New York Times | Some Social Scientists Are Tired of Asking for Permission New York Times Students are the usual subjects in social science research made to play games, fill out questionnaires, look at pictures and otherwise provide data points for their professors' investigations into human behavior, cognition and perception. But who ... |
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Some Social Scientists Are Tired of Asking for Permission - New York Times
FOX31 Denver | Balance Your Mind and Body with a Natural Approach to Anti-Aging FOX31 Denver Doctor Carrie Louise Daenell is an internationally recognized anti-aging expert who speaks all over the world on the topic of natural medicine. She joined us this morning to share how to naturally balance the 40's mind and body through supplementation ... |
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Balance Your Mind and Body with a Natural Approach to Anti-Aging - FOX31 Denver
Connect Meetings has launched an event specifically for medical stakeholders and continuing medical education providers to take place Oct. 24-26 in Cincinnati.
Hosted by Connect at the Renaissance Cincinnati Downtown Hotel, Connect Medical is a hosted-planner, appointment-only program and education conference.
The event brings together the most active planners, suppliers and experts in medical meeting planning for three days of general sessions, roundtables, workshops, preset appointments and quality networking.
"We produce over 60 events a year," said Doreen Brown, CEO of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine.
She added, "Finding the right location and the right vendor partners for our physician audiences is a key factor in our growth and success. Medical audiences have unique requirements. We are looking forward to attending Connect Medical to learn from our peers."
Connect Medical features an emphasis on high-level education relevant to medical event planners.
Presented by established authorities in the field of event planning, these sessions offer attendees thought-provoking deep dives into strategies for developing successful events and advancing their careers.
During the Marketplace session of Connect Medical, planners and sellers meet in preset, scheduled appointments specific to their meetings' needs, exchange RFPs, arrange future site visits and book events.
For more information on Connect Medical please visit ]]> connectmedicalmeetings.com]]> .
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Connect Medical Will Launch in Cincinnati in October - TSNN Trade Show News (blog)
Posted on May 23, 2017, 6 a.m. in Longevity Aging Diet
Research analysis finds that cutting calories works at a physiological level to slow biological aging.
The study was lead by Daniel Belsky, Ph.D. an assistant professor of medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine. Previous research has shown that calorie restriction hinders the aging process in mice, worms, and flies. The question is to what extent such restriction has on the biological aging process in human beings. Biological aging is best defined as the slow but progressive deterioration of the human body's systems over time. If the biological aging rate can be slowed through intervention, it might be possible to delay or prevent the onset of numerous age-related disabilities and diseases.
About the Analysis
Belsky and her team of researchers studied data available to the public from a trial known as CALERIE. The National Institute on Aging conducted this study involving 220 individuals. They were randomized for a calorie restriction of 25 percent or allowed to maintain their current dietary intake. The calorie restriction group was comprised of 145 people. Their calories were reduced by 12 percent across the two-year study. The other group, in which calories were not restricted, was comprised of 75 individuals. The research team studied data from both groups at the beginning of the study. Follow-ups took place at the one-year point as well as the two-year anniversary.
The Results
One method calculated the biological age for participants according to their chronological age as well as the biomarkers that gauge the function of the liver, kidneys, immune system, metabolic system, and cardiovascular system. Hemoglobin levels, systolic blood pressure, and cholesterol were also accounted for. At the beginning of the study, both groups had similar biological ages as determined by the measure described above. The average biological age of the participants was 37 while the average chronological age was 38.
Once the one-year follow-up point was reached, those in the restricted calorie group had an average biological age increase of 0.11 years. The participants who continued their normal dietary intake experienced an average biological age increase of 0.71 years at the one-year follow-up. The difference between these groups was statistically meaningful, showing that restricting calories really did deter the biological aging rate.
The research team also performed another analysis that quantified biological aging as the level of physiological deviation from a benchmark defined by young and healthy individuals from a distinct data set. At the beginning of the trial, the maintenance and calorie-restricted groups deviated the same level on average from the benchmark point. However, at the one-year and two-year follow-up points, the average deviation among the maintenance group stayed the same. The group in which calories were restricted gradually became more similar to the healthy and young benchmark reference point.
The findings were consistent with the mitigated aging researchers found in the group with restricted calories when the biological age calculation method was applied. Interventions to offset or control aging are at the center of medical research.
Study Importance
This was the first study to gauge whether the restriction of calories could mitigate measured biological aging in human beingsin a randomized setting. This study applied the measures of physiologic age described above and demonstrated their value as well as the apparent value provided by restricting calories to slow the aging process. The results suggest a template to develop and study therapies meant to copy the effects of restricting calories to ward off chronic diseases.
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Curbing Calories Slows Aging | Worldhealth.net Anti-Aging News - Anti Aging News
Researchers from the University of California in San Diego and the University of Minnesota have discovered a link between neurological behaviors in Ecuadorian children and pesticide use during flower growing seasons. Their findings were published in the medical journal NeuroToxicology in May of 2017. Dr. Jose R. Suarez-Lopez Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of San Diego in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, served as first author of the study.
Testing of Children in Agricultural Areas
Ecuador produces a large portion of the worlds cut flowers. The industry relies on pesticides to ensure successful harvests. Previous research using animals as test subjects suggested a link between temporary neurological disorders and pesticide exposure.
The research team tested 308 Ecuadorian children between the ages of 4 and 9 years of age who live near, but do not work in, flower producing areas. Behavioral and blood tests were conducted before peak production for the Mothers Day holiday, and within 100 days after harvest.
Results show that children tested shortly after the harvest ended displayed lower attention spans, less self-control, inferior hand-eye coordination, and problems perceiving and interacting with visual stimuli when compared to children tested later.
The authors of the study conclude that exposure to pesticides causes a short-term decline in neurological functions. According to Dr. Suarez-Lopez, this is of concern due to timing. The growing season corresponds with end-of-term testing in schools. Children suffering from temporary impairment due to pesticide exposure may receive lower scores on important academic exams. These lower scores may then affect their ability to qualify for certain opportunities in higher education or the job market.
The Effects of Agricultural Poisons
Newborns who are exposed to agricultural chemicals are known to have higher risks of certain neurological conditions, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and abnormalities in reflex, psychomotor, and mental function development. The effects are more prevalent in boys than girls. The short-term disorders detailed in the published study are in addition to these known, long-term effects.
The chemicals in question contain a substance called organophosphate, which is used to destroy pests on flowers before export. In the human body, organophosphates inhibit the actions of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE). AChE regulates acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that allows nerves in the body and brain cells to communicate. Organophosphates are also known to destroy neurons and supporting brain cells. Low Ache levels are associated with impulsive behaviors and low attention spans and scores on memory tests.
