http://www.voanews.com Voice of America is an international news and broadcast organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countries http://www.voanews.com/img/voa/rssLogo_VOA.gif http://www.voanews.com en-US 2012 - VOA 60 Thu, 23 May 2013 19:32:30 -0400 Pangea CMS – VOA This week, Congress began debating whether to cut subsidies to U.S. farmers. Lawmaker are focusing on the Farm Bill, a massive, 5-year, half-trillion dollar package of subsidy, conservation and nutrition programs. The U.S. had been backing away from policies that can undermine farmers in other countries. But critics say proposals for the new Farm Bill threaten to undo some of that progress. The stereotype of the American farmer propped up with government cash is, at best, a bit ... http://www.voanews.com/content/congress-debates-subsidies-for-us-farmers/1661448.html http://www.voanews.com/content/congress-debates-subsidies-for-us-farmers/1661448.html Wed, 15 May 2013 10:02:47 -0400 USA Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) http://www.voanews.com/content/congress-debates-subsidies-for-us-farmers/1661448.html#relatedInfoContainer The seeds of patented plants are patented, too, and replanting them violates intellectual property law. That’s the ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court. The court decided a case that pitted the seed company Monsanto against a farmer who saved the offspring of plants grown from the company’s genetically modified seeds. Intellectual property rights supporters call it a victory.   Several years ago, Indiana farmer Vernon Hugh Bowman needed seed for a risky late planting of his soybean ... http://www.voanews.com/content/supreme-court-monsanto-soybeans-patents/1660356.html http://www.voanews.com/content/supreme-court-monsanto-soybeans-patents/1660356.html Mon, 13 May 2013 18:14:19 -0400 USA Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) On a patch of asphalt on the edge of Baltimore, a row of greenhouses lay like giant white caterpillars across the blacktop. This one stretch of land is blooming in the midst of a post-industrial wasteland that has lost about one-third of its population since its post-World War II peak, leaving hollowed-out neighborhoods of boarded-up buildings and abandoned lots. “It was a high-crime area. This vacant lot was a haven for drug activity. But not anymore,” says William Long, a farm manager who ... http://www.voanews.com/content/baltimores-empty-lots-bloom-with-healthy-greens/1652351.html http://www.voanews.com/content/baltimores-empty-lots-bloom-with-healthy-greens/1652351.html Wed, 01 May 2013 09:50:27 -0400 USA Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) http://www.voanews.com/content/baltimores-empty-lots-bloom-with-healthy-greens/1652351.html#relatedInfoContainer The Obama administration plans to ship fewer U.S. food commodities to countries in need and instead buy more from developing world farmers closer to the area. The proposal marks a major shift in the 60-year program known as Food for Peace. From floods and earthquakes to wars and chronic food shortages, the United States is the world’s largest donor of food aid.  But budgets are extremely tight in Washington these days. So U.S. Agency for International Development chief Rajiv Shah says he ... http://www.voanews.com/content/us-food-aid-domestic-purchase/1648409.html http://www.voanews.com/content/us-food-aid-domestic-purchase/1648409.html Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:01:33 -0400 USA Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) For more than 30 years, companies in the U.S. have been able to patent human genes, giving them exclusive rights to produce drugs, diagnostic tests or other tools based on those genes. But now the U.S. Supreme Court is revisiting this controversial issue. The high court heard arguments Monday in a case that has implications for medicine, agriculture, clean energy and beyond.   Myriad Genetics was the first company to identify two genes that, when defective, greatly increase a woman’s ... http://www.voanews.com/content/supreme-court-hears-gene-patent-case/1642118.html http://www.voanews.com/content/supreme-court-hears-gene-patent-case/1642118.html Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:59:00 -0400 USA Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) For the first time on record, U.S. per-capita meat consumption has declined for four consecutive years, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The six percent drop between 2006 and 2010 is the largest sustained decline since recordkeeping began in 1970. Reasons for the decline are at least partly economic: rising prices and a bad U.S. economy have made meat less affordable for American consumers. But there are intriguing signs that a cultural shift ... http://www.voanews.com/content/as_world_meat_consumption_grows_americas_appetite_wanes/1634222.html http://www.voanews.com/content/as_world_meat_consumption_grows_americas_appetite_wanes/1634222.html Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:25:56 -0400 USA Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) http://www.voanews.com/content/as_world_meat_consumption_grows_americas_appetite_wanes/1634222.html#relatedInfoContainer U.S. President