news 2012

Study: Warming episodes hurt poor countries and limit long-term growth. Even temporary rises in local temperatures significantly damage long-term economic growth in the world's developing nations, according to a new study co-authored by an MIT economist. Looking at weather data over the last half-century, the study finds that every 1-degree-Celsius increase in a poor country, over the course of a given year, reduces its economic growth by about 1.3 percentage points.

New research by the University of Oxford has found that the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) programme has increased real agricultural wages rates by 5.3% across India since its introduction in 2006. The study, led by Oxford, also involved researchers from the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, India.

A slim waist and normal weight are usually associated with better health outcomes, but that's not always the case with heart failure patients, according to a new UCLA study. Researchers found that in both men and women with advanced heart failure, obesity — as indicated by a high body mass index (BMI) — and a higher waist circumference were factors that put them at significantly less risk for adverse outcomes.

Teaching new mums about healthy eating and active play can reduce the risk of their child being overweight or obese, a research study in which the University of Sydney collaborated has found. The study, led by Li Ming Wen, from South Western Sydney and Sydney Local Health Districts, who is also a PhD candidate at the University's Sydney Medical School , was published today in bmj.com , the online edition of the British Medical Journal .

Those who follow the nutritional guidelines issued by Sweden’s National Food Agency live longer. This is shown by a new study of the diets of 17 000 Swedish men and women over a long period of time. The greatest effect was observed in men, whose risk of dying of cardiovascular disease was almost halved.

A research team has identified a molecule naturally present in milk and other foods, nicotinamide riboside, that has extraordinary health benefits. Their findings indicate it could play an important role in preventing weight gain and diabetes and improving muscular performance. Many natural foods, including milk and perhaps even beer, contain a molecule whose effects on metabolism are nothing short of astonishing.

Maize was likely domesticated in Mexico around 10,000 years ago, and since then humans have continued to radically alter the plant's genetic makeup. Two new papers by a consortium of international researchers, including many at Cornell, identify genes that played a role in corn domestication as well as variations and similarities between domesticated maize and its wild relatives.

Overweight women may never escape the painful stigma of obesity – even after they have shed the pounds, new research suggests. The study, by the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, The University of Manchester, and Monash University, examined whether anti-fat prejudice against women persisted even after they had lost significant weight and were now thin.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Two researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have been awarded a grant through the Grand Challenges Explorations program, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

What did you have for lunch yesterday? How many times a month do you eat nuts? How about your kids - how many servings of vegetables did they consume today? It's no secret that it is hard to recall the details of our meals, and that frustrating fact lies at the heart of nutrition research, complicating the task of linking foods to health outcomes like diabetes and heart disease.

Access to healthy food in underserved communities has improved significantly after changes in federal nutrition and food assistance programs, according to a study by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. Published in the June, 2012, issue of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics , the study shows that the revisions in food packages for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) have increased the availability and variety of healthy foods in WIC-authorized and non-WIC convenience and grocery stores.

A new study dispels the myth that in general the homeless are starving and underweight. New research by Oxford University and Harvard Medical School has found that obesity is just as common among the homeless as it is among the general non-homeless population. The study, to be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Urban Health , suggests this could be because cheap foods that are instantly satisfying often contain high leveld of fats and sugars.

The agriculture industry could be forced to undergo sweeping changes because warmer winters could be confusing their crops, scientists have warned. It follows a detailed study showing hundreds of plant species, that appear to not be affected by warmer Spring temperatures, are in fact responding as much to warmer winters and getting ‘messed up’ in the process.

Milk poured down Britain's kitchen sinks each year creates a carbon footprint equivalent to that of thousands of cars, research shows. University scientists say the 360,000 tonnes of milk wasted in the UK each year creates greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 100,000 tonnes of CO2. This is the same as is emitted by about 20,000 cars annually.

For years, researchers have known that obesity, type 2 diabetes and low-level inflammation are linked, but how they are connected has not been well understood. A recent Cornell-led study has found that a type of immune cells - called natural killer'T (NKT) cells - is an important part of the puzzle.

Low levels of testosterone in men could increase their risk of developing diabetes. University scientists have found that low testosterone levels are linked to a resistance to insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar levels. Low testosterone We know that men with low testosterone levels are more likely to become obese, and as a develop diabetes.

Obese women are more likely to be discriminated against when applying for jobs and receive lower starting salaries than their non-overweight colleagues, a new study has found. The study, led by The University of Manchester and Monash University, Melbourne, and published in the International Journal of Obesity , examined whether a recently developed measure of anti-fat prejudice, the universal measure of bias (UMB), predicted actual obesity job discrimination.

AUSTIN, Texas — Seed size is controlled by small RNA molecules inherited from a plant's mother, a discovery from scientists at The University of Texas at Austin that has implications for agriculture and understanding plant evolution. "Crop seeds provide nearly 70 to 80 percent of calories and 60 to 70 percent of all proteins consumed by the human population," said Z. Jeff Chen , the D.J. Sibley Centennial Professor in Plant Molecular Genetics at The University of Texas at Austin.

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (04/09/2012) —Menopausal women can find relief from hot flashes by taking soy isoflavone supplements, a new study from the University of Minnesota and other research institutions has found. Past studies have yielded similar results but individual studies were considered inconclusive.

Obesity now accounts for almost 21 percent of U.S. health care costs - more than twice the previous estimates, reports a new Cornell study. The research, which is the first to show the causal effect of obesity on medical care costs, uses new methods and makes a stronger case for government intervention to prevent obesity, the authors say.