The ESPINA Study and Future Research
The ESPINA study is an on-going study that examines the effects of agricultural toxins on children in Ecuador. The study published by Dr. Suarez-Lopezs team is part of this larger effort to understand how environmental pollutants affect the long-term development and welfare of young people growing up in agricultural areas.
Researchers believe their findings prove that exposure to certain pesticides alters cognition, and the ability to learn and interact socially in children. Dr. Suarez-Lopez suggests that a better understanding can be achieved by repeating the tests with a larger sample group. In addition to conducting blood and behavioral tests before and after harvests, an additional test would be conducted during the harvest period, when exposure to agricultural pesticides peaks.
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Flower Pesticides Linked to Neurological Problems - Anti Aging News
Updated 5 hours ago
A theory to solve the nation's ever-worsening bee decline through genetic engineering has Western Pennsylvania beekeepers split about whether it will work.
We have to start working with bees that are locally adapted to the areas we keep them, explained Dwight Wells, 77, a founding member of the Heartland Honeybee Breeders Cooperative and president of the West Central Ohio Beekeepers Association who was a guest speaker at a weekend seminar in Beaver County. Beekeepers have got to understand their bees like farmers understand their crops and cows and pigs. Farmers are careful on the genetics they have in herds and fields big-time. They're looking for proper genetics.
Beekeepers have to start thinking along the same line and start calling themselves bee farmers.
Wells has worked with Purdue University geneticists since 2013 to improve the genetics of honeybees by mating them with queen bees that have adapted to chew off the legs of Varroa mites, also known as Purdue ankle biters. The parasites have long been blamed for honeybee loss because they transmit deadly diseases.
Wells said there are many theories that attempt to explain the mysterious colony collapse disorder, which surfaced in 2006. But he is convinced the main problem is linked to the Varroa mite and malnourished bees a problem he believes is solvable by combining the genetics of mite-resistant bees with Southern, commercial bees that are not fully adapted to surviving harsh winters.
Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, is not sure the project will work in the long run.
Fine, who keeps about 130 colonies at farms and backyards throughout Allegheny, Washington and Westmoreland counties, lost about 60 percent of his honey bees this winter.
Beekeepers can't afford not to treat for mites because we have to treat them to keep business going, Fine said.
He makes money by selling bees and honey and by renting out colonies to farmers. Business suffers when bees die off in winter, so Fine said he has a vested interest in keeping his bees alive.
To replenish his stock, he buys packages from large-scale commercial beekeepers in Georgia.
You like your strawberries I like blueberries and squash is really good, and people like zucchini, Fine said. Bees are always going to be moved.
According to the Atlanta-based American Beekeeping Federation, bees contribute nearly $20 billion to the country's agriculture industry by pollinating everything from apples to cranberries, melons and broccoli. Crops such as blueberries and cherries are almost entirely dependent on bee pollination. Almonds are entirely dependent on their pollination.
An estimated two-thirds of the country's 2.7 million bee colonies are transported to different farms across the nation throughout the year, ABF reports.
To keep his bees alive, Fine usually sprays them with an organic pesticide twice a year. The spray, he said, burns Varroa mites with naturally occurring acids. This year, however, he plans on using three or four treatments.
But Wells' genetic improving program is not necessarily targeting large beekeeping operations, which typically move bees long distances, said John Yakim, president of the Beaver Valley Area Beekeepers Association. He thinks the program would work if hobbyists who own five to 10 hives, like himself, introduced Purdue ankle biters to the region.
Yakim met Wells at a Pennsylvania State Beekeepers Association seminar in November 2014. Since then, he said he has been learning about the practice and wants others to be exposed to it as well.
BVABA hosted its Queen Raising Seminar on Friday and Saturday in Baden. Participants received unmated queen bees that Yakim and Wells hope mate with local drones.
This is designed for small-scale hobbyist and sideliners, Yakim said of the genetic improving program.
But that doesn't mean he thinks the program couldn't potentially work for large-scale beekeeping operations.
I don't see why not, even for producers with 10,000 colonies. The underlying science isn't going to change, he said.
The science lies in combining the genes of climate survivability and Varroa mite resistance, Wells said.
The problem with bees bought by beekeepers is that most of them are adapted to live in warmer climates, such as Georgia and Florida, where most commercial stock is produced, Wells said.
Beekeepers have been relying on chemicals since the 1980s to treat for mites. But mites develop resistance. And now they're running out of chemicals, Wells said. The smart ones are understanding they got to start developing their own stocks in order to kill mite spells. They're in trouble, and they realize it.
Dillon Carr is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-1298, dcarr@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dillonswriting.
Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review
Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, inspects his bee hives, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.
Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review
The queen bee, marked with a yellow dot, can be seen inside an observation hut Al Fine, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. Fine
Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review
Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, lights a ball of cardboard for his smoker, before he inspects his bee hives, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. The Smoke is believed to mask the bees alarm pheromones, which blocks the bees ability to raise the alarm of an intruder.
Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review
Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, removes the cover of a beehive, before inspecting the hive after recently introducing a new queen, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.
Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review
Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, removes the cover of a beehive, before inspecting the hive after recently introducing a new queen, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. The Smoke is believed to mask the bees alarm pheromones, which blocks the bees ability to raise the alarm of an intruder.
Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review
Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, searches for a newly introduced queen, while inspecting his bee hives at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.
Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review
Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, inspects his bee hives, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.
Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review
The dark bodied queen bee, crawls around a frame, as Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, inspects his bee hives, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.
Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review
Honey bees, owned by Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, stand at the uncovered entrance to the bee hives, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. Fine
Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review
Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, inspects his bee hives, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.
Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review
Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, takes a break while inspecting his bee hives, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. Fine
Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review
Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, poses for a portrait in his bee keeper suit, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.
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Western Pennsylvania beekeepers abuzz on genetic engineering - Tribune-Review
By Ryan CrossMay. 22, 2017 , 11:00 AM
Nope. Youre not looking at a Bob Ross still life. This faintly colored image was painted by bacteria (Escherichia coli) that produce colored pigments in response to light. Scientists designed the bacteria by adding 18 new genes to their genetic circuitry, including thousands of DNA bases that code for light sensor proteins that respond to red, green, or blue light. Exposure to the light makes the bacteria turn on a gene that kicks off a chemical reaction, producing a corresponding red, green, or blue pigment. Other genes act like circuit breakers to keep the system from overloading. The paint-by-light images were produced by mixing the bacteria into a gel on a petri dish and placing them in an incubator exposed to projector or laser light. Using this setup, scientists recreated the Massachusetts Institute of Technology logo, Super Mario, a tiled pattern of lizards, and a pile of fruit (above), they report today in Nature Chemical Biology. Although the art is unlikely to be displayed alongside works by Van Gogh or Monet, the genetically engineered bacteria could have other practical applications. The scientists say their light-responsive circuit could help control the flux of metabolic pathways in vats of microbes used to produce pharmaceuticals or industrial chemicals, by turning on and off in response to red, green, and blue lighta veritable bacterial disco.
