Public Overwhelmingly Supportive of Genetic Science and its Use for a Wide Variety of Medical, Law Enforcement and Personal Purposes

Most U.S. adults are opposed to its use by employers and insurers

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ — According to a new Wall Street
Journal Online/Harris Interactive Healthcare Poll, the public is almost
unanimous in its opinions on the science of genetics and the use of DNA.
While only five percent of all adults have ever had a genetic test to study
their DNA, the vast majority of U.S. adults (93%) feel that genetic science
is a good thing, and few (only 1%) feel it is a bad thing. Furthermore,
most adults are supportive of using genetic information for purposes such
as to identify criminals (93%) and to treat disease (87%).
These are some of the results of a Harris Interactive(R) online survey
of 3,091 U.S. adults, conducted between August 10 and 14, 2006 for The Wall
Street Journal Online’s Health Industry Edition (http://www.wsj.com/health).
The vast majority of adults strongly or somewhat support the use of
genetic information for:
– Identifying criminals in rape, murder and other crimes (93%)
– Establishing paternity (whether a man is or is not the father of a
child) (92%)
– Research by scientists to find new ways to prevent or treat diseases
(91%)
– Genetic testing by doctors to identify diseases for which people are
at risk (88%)
– Genetic therapy to treat people who have, or are likely to get, a
particular disease (87%)
– Tracing one’s family tree and ancestors (85%)
– Screening potential parents for inherited diseases or genetic
weaknesses at fertility clinics (72%)
On the other hand, when it comes to issues that could affect their jobs
or insurance coverage and costs, adults do not want DNA science to play a
role. Approximately four out of five adults strongly or somewhat oppose the
use of genetic information by:
– Employers to help decide whether to employ somebody (81%)
– Life insurance companies to determine who to insure or how much to
charge (80%)
– Health insurance companies to determine who to insure and how much to
charge (80%)
Link to full article

EGYPT: UN FOOD AGENCY PROJECT CREATES RECORD-SETTING RICE YIELDS

New York, Sep  5 2006  2:00PM
A United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) led project that uses hybrid varieties of rice to increase production has resulted in unprecedented yields of the staple crop in Egypt, the agency said today.

“The world’s highest national average rice yield in 2005 was 9.5 tonnes per hectare from Egypt,” said Mr. Nguu Nguyen, Executive Secretary of the International Rice Commission, at an international scientific conference on sustainable rice production in Krasnodar, Russia.

Hybrid rice varieties developed locally, such as SK 2034 and SK 2046, outperformed the best Egyptian varieties by 20 to 30 per cent, according to the FAO.

The project, aimed at growing more rice with less water and less land, also involved training seed breeders, production personnel, extension workers and farmers.

Despite the project’s success, the FAO warns that hybrid rice seed production is not a global cure-all since many countries lack the technical skills and infrastructure to carry out such programmes.

Those countries could benefit more from improved crop management techniques, such as setting planting dates to expose crops to higher solar radiation, optimizing seeding density, balanced plant nutrition and careful water management, the FAO says.

Rice is the world’s most widely-consumed food – some 618 million tonnes were produced in 2005.  With the world’s population growing by more than 70 million a year, the FAO estimates that an extra 153 million tonnes of rice will be needed by 2030.
 2006-09-05 00:00:00.000 For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news

First test results on a new nano electric generator

8/26/2006 1:50:26 AM
Researchers report the first detailed results of electric power generation with a new technique that could drive implantable medical devices, sensors and portable electronics without the need for bulky batteries or other energy sources. Instead of batteries, electricity for such devices would come, for instance, from muscle contraction or other body movements, according to Zhong Lin Wang and colleagues.
Link to Source see also Nanogenerators get their power from body movement, blood flow by George Elvin