,all possible by mobile phones,apps and a data platform.

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South African e-learning to reach excluded.

South African e-learning to reach excluded. Tablets, laptops and digital learning are increasingly being used to reach students with little or no access to education, according to an international report from the ITU/Unesco Broadband Commission. This is especially crucial in the developing world, where Unesco says the digitilization of learning could be a means of accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, such as ensuring access to primary school for all children. This process is already evident in Africa, which according to Unesco has 30 million primary-age children not attending school, over half the global total. Yet the continent is overcoming challenges surrounding lack of internet access and electricity to become a major player in the e-learning space. According to a recent report from Ambient Insights, Africa is the region globally where e-learning revenues are most likely to increase, with South Africa the leading market on the continent. The University of South Africa (Unisa), which teaches through distance learning, has over 310,000 South African and international students enrolled. The mobile operators have launched digital learning projects, such as Vodacom's "e-school" offering online educational content.All over the country, companies of all shapes and sizes are tapping into the growth of the digital learning market. Chris Rawlinson, founder of South African e-learning company, 42courses, says: "We are living in a world where two billion more people from mostly emerging markets are about to get online." continue

Telecommunication and agricultural revolution in Pakistan.

Pakistan is an agricultural country as agriculture is backbone of the country’s economy. According to Pakistan’s Economic Survey 2016, agriculture contributed 20 per cent of GDP that accounts for 42.3 per cent of Pakistan’s employed labour force. Despite its importance, the agriculture sector is suffering from unpredictability in growth and its performance remains subdued. According to Pakistan’s Economic Survey 2014-15, insufficient progress in technological innovation, limited progressive farming techniques, marketing and trade restrictions, low prices of crops and traditional processing methods are major reasons for low production. Around 40 per cent of the total agricultural production was wasted in post-harvest due to insufficient utilization of biotechnology. In this scenario, use of biotechnology seems to be the most fitting solution to revive this sector. There is a strong need to launch an initiative to digitize agriculture and provide necessary information to farmers to increase production. It is heartening to note that a mobile company operating in Pakistan has taken the initiative in this regard but the services of this initiative are limited to certain regions, which needs to be extended to the whole country.source.