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Bacteria can paint with light, thanks to genetic engineering - Science Magazine
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Western Wayne High School and Middle School students competed at the state meeting of the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science held May 14-16 at Penn State University, Main Campus. Representing the high school: Mallory Jablon received a first award for her research in behavioral science and was chosen as a Pennsylvania Science Talent Search award recipient. Kirstin Metschulat received a first award for her research in behavioral science. Darlene Black received a second award for her research in ecology. Caitlin Falloon served as a technician for the presentations. Representing the Middle School: Jamie Bryan received a first award for her research in behavioral science. Caydence Faatz received a second award for her research in zoology. From left: Jamie, Caydence, Kirstin, Caitlin, Darlene and Mallory.
Western Wayne High School and Middle School students competed at the state meeting of the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science held May 14-16 at Penn State University, Main Campus. Representing the high school: Mallory Jablon received a first award for her research in behavioral science and was chosen as a Pennsylvania Science Talent Search award recipient. Kirstin Metschulat received a first award for her research in behavioral science. Darlene Black received a second award for her research in ecology. Caitlin Falloon served as a technician for the presentations. Representing the middle school: Jamie Bryan received a first award for her research in behavioral science. Caydence Faatz received a second award for her research in zoology. From left: Jamie, Caydence, Kirstin, Caitlin, Darlene and Mallory.
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Western Wayne students participate in PJAS competition - News ... - Scranton Times-Tribune
Researchers have discovered an antioxidant that may potentially help protect cardiovascular functions in patients with diabetes. Details on the study were presented at the 2017 Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology and Peripheral Vascular Disease Scientific Sessions in Minnesota. The American Heart Association sponsored the event. Ji-Yao Ella Zhang Ph.D. from the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute at the Boston University in Massachusetts led the team. Dr. Naomi M. Hamburg, doctor of Cardiology and Internal Medicine, was the studys senior author.
Resveratrol
The compound Resveratrol is an antioxidant found in grape products such as juice and wine, certain berries, peanuts, and cocoa. The compound belongs to a class of chemicals known as polyphenols, which are antioxidants that come from plants. Previous research has suggested that polyphenols may help improve cardiovascular functions and reduce damaging inflammation.
Stiff arteries are a byproduct of the aging process. Those affected by diabetes experience premature arterial aging. Hardened arteries increase risks of experiencing a heart attack, stroke, and high blood pressure.
Previous studies using animals as test subjects has shown that Resveratrol helps reduce hardening of the aorta. The aorta pumps oxygenated blood from the heart to the rest of the body. The studies show that Resveratrol activates the SIRT1 gene, which is associated with slower aging processes. The team at Boston University wanted to explore if the compound had the same effect on humans.
Clinical Study
Fifty-seven participants were chosen for the study. The average age of participants was 56 years. All patients had type II diabetes and had a body-mass index (BMI) that indicated obesity.
Patients were given 100 mg doses of Resveratrol daily for a two-week period. The dosage was then increased to 300 mg for another two weeks. After a two-week washout period, the participants were given a placebo for a total of 4 weeks.
Most of the participants saw no changes in arterial stiffness. However, a subgroup of 23 patients with particularly high arterial stiffness saw a 9% decrease with the 300 mg dose and a 4.8% decrease with the 100 mg dose. The placebo treatments seemed to increase overall arterial stiffness.
Study Conclusions
While the exact mechanism is not known, researchers conclude that Resveratrol treatment reverses abnormalities in blood vessels caused by aging, obesity, and diabetes. The compound appears to improve structural issues in the aorta but does not relax blood vessels. This means that Resveratrol treatment benefits diabetes patients more than those without this condition.
Further study is necessary to confirm these findings.
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Resveratrol May Benefit Diabetics' Cardiovascular Health - Anti Aging News
By David Kohn, The Washington Post
Kari Alitalo had studied lymphatic vessels for more than two decades. So he knew that this network, which carries immune cells throughout the body and removes waste and toxins, didnt extend into the brain: This had been accepted wisdom for more than 300 years. Nobody questioned that it stopped at the brain, says Alitalo, a scientist at the University of Helsinki in Finland.
Three years ago, Alitalo wanted to develop a more precise map of the lymphatic system. To do this, he used genetically modified mice whose lymphatic vessels glowed when illuminated by a particular wavelength of light. (The mice had been given a gene from a species of glowing jellyfish.)
When viewing the modified mice under the light, Aleksanteri Aspelund, a medical student in Alitalos laboratory, saw something unexpected: The heads of the mice glowed. At first, he suspected that there was something wrong with the animals, the lighting or the measuring equipment. But when Alitalo and Aspelund repeated the experiment, they got the same result. It seemed that the lymphatic vessels extended to the brain after all.
This was surprising, to say the least: In the 21st century, major findings involving basic human anatomy are rare. These days, you dont make discoveries like this, Alitalo says. But every once in a while in science, you stumble on something really unexpected. You open a new door, to a whole new world.
Alitalo is one of several scientists exploring this new world. Working independently, several other researchers, including Maiken Nedergaard of the University of Rochester and Jonathan Kipnis of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, have also shown that lymphatic vessels extend into the brain.
The discovery is much more than a historical footnote. It has major implications for a wide variety of brain diseases, including Alzheimers, multiple sclerosis, stroke and traumatic brain injury.
Researchers have identified two networks: the vessels that lead into and surround the brain, and those within the brain itself. The first is known as the lymphatic system for the brain, while the latter is called the glymphatic system. The g added to lymphatic refers to glia, the kind of neuron that makes up the lymphatic vessels in the brain. The glymphatic vessels carry cerebrospinal fluid and immune cells into the brain and remove cellular trash from it.
Alitalo, Nedergaard, Kipnis and others have found evidence that when the systems malfunction, the brain can become clogged with toxins and suffused with inflammatory immune cells. Over decades, this process may play a key role in Alzheimers disease, Huntingtons disease, Parkinsons disease and other neurodegenerative illnesses, research suggests. This is a revolutionary finding, Nedergaard says. This system plays a huge role in the health of the brain.
Nedergaard describes the glymphatic system as like a dishwasher for the brain. The brain is very active, she says, and so it produces a lot of junk that needs to be cleaned out.
In hindsight, she says, the system should have been noticed long ago. When the skull and head are dissected, the vessels are visible to the naked eye. But no one bothered to really look: Usually the brain is seen only as a bunch of nerve cells. We have come to think of the brain as a computer. And its not. Its a living organ.
Nedergaard and Helene Benveniste, a scientist at Yale University, have found evidence linking problems in the lymphatic and glymphatic systems to Alzheimers. In a study on mice, they showed that glymphatic dysfunction contributes to the buildup in the brain of amyloid beta, a protein that plays a key role in the disease.