Barack Obama has launched a scientific research initiative aimed at demystifying the workings of the human brain. The president described the human brain as one of the great frontiers of human discovery. “As humans, we can identify galaxies light years away, study particles smaller than an atom, but we still have not unlocked the mystery of the three pounds [1.5 kilos] of matter that sits between our ears,” he said. Speaking at the White House, Obama said he will propose ... http://www.voanews.com/content/obama_announces_plan_to_map_human_brain/1633532.html http://www.voanews.com/content/obama_announces_plan_to_map_human_brain/1633532.html Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:12:16 -0400 Science & Technology Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) http://www.voanews.com/content/obama_announces_plan_to_map_human_brain/1633532.html#relatedInfoContainer Uncertain access to fresh water is among the world’s greatest security threats. That’s according to the worldwide assessment delivered by U.S. intelligence agencies to Congress earlier in March. Water shortages, increasing pollution, flooding and climate change can all heighten instability within and between countries. But on this World Water Day, March 22, the United Nations says water scarcity offers opportunities for collaboration as well as conflict. A barbed-wired fence divides ... http://www.voanews.com/content/experts-says-cooperation-can-resolve-global-water-scarcities/1626813.html http://www.voanews.com/content/experts-says-cooperation-can-resolve-global-water-scarcities/1626813.html Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:43:46 -0400 Asia Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) When AIDS was first identified in the 1980s, it was considered a death sentence.  The advent of powerful triple-drug therapy transformed it into a chronic disease.  Now, researchers say a child may have been cured of HIV infection  Experts are cautious about making too much of a single case.  But the news has them talking with unprecedented optimism that if caught early, at least some patients could be saved from a lifetime of infection.  Tim Brown is one of only two ... http://www.voanews.com/content/doctors-us-toddler-cured-of-hiv/1614479.html http://www.voanews.com/content/doctors-us-toddler-cured-of-hiv/1614479.html Mon, 04 Mar 2013 17:59:46 -0500 Health Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) http://www.voanews.com/content/doctors-us-toddler-cured-of-hiv/1614479.html#relatedInfoContainer A scandal over contaminated milk in the Balkans highlights a global threat to food safety: Aflatoxins are naturally occurring poisons produced by fungi that infect many food crops worldwide. Serbian Agriculture Minister Goran Knezevic says the country’s milk is safe to drink. Tests late last month had found aflatoxins in some milk at levels higher than permitted under a law passed two years ago. The government has now raised those limits ten-fold. But Knezevic notes that this higher level ... http://www.voanews.com/content/serbian-scandal-highlights-fungal-poison-danger/1613913.html http://www.voanews.com/content/serbian-scandal-highlights-fungal-poison-danger/1613913.html Sat, 02 Mar 2013 09:34:14 -0500 Europe Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) Ten top multinational food corporations have received failing grades for their social and environmental policies in the developing world.  That’s according to a new scorecard from the anti-poverty group Oxfam.  While each company had made commitments to certain issues, none received a passing grade overall.  Nestle scored high for transparency and water management. Unilever did well for including more small-scale farmers in its supply chain. These two companies topped the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/globala-food-companies-fail-on-social-environmental-policies/1610732.html http://www.voanews.com/content/globala-food-companies-fail-on-social-environmental-policies/1610732.html Mon, 25 Feb 2013 19:30:30 -0500 USA Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) Prices of corn, soybeans and wheat are likely to decline this year, according to the latest forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Although farmers are going into this season with the ground still extremely dry after last year’s record-breaking drought, the USDA still expects good yields this year. Weather, like the winter storm which blew through the southern Great Plains this week bringing relief from the drought conditions which have lingered since summer, will be a ... http://www.voanews.com/content/us-crop-prices-drop-outlook/1609111.html http://www.voanews.com/content/us-crop-prices-drop-outlook/1609111.html Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:20:04 -0500 USA Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) http://www.voanews.com/content/us-crop-prices-drop-outlook/1609111.html#relatedInfoContainer The giant American agrichemical and biotech seed company, Monsanto, will be the subject of arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday. It's a case that asks: Who owns the offspring of a product that copies itself? The answer could affect the future of genetically modified organisms