A multivitamin for the world's poor could be found in a cup of corn meal. Scientists in Spain have engineered African lines of white corn to provide high levels of beta carotene, a key source of vitamin A, a nutrient critical to protecting eyesight.
The grain, which has an orange tint because of the beta-carotene, also contains significant levels of vitamin C and folate. Less than a cup of the corn could provide the recommended daily intake of vitamin A, scientists reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers said the achievement "opens the way for the development of nutritionally complete" grains.
read the full article at Clarion Ledger
Monday, May 4, 2009
River blindness persists in Africa | GlobalPost
Health officials battle to combat 'forgotten disease' that leaves many villagers blind.
MNGAZI, Tanzania — A man with clouded eyes sits on the ground next to a wattle and daube hut in the riverside village of Mngazi. His five children mill around and his wife tends a pot over a wooden fire. He used to be a corn farmer, but then his eyes started itching three years ago.
Now, he is totally blind and cannot work. He does not know what happened, nor is he the only villager whose vision began to disappear. He said he went to a witchdoctor, but it did not help.
The man's blindness is not a result of magic, but a small worm that invaded his body. He is one of 37 million people worldwide, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa, suffering from onchocerciasis, commonly known as river blindness.
Read more... River blindness persists in Africa | GlobalPost
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