Last year, Jeff Iliff, a neuroscientist at Oregon Health & Science University, and several colleagues examined postmortem tissue from 79 human brains. They focused on aquaporin-4, a key protein in glymphatic vessels. In the brains of people with Alzheimers, this protein was jumbled; in those without the disease, the protein was well organized. This suggests that glymphatic breakdowns may play a role in the disease, Iliff says.
The vessels have also been implicated in autoimmune disease. Researchers knew that the immune system has limited access to the brain. But at the same time, the immune system kept tabs on the brains status; no one knew exactly how. Some researchers theorize that the glymphatic system could be the conduit and that in diseases such as multiple sclerosis where the bodys immune system attacks certain brain cells the communication may go awry.
The system may also play a role in symptoms of traumatic brain injury. Nedergaard has shown that in mice, the injuries can produce lasting damage to the glymphatic vessels, which are quite fragile. Mice are a good model, she says, because their glymphatic systems are very similar to humans. She and Iliff found that even months after being injured, the animals brains were still not clearing waste efficiently, leading to a buildup of toxic compounds, including amyloid beta. Nedergaard returns to the dishwasher analogy. Its like if you only use a third of the water when you turn on the machine, she says. You wont get clean dishes.
Recent research has also found evidence that the glymphatic system may extend into the eye. For decades, scientists have noted that many people with Alzheimers disease also have glaucoma, in which damage to the optic nerve causes vision loss. But they struggled to find a common mechanism; the glymphatic system may be the link.
In January, Belgian and Swiss researchers identified a rich network of glymphatic vessels within the optic nerve. The scientists also found that when these vessels malfunction, they seem to leave behind deposits of amyloid beta as well as other neurotoxins that damage the optic nerve.
And in March, Harvard University researchers reported that glymphatic flow is significantly decreased in the period just before a migraine. The intense pain in these headaches is caused largely by inflamed nerves in the tissue that surrounds the brain. Neuroscientists Rami Burstein and Aaron Schain, the lead authors, theorize that faulty clearance of molecular waste from the brain could trigger inflammation in these pain fibers.
One key to glymphatic performance seems to be sleep. Nedergaard has shown that at least in mice, the system processes twice as much fluid during sleep as it does during wakefulness. She and her colleagues focused on amyloid beta; they found that the lymphatic system removed much more of the protein when the animals were asleep than when they were awake. She suggests that over time, sleep dysfunction may contribute to Alzheimers and perhaps other brain illnesses. You only clean your brain when youre sleeping, she says. This is probably an important reason that we sleep. You need time off from consciousness to do the housekeeping.
Nedergaard and Benveniste have also found that sleep position is crucial. In an upright position someone who is sitting or standing waste is removed much less efficiently. Sleeping on your stomach is also not very effective; sleeping on your back is somewhat better, while lying on your side appears to produce the best results. The reason for these differences remains unclear, but Nedergaard suspects that it is probably related to the mechanical engineering of the lymphatic vessels and valves; she suggests that the healthiest approach may be to move periodically while you sleep.
Sleep is probably not the only way to improve glymphatic flow. For instance, a paper published in January by C
hinese researchers reported that in mice, omega-3 fatty acidsimproved glymphatic functioning.
Benveniste is examining dexmedetomidine, an anesthetic that may have the ability to improve glymphatic flow. And in a small human study, other scientists have found that deep breathing significantly increases the glymphatic transport of cerebrospinal fluid into the brain.
Alitalo is experimenting with growth factors, compounds that can foster regrowth of the vessels in and around the brain. He has used this method to repair lymphatic vessels in pigs and is now testing the approach in the brains of mice that have a version of Alzheimers.
Right now there are no clinical therapies in this area, he says. But give it a little time. This has only just been discovered.
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Major finding in human anatomy has implications for many brain diseases, including Alzheimer's - The Denver Post
Psychology is a broad social science that seeks to understand the physiological, emotional, and mental processes that drive and influence human behavior; it is also a profession that takes the scientific foundation of psychology and applies it to try to solve human problems. Some psychologists are scientists interested in basic questions about human behavior such as: "How do children develop a sense of morality?" "How does memory work?" "What predicts divorce?" "What makes some people happier than others?" "What treatments work best for Schizophrenia?" Others are practitioners who use the science of psychology to help individuals, families, and society by methods such as treating depression, helping couples, and families improve their relationships, and conducting mental health evaluations for the courts. The best part about psychology is that every single person that takes a class can apply what they learn to their own life. Psychologists work in a variety of settings including laboratories, hospitals, courtrooms, schools and universities, community health centers, prisons, and corporate offices. According to economists at the Department of Labor, opportunities for people with graduate degrees in Psychology are expected to grow between 10% and 20% by 2010.
1. Students will critically analyze quantitative data in order to draw empirically supported conclusions about human behaviors. 2. Students will write in a professional manner, defined as a mastery of the mechanics of basic writing, the conventions of professional writing (e.g., conforming to a publication style), and the ability to produce a coherent argument.
http://www.apa.org - American Psychological Association http://www.psychologicalscience.org - Association for Psychological Science http://careersinpsychology.org/ - Online resource for careers and degrees in psychology http://www.psychologycareercenter.org/ - Psychology Career Center http://www.counselor-license.com/ - Counselor License Requirements
View degree and Psychology emphasis requirements View Psychology course descriptions
Psychology Advisor (Student Last Names beginning with A - J) - Cindy Lau Phone: 801.863.8120 Office: CB 506F Click here to schedule an appointment
Psychology Advisor (Student Last Names beginning with K - Z) - April KirkPhone: 801.863.5347 Office: CB 506E Click here to schedule an appointment
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Behavioral Science - Psychology | Behavioral Science | Home
Posted on May 17, 2017, 6 a.m. in Functional Foods GI-Digestive Inflammation
Researchers investigating the gut microbiome recommend that just as you should eat fiber every day, you should also follow suit with fermented foods.
Just about everyone loves yogurt. It tastes amazing, has a lovely texture and provides a number of health benefits. Yogurt is one of the many fermented foods that is fantastic for gut health. Researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are studying the nuances of the gut microbiome. The hope is that an improved understanding of the gut microbiome will help reduce the prevalence of heart disease, diabetes, and inflammatory disorders.
About Fermented Foods
Fermented foods are considered to be the original version of processed food. Fermentation allows for preservation to keep foods nutritious and tasty. Fermented foods have soared in popularity over the recent years as the general public became more interested in health food. Scientists continue to learn more about the important functions of microorganisms for digestion and overall health.
Aside from yogurt, examples of fermented foods and drinks include wine, beer, cheese, salami, fermented pickles, coffee, bread, and chocolate. These items are altered by helpful bacteria, fungi, and yeasts. These foods aresafe to consume for extended periods of time after the alteration. In many instances, fermentation makes the food that much more healthy and flavorful to boot.
