Health Benefits of Cucumbers.

Cucumbers belong to the same plant family as squash, pumpkin, and watermelon and like watermelon, cucumbers are made up of 95% water, which means eating them help you stay hydrated. Cucumbers contain vitamin K, B vitamins, copper, potassium, vitamin C, and manganese,they also contain polyphenols and other compounds that may help reduce your risk of chronic diseases especially for cancer treatment. Cucumbers contain an anti-inflammatory flavonol called fisetin that play an important role in brain health. In addition to improving your memory and protecting your nerve cells from age-related decline, fisetin has been found to prevent progressive memory and learning impairments in mice with Alzheimer's disease. Cucumbers may help the inflammatory response in your body, and animal studies suggest that cucumber extract helps reduce unwanted inflammation, in part by inhibiting the activity of pro-inflammatory enzymes (including cyclo-oxygenase 2, or COX-2). Cucumbers contain numerous antioxidants, including the well-known vitamin C and beta-carotene. They also contain antioxidant flavonoids, such as quercetin, apigenin, luteolin, and kaempferol,6 which provide additional health benefits. quercetin is an antioxidant that prevents histamine release,thus making quercetin-rich foods "natural antihistamines." Kaempferol, may help fight cancer and lower risk of chronic diseases including heart disease. Cucumbers contain multiple B vitamins, including vitamin B1, vitamin B5, and vitamin B7 (biotin). B vitamins are known to help ease feelings of anxiety and buffer some of the damaging effects of stress. Cucumbers contain potassium, which is associated with lower blood pressure levels. A proper balance of potassium both inside and outside your cells is crucial for your body to function properly. Cucumbers are very low in calories, yet they make a filling snack. The soluble fiber in cucumbers dissolves into a gel-like texture in the gut, slowing down digestion, this making you feel full longer and help with weight control. Cucumbers contain polyphenols called lignans (pinoresinol, lariciresinol, and secoisolariciresinol), which help to lower the risk of breast, uterine, ovarian, and prostate cancers. They also contain phytonutrients called cucurbitacins, which also have anti-cancer properties.

A Veterinarian Just Found The Cure For HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Maduike Ezeibe, a Nigerian professor of Veterinary Medicine, recently announced that he has discovered a drug that treats and cures HIV/AIDS.A researcher in veterinary medicine at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture in southeast Nigeria, Professor Ezeibe developed the drug after years of dogged scientific research,reports Bellanaija. Professor Ezeibe told a press conference at the university’s campus that the drug was produced using the minerals aluminum silicate and magnesium silicate (synthetic aluminum-magnesium silicate).Ezeibe said the two minerals “are already in use as medicines for the treatment of various animal and human diseases” and that 10 volunteers were treated daily with the medicinal synthetic aluminum-magnesium silicate (50mg/kg),” adding that the volunteers undergo periodic testing to ascertain their viral loads and CD4-lymphocyte counts. With the antiviral effects of the medicine — its ability to reach all cells (as nanoparticles) and the lymphocytes — there is no more hiding place (sanctuary) for HIV,” Dr. Ezeibe said. Dr. Ezeibe says he presented his research findings to the World Virology Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2015 and Antonio, Texas, in 2016, and his research work has been published in several international scientific journals, including the British Journal of Medicine and Medical Research. more

Climate Change Is Transforming the World's Food Supply.

Climate change is poised to affect the world's food supply in three key ways. There will be impacts on the quantity, quality and location of the food produced, according to Dr. Sam Myers, a medical doctor and senior research scientist studying environmental health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Researchers studying climate change are looking at how the biological and physical changes happening on Earth due to climate change will transform food production, Myers said at a talk today (Feb. 16), here at the Climate & Health Meeting, a gathering of experts from public health organizations, universities and advocacy groups that focused on the health impacts of climate change.more

2 Sisters Turning Cocoa Beans into Chocolate Bars in Ghana..

Priscilla and Kimberly Addison, two Ghanaian sisters, have launched a start-up that offers tasty, artisanal, made-in-Africa chocolate products.Even though Ghana is the world’s second largest exporter of cocoa, the West African nation — along with the rest of the major cocoa producers from Africa — only gets to enjoy a measly 2 percent of the world’s $100 billion chocolate market. This, economic experts say, is due to the fact that African countries have remained at the bottom of the product’s value chain, exporting cocoa mainly as a raw material without adding value to the final product. According to the Addisons, though, that old narrative is about to change with their ’57 Chocolate. As young entrepreneurs, they say they are determined to use widely available home grown resources to create delightful and whimsical treats and bring manufacturing back to Ghana. continue

3D printing to redefine the medical supply chain in Africa.

African organization ReFab Dar are hoping to use 3D printing to create vital medical supplies in Africa and other developing countries. In order to do so they are working on a number of initiatives including a design competition for 3D printed medical tools. The program’s main aim is exploring, “how plastic waste can power entrepreneurship using 3D printers in Tanzania.” ReFab Dar are currently recycling waste and turning it into 3D printable plastic filament. From this, they intend to create medical supplies, farming equipment and even research tools like microscopes. In this ‘Hack 4 Health’ challenge they are focused initially on the creation of HIV prevention and birthing equipment.continue

Gene therapy treats muscle-wasting disease in dogs.

The muscle wasting disease arises from a mutation in genes that normally make a protein, called myotubularin, essential for proper muscle function. Puppies with this naturally occurring mutation exhibit several features of babies with the same defective gene. The rare disorder, called myotubular myopathy, or MTM, affects only males. Puppies with this naturally occurring, fatal genetic mutation and babies with the same defective gene have several similar symptoms. Four collaborating research groups in the United States and France found a way to safely replace the disease-causing MTM gene with a healthy gene throughout the entire musculature of affected dogs. The findings published online in Molecular Therapy ,reports that diseased dogs treated with a single infusion of the corrective therapy were indistinguishable from normal animals one year later. Gene therapy holds the promise to treat many inherited diseases. To date, this approach has not been widely translated into treatment of skeletal muscle disorders.

Family gave pet plastic surgery to look like dog from The Mask.

A family has been criticized after they took their dog for plastic surgery because they didn’t like the shape of its ears. Vets were asked to lower the Jack Russell’s ears because they wanted it to look more like the dog from The Mask. Marina Esmat, 37, from Russia, bought the puppy for her son but they noticed that his ears were growing upwards. The family used weights and glue to try and keep them down, but when that failed they opted for plastic surgery instead. more