About the Research
The research effort is being spearheaded by Robert Hutkins, an accomplished food science researcher. Maria Marco of the University of California is also leading the study. They are working in tandem with an international crew of scientists to determine if eating certain fermented foods like yogurt increases the number ofhelpful microorganisms.
Prior studies have proved that foods like yogurt, miso, and sauerkraut are tied to a reduced rate of diabetes, heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders and other health problems. Hutkins and a dozen other researchers are reviewing this data. He states that the data showsnumerous health benefits to consuming fermented foods like yogurt. He recommends that fermented foods should be included in all diets.
Hutkins' Background
Hutkins is affiliated with the Nebraska Food for Health Center. This group was established last year to study how gut microbes ward off disease and boost human health. It's food, animal and plant scientists work closely with medical experts to identify and develop foods that boost the human microbiome as well as the micro-organisms that reside in the gut. These scientists arefocused on developing foods that boost the body's immune system and metabolic processes.
About Microorganisms
Microorganisms within the gut are fed by the foods one consumes. Therefore it should come as no surprise that diet is an important factor that determines the functionality of the gut microbiome. This is an excellent opportunity to marry agriculture and medicine to alter how we think about warding off disease and treating disease. The hope is that improved knowledge of the main properties of fermentation methods will provide insights in terms of health benefits. However, at the current moment, only yogurt has been identified as a provider ofspecific health benefits. European health authorities made this recognition.
Hutkins' Findings
Hutkins and fellow researchers from the Netherlands, Canada, the United States, Ireland and France have encouraging findings following a thorough review of the latest research into fermented foods. Thegroup determined the increased interest in the impact of microbiomes on health justifies additional research along with clinical trials to study the functions of micro-organisms that reach the gastrointestinal tract via beverages and food.
Some of the studies within Hutkins' group show that yogurt consumption is tied to a decreased rates of diabetes. Additional research determined that beneficial relationships exist between yogurt and digestion, blood pressure, osteoporosis, and cholesterol. One particular study determined those who consume yogurt on a daily basis were less irritable.
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A Yogurt a Day May Keep Disorders at Bay - Anti Aging News
May 19, 2017 Images of garment prototype before exercise with flat ventilation flaps (F) and after exercise with curved ventilation flaps (G). Credit: Science Advances (2017). advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/5/e1601984
A team of MIT researchers has designed a breathable workout suit with ventilating flaps that open and close in response to an athlete's body heat and sweat. These flaps, which range from thumbnail- to finger-sized, are lined with live microbial cells that shrink and expand in response to changes in humidity. The cells act as tiny sensors and actuators, driving the flaps to open when an athlete works up a sweat, and pulling them closed when the body has cooled off.
The researchers have also fashioned a running shoe with an inner layer of similar cell-lined flaps to air out and wick away moisture. Details of both designs are published today in Science Advances.
Why use live cells in responsive fabrics? The researchers say that moisture-sensitive cells require no additional elements to sense and respond to humidity. The microbial cells they have used are also proven to be safe to touch and even consume. What's more, with new genetic engineering tools available today, cells can be prepared quickly and in vast quantities, to express multiple functionalities in addition to moisture response.
To demonstrate this last point, the researchers engineered moisture-sensitive cells to not only pull flaps open but also light up in response to humid conditions.
"We can combine our cells with genetic tools to introduce other functionalities into these living cells," says Wen Wang, the paper's lead author and a former research scientist in MIT's Media Lab and Department of Chemical Engineering. "We use fluorescence as an example, and this can let people know you are running in the dark. In the future we can combine odor-releasing functionalities through genetic engineering. So maybe after going to the gym, the shirt can release a nice-smelling odor."
Wang's co-authors include 14 researchers from MIT, specializing in fields including mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, architecture, biological engineering, and fashion design, as well as researchers from New Balance Athletics. Wang co-led the project, dubbed bioLogic, with former graduate student Lining Yao as part of MIT's Tangible Media group, led by Hiroshi Ishii, the Jerome B. Wiesner Professor of Media Arts and Sciences.
Shape-shifting cells
In nature, biologists have observed that living things and their components, from pine cone scales to microbial cells and even specific proteins, can change their structures or volumes when there is a change in humidity. The MIT team hypothesized that natural shape-shifters such as yeast, bacteria, and other microbial cells might be used as building blocks to construct moisture-responsive fabrics.
"These cells are so strong that they can induce bending of the substrate they are coated on," Wang says.
The researchers first worked with the most common nonpathogenic strain of E. coli, which was found to swell and shrink in response to changing humidity. They further engineered the cells to express green fluorescent protein, enabling the cell to glow when it senses humid conditions.
They then used a cell-printing method they had previously developed to print E. coli onto sheets of rough, natural latex.
The team printed parallel lines of E. coli cells onto sheets of latex, creating two-layer structures, and exposed the fabric to changing moisture conditions. When the fabric was placed on a hot plate to dry, the cells began to shrink, causing the overlying latex layer to curl up. When the fabric was then exposed to steam, the cells began to glow and expand, causing the latex flatten out. After undergoing 100 such dry/wet cycles, Wang says the fabric experienced "no dramatic degradation" in either its cell layer or its overall performance.
No sweat
The researchers worked the biofabric into a wearable garment, designing a running suit with cell-lined latex flaps patterned across the suit's back. They tailored the size of each flap, as well as the degree to which they open, based on previously published maps of where the body produces heat and sweat.
"People may think heat and sweat are the same, but in fact, some areas like the lower spine produce lots of sweat but not much heat," Yao says. "We redesigned the garment using a fusion of heat and sweat maps to, for example, make flaps bigger where the body generates more heat."
Support frames underneath each flap keep the fabric's inner cell layer from directly touching the skin, while at the same time, the cells are able to sense and react to humidity changes in the air lying just over the skin. In trials to test the running suit, study participants donned the garment and worked out on exercise treadmills and bicycles while researchers monitored their temperature and humidity using small sensors positioned across their backs.
After five minutes of exercise, the suit's flaps started opening up, right around the time when participants reported feeling warm and sweaty. According to sensor readings, the flaps effectively removed sweat from the body and lowered skin temperature, more so than when participants wore a similar running suit with nonfunctional flaps.
When Wang tried on the suit herself, she found that the flaps created a welcome sensation. After pedaling hard for a few minutes, Wang recalls that "it felt like I was wearing an air conditioner on my back."
Ventilated running shoes
The team also integrated the moisture-responsive fabric into a rough prototype of a running shoe. Where the bottom of the foot touches the sole of the shoe, the researchers sewed multiple flaps, curved downward, with the cell-lined layer facing towardthough not touchinga runner's foot. They again designed the size and position of the flaps based on heat and sweat maps of the foot.
"In the beginning, we thought of making the flaps on top of the shoe, but we found people don't normally sweat on top of their feet," Wang says. "But they sweat a lot on the bottom of their feet, which can lead to diseases like warts. So we thought, is it possible to keep your feet dry and avoid those diseases?"
As with the workout suit, the flaps on the running shoe opened and lit up when researchers increased the surrounding humidity; in dry conditions the flaps faded and closed.
Going forward, the team is looking to collaborate with sportswear companies to commercialize their designs, and is also exploring other uses, including moisture-responsive curtains, lampshades, and bedsheets.
"We are also interested in rethinking packaging," Wang says. "The concept of a second skin would suggest a new genre for responsive packaging."
"This work is an example of harnessing the power of biology to design new materials and devices and achieve new functions," says Xuanhe Zhao, the Robert N. Noyce Career Development Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and a co-author on the paper. "We believe this new field of 'living' materials and devices will find important applications at the interface between engineering and biological systems."
Explore further: MIT group explores bacteria use for comfort wear
More information: "Harnessing the hygroscopic and biofluorescent behaviors of genetically tractable microbial cells to design biohybrid wearables" Science Advances (2017). advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/5/e1601984
Is "bio" the new interface? What is all this talk about actuators being made out of biological matter such as bacteria?
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A team of MIT researchers has designed a breathable workout suit with ventilating flaps that open and close in response to an athlete's body heat and sweat. These flaps, which range from thumbnail- to finger-sized, are lined ...
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Self-ventilating workout suit keeps athletes cool and dry - Phys.Org
Utah Valley University in Orem has announced two new deans.
Steven Clark will replace David Yells as the dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences after Yells left the university to become the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Texas A&M Texarkana.
Clark has been the colleges interim dean since the first of the year.
Stephen Pullen will be the universitys next dean and artistic director of the School of Arts, effective July 1. He will replace K. Newell Dayley, who is retiring.
Clark intends to spend his first few months listening to individuals with UVUs different colleges and departments.
His appointment as dean of UVUs largest college was effective immediately. The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is made up of the behavioral science, communication, English and literature, history and political science, integrated studies, languages and cultures, and philosophy and humanities departments.
Clark has previously been a member and president of UVUs Faculty Senate, an associate dean for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and was the chair of the Department of Behavioral Sciences. He joined UVUs staff in 2000 after spending time as an assistant professor at Lamar University and a lecturer at the University of New Hampshire.
While he said he does miss teaching as hes moved into administrative duties, hes also enjoyed the challenges the new positions have brought.
I enjoy teaching because you see in the students that they learn something new, but I also like the idea of working at the institutional level with systems and processes and making changes that will affect a lot more students than I can teach personally, Clark said.
Clark said hes supportive of UVU administration as it works with the Legislature for funds as the university grows.
One of his biggest priorities right now is also student success. Clark said he wants more students to be involved on campus and be engaged with the community and their courses. That can be difficult, especially on a commuter campus where many students are nontraditional, work full-time or have children.
He said he recently had a dinner with students who said getting involved, whether it was in student government, in a club or in a research experience, made a difference to him.
It was like a transformative experience to get really involved and not just go back and forth between their classroom and their apartment and work, Clark said.
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UVU's largest college appoints a new dean - Daily Herald
In 2003, I wrote my first analytics package. I had the same problem all marketers had: I could do almost anything with digital marketing. I could easily create ads, pages and emails with any text, any font, any image. I could add video, animations, and even make aliens dance to sell car insurance. But how could I know which would work best for me?
Big e-commerce sites had access to sophisticated analytics packages costing thousands of dollars a month. Not me. I was spending about a quarter of my time evolving the code I wrote. I eventually released it to SourceForge as Open Source Online Marketing, or OSOM.
Then, in 2005, Google launched Google Analytics. Overnight, managing my analytics setup took just a fraction of my time. And it was free. This was my first experience of Moores Law in the world of behavioral data.
Apparently, we cant shake Moores Law, not even those of us in the marketing and advertising game.
It is now cheaper to create and use behavioral data than it is not to.
Quick grounding: Moores Law was originally defined in a 1965 paper by Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel. It states, roughly, that the number of transistors you could fit onto a silicon chip would double every two years. In the semiconductor world, this also meant the cost of electronics would drop by half.
Moore was talking about microchips, but what about the devices that these chips power?
In his new book, Thank You for Being Late, Thomas L. Friedman identifies several technologies that have ridden Moores Law, changing everything from wealth distribution to where we live we being everyone on the globe. Think about the ready availability of inexpensive cloud storage. Think about the proliferation of sensors, many in our phones, that track epidemics or allow Waze to route us around traffic.
Friedman presents evidence that 2007 was the year that all of these trends came together, creating a supernova of change and innovation. Its now 2017, and marketing has not been left out of this radical shift.
We dont have to look at Scott Brinkers Marketing Technology Landscape to know that marketing departments are inundated with new technologies at an astounding rate, from 150 companies in 2011 to nearly 5,000 in 2017.
(Click to enlarge.)
I recently spoke with Joey Goldberg of Sticky, a company that offers eye-tracking and emotion-tracking services through the use of everyday webcams. Whats the amazing technology breakthrough that allows Sticky to track our eyes and measure our expressions without expensive infrared cameras? Its the proliferation of HD-resolution cameras. The stock webcams shipped with most laptops are of such high quality that we can track the minute movements of a persons eyes with them.
In 2012, our agency, Conversion Sciences, did an eye-tracking study to see what kinds of video would be most effective on business websites. It required an expensive camera, some sophisticated software and a couple of weeks work compiling all of the results. We recruited 22 visitors to come to our facility, then spent two days watching them view our videos. The results were very helpful.
Today, companies like Sticky can easily put 100 people in front of a video, an ad or a landing page in just a couple of days, delivering amazing reports right to our desktops. We dont even have to leave our desks. Webcam technology followed Moores Law, and the marketing solutions followed suit.
For a recent presentation, I documented nine kinds of behavioral studies a marketer could do building just one landing page, all at a low cost and without leaving their desk. These tests include AdWords data, email performance data, preference testing from sites like UsabilityHub, heatmap data from businesses like Crazy Egg and Hotjar, and AI-driven session recording from SessionCam. We are collecting qualitative data from the likes of Qualaroo and UserTesting. And we cant forget the power of AB testing tools.
Get used to it.
This is my new mantra: It is now cheaper to create and use behavioral data than it is not to.
The opportunity cost of websites, ads and email campaigns that return mediocre results is too high.
Marketing has accelerated. The cost of launch and see is now higher than the cost of the tools and time needed to test campaigns during development. The opportunity cost of websites, ads and email campaigns that return mediocre results is too high. With inexpensive behavioral tools, we can now launch campaigns with confidence.
The real boon in all of this is for business owners, product managers, product marketing managers and P&L (profit and loss) managers. No longer is this kind of data the strict domain of UX designers.
Weve used behavior data to determine the most profitable pricing mix for Automatic. Weve used it to provide redesign insurance for companies like Wasp Barcode. Weve used it to determine if using Amazon is as profitable as using a Shopify cart.
These are the tools of what has been called growth hacking. But they are no longer mysterious tools of marketing research firms. They are now a part of every managers arsenal.
Behavioral marketing is no longer someone elses job.
Big companies use big data to gain an advantage. Yet the quality of your data doesnt determine the success of your business anymore. It is the quality of your questions because we can now answer almost any question you have with behavioral science driven by Moores Law.
Some opinions expressed in this article may be those of a guest author and not necessarily MarTech Today. Staff authors are listed here.
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The effect of Moore's Law on behavioral marketing - MarTech Today
Peter Baranoff, Richard Gold and Carmel Baranoff.
Promise Rejuvenation Center at The Villages held a ribbon cutting and reception to celebrate the opening of its first center at Palm Ridge Plaza. The center provides a variety of customized anti-aging, weight loss and integrative medicine therapy solutions for patients. Dr. Lena Edwards, the chief medical officer, is a board certified Integrative Medicine and Anti-Aging Specialist.
Peter Baranoff, chairman and CEO of Promise Healthcare, remembered being here in 2011 to cut the ribbon for Promise Hospital.
At the hospital we are with people sometimes during their darkest hours of need, said Baranoff. The rejuvenation center will help people live life to the fullest. People will come to us proactively instead of reactively.
Richard Gold and Carmel and Peter Baranoff.
President of Promise Healthcare Richard Gold said that in 30 years of working with physicians, he has never met a doctor as committed and caring as Dr. Edwards.
With this center we are changing sick care to well care, said Gold. We want to help people live longer healthier lives full of vitality, realizing your golden years are in front of you not behind you.
Gold said that The Villages was the logical place for their first center because of the population here that wants to stay active.
We are the first rejuvenation center in the area, said Gold. There are wellness centers here, but we are the first rejuvenation center.
Promise Rejuvenation Center offers a wide variety of services. Dr. Edwards said that two of the main areas she treats people for are hormone imbalances and nutritional deficiencies.
To find out more about the center call (352) 430-3397.
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Promise Rejuvenation Center cuts ribbon at Palm Ridge Plaza in The Villages - Villages-News
Asheville-based director and producerJeremy Seiferts 2013 documentary film GMO, OMG highlighteda major concern about the manipulation of the food supply the belief that genetically modified organisms are dangerous.
In 2015, Mountain Xpress reported how local restaurants were seeing an increased demand for non-GMO foods. Until aGMO labeling bill was signed into law in July 2016, locals likeThe Market Placechef and ownerWilliam Dissenwere vocal, not so much about the dangers of GMOs, but about the importance of transparency when it comes to genetic engineering in our foods.
On Saturday, May 20, GMO Free NC will host the sixth annual March Against Monsanto, an Asheville public protest that organizers say aims to raise awareness of the dangers of genetically modified organisms to our food, to our health, our childrens health and that of all living things on the planet.
Even theNational Academy of Sciences,the agency responsible for releasingthe comprehensive May 2016 reportthat found no evidence that foods derived from genetically engineered (GE) crops were unsafe to eat, noted that it is clear that the proportion of Americans who believe that foods derived from GE crops pose a serious health hazard to consumers has steadily increased, from 27 percent in 1999 to 48 percent in 2013.
This trend pits those who are skeptical of genetic engineering against those who, alongside agencies like the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Academy of Sciences, believe that genetic engineering is not only safe but has the potential to be a powerful tool for food production in the future.
Simply speaking, genetic engineering is a process whereby genes can be moved within a species or from one species to another, saysJack Britt, an Asheville-based scientist, consultant and agricultural professor of nearly 40 years at institutions like N.C. State University and the University of Tennessee. All of us have genes or pieces of genes that came from other species. Some have been introduced by viruses and bacteria, and some have been spread by biting insects and the organisms they inject into us when they bite.In the 1960s, scientists discovered how to excise and insert DNA (genes). The methods used by scientists are the same as those used by bacteria and viruses to move genes around among species, except that scientists do this more precisely than bacteria and viruses.
Essentially, the idea is that genetic engineering is simply a more efficient means of doing something that nature has always been doing since the dawn of time improving species through natural selection. We now know that nature has created many GMO crops over millions of years. The same organism that is used by scientists to move genes into corn, soybeans, papaya, canola, alfalfa and other GMO crops has been moving genes across species naturally for a long time. When the sweet potato genome was sequenced a few years ago, it was discovered that it was a true GMO crop and that the same organism has left its footprint in the sweet potato thousands of years ago.
WHAT GMO Free NC hosts the sixth annual March Against Monsanto. The march is kid- and pet-friendly. Participants are encouraged to wear earthy colors and/or creative costumes.
WHERE Downtown, starting and ending atthe Vance Monument
WHENSaturday, May 20 Rally begins at 11 a.m., march begins at noon. Rain or shine.
DETAILS Visit the events Facebook page at avl.mx/3pv for updates, including informationabout a sign-making circle planned for 4 p.m. Thursday, May 18, at The Block Off Biltmore.
Rather than improving species through whats essentially rolling the dice, genetically speaking, genetic engineering is much more targeted. With GMOs, there may be one gene altered. Yourenot changing a host of genes. Its very deliberate and very direct. Its not like taking a Schnauzer and breeding it with a St. Bernard and seeing what were going to get, saysLeah McGrath, corporate supermarket dietitian for Ingles Markets.
The use of GMOs and genetic engineering is also more prevalent than many people realize. Insulin is a GMO, so everyone who is a Type 1 diabetic relies on a product of genetic engineering, says McGrath.
Genetic engineering is used widely in processing and manufacturing of thousands of products that we all use every day, says Britt. Many cosmetic, health and other products are produced in fermentation vats using genetically modified E. coli.The technology that is used to produce GMO crops is used to make hundreds of products such as cold-water detergents, bread preservatives, many over-the-counter products and many pharmaceuticals.
Despite the widespread use of GMO-based products, many of the foods grown today fall outside the realm of what is considered genetically modified. Remember that there are no tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuces, kale, collards andmany other vegetables that are genetically engineered, saysFred Gould, N.C. State professor and chair of the National Academy of Sciences committee on GE crops. So unless your farm is focused on commodity row crops, you probably dont even have access to engineered crops.
The current list of GE foods on the market includes corn, soybeans, cotton, Innate Potatoes, papaya,squash, canola, alfalfa, arctic apples, sugar beets and AquaBounty salmon, according to a report frombestfoodfacts.org.
The number of GMO crops out on the market is limited by the regulatory process theyre subjected to.It can actually take almost 20 years to bring a GMO product to market. There are trials upon trials beforethat can happen, says McGrath. Britt agrees, noting that GMO crops are under much more control by FDA, EPA and USDA than any other farm products.
McGrath says its important for consumers to understand which GMO foods are in circulation so theres no risk of being exploited by unfounded, fear-based marketing. When you have small grocery stores, even here in Asheville, that put out adsshowing a tomato or strawberry with a syringe in it, implying that those products are GM, its important to understand that there arent actually any GMO strawberries or tomatoeson the market, says McGrath.
Despite the fact that every national scientific and medical agency in the world has declared that GMO foods are safe, according to Britt, many people are still concerned and skeptical.
According to a recentvideo released byKurzgesagtvia YouTube, there are several common objections to genetic engineering, including gene flow (the concept that GM crops can mix with traditional crops and introduce unwanted new traits into them), the use of terminator seeds (which are essentially seeds that produce sterile plants, requiring farmers to buy new seeds every year) and the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides, like the weed-killing herbicide glyphosate.
The use of pesticides and herbicides especially causes alarm among vocal critics in Asheville.
Philosophically and ethically, I believe that you are what you eat, and I do my best to source and cook ingredients that are local, sustainable and healthy. For me, the conversation about GE and healthy eating is the use of herbicides and pesticides in our food, says Dissen.
Agricultural communities suffer the greatest and most obvious effects of the ever-increasing amount of poison being sprayed, saysChris Smith, community coordinator at Asheville-basedSow True Seed. Glyphosate is showing up in groundwater. Studies show effects on beneficial insects and pollinators, not least because of the killing off of plants like milkweed, the preferred food of monarch butterflies. More emerging studies are linking health issues to people who get drift from aerial spraying. And that isnt to mention the real threat to the biodiversity of food and other crops in nearby fields, says Smith.
AnneandAaron Grierrun the 70-acreGaining Ground Farm in Leicester and have been selling vegetables in Asheville since 1999. We currently grow 14acres of vegetables on land that we lease from immediate family. We do actively avoid GMO seed in our vegetable production. We actively avoid buying non-GMO seed from companies that also produce and sell GMO seeds. We worry about GMOs unintended impacts on insects and increased usage of herbicide in Roundup Ready-type applications, say the Griers.
Britt seemsless concerned than Dissen, Smith and the Griers about the use of chemicals like glyphosate. The primary advantage of GMO corn and other GMO crops is that they simplify control of weeds and control of insect damage to crops, says Britt. In general, weeds are now typically controlled by a single herbicide (glyphosate) rather than multiple herbicides, and the GMO plants often include a BT toxin that kills insects that feed on plants.
When Britt refers to weeds controlled by glyphosate, he is referring togenetically modified herbicide-resistant crops (think Roundup Ready), which have been engineered to survive exposure to glyphosate, the chemical (found in Roundup spray)known to kill weeds. The BT that Britt references is a gene borrowed from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, which allows engineered plants to produce a protein that destroys the digestive systems of specified insect pests. So basically, the plant makes its own pesticide, and insects that eat it will die.
Butare BT toxins bredinto crops something to worry about? Unlike many pesticides, the BT toxin is not active in humans. The bacteria that produces the BT toxin is used by organic farmers to control pests in their organic crops. It is a natural product, says Britt.
Britt counters concerns about the overall use of pesticidesby noting that now we spray much less than previously, and pesticide use in the U.S. has declined significantly over the last two decades. According to worldwide statistics, the U.S. now ranks around 43rd in the world in amount of pesticide used per acre of arable farmland. Fertilizer use has also declined, and we rank about 62nd in the world in fertilizer use per acre.
For Gould, some objections to the current use of GE technology may be valid, but not those regarding the health or safety for humans and the environment. The overall data doesnt show that GMOs themselves cause human and environmental safety problems, says Gould. If you are against GMOs for ethical and societal reasons, I think its best to express your opposition in those terms instead of health and environmental terms.
Laura Lengnick, professor of sustainable agriculture at Warren Wilson College and author of the bookResilient Agriculture, says: GE technology may be a useful tool in climate change adaptation, but not as it is used today. In general, GE technology is a great example of the overemphasis on technological solutions to food production challenges that characterizes industrial agricultural.
Britt disagrees.The first GMO on the market was Roundup-resistant corn, and that was really designed so that Monsanto could sell more Roundup. Now, while it definitely makes planting and growing corn simpler for the farmer, the company was primarilyfocused on selling more Roundup. So, ultimately, that was a product that made a lot of money for [Monsanto], farmers liked it, but itwasnt necessarily a great step forward in terms of producing food more efficiently or meeting needs any better, except for maybe reducing the overall use of pesticides, says Britt.
For Anne and Aaron Grier of Gaining Ground Farm, everyday shoppers carry a responsibility when it comes to farmers buying seed from companies like Monsanto.We think that most of the responsibility rests with the consumer making decisions with their dollar. If consumers quit buying products that contained GMO crops, farmers would quit using GMO seeds, say the Griers.
Companies like Monsanto are for-profit corporations with shareholders and board members to satisfy. Thus, consumer and agricultural concerns may be secondary to generating profits. This isnt to imply that these companies are malicious or nefarious, however,but rather a reminder that profits are a top priority for many companies. Which company does not have an intention tomake profit? Britt asks.
Britt says the GMO technologies were using today arent particularly enhancing the state of agriculture, as they have the potential to, but believes there is reason to be optimistic about the future of GE. I think the long-term advantages of genetic engineering or gene editing is for things like drought resistance and salt tolerance, he says. Could you grow plants in salty water? If we could do that, we wouldnt have to worry about irrigation water.
Britt also believes GMOs may soon be a thing of the past. My guess is that GMO will soon be replaced by gene-editing, he says. Its quicker, easier to do and has a precision that is exceptionally high. With gene-editing, a specific gene is excised or cut from the DNA, and its replacement is inserted in the space that was cut out. Often the replaced gene is a slightly different version of the one that was cut out and often leads to improved health or some other benefit to the plant or animal.
With growing concerns around global population growth and impending climate change, there is certainly reason to move forward with research and development of potentially effective GE technologies. I dont think you can draw a line in the sand and just say no to GE, says McGrath. I think we have to realize that we need tohave these tools in our toolbox and dont have the luxury of taking anything off the plate.
Those critical of GE maintain that we need to proceed with caution, however. Could publicly funded altruistic application of certain types of biotech help us in the future? Smith asks. Quite possibly. Will biotech be a golden wand that solves all our problems? Extremely unlikely. We need big system changes, which means human behavior needs to change and that relies on the most complex tool we have at our disposal: our brains.
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Facts, fears and the future of food: Asheville talks about genetic engineering - Mountain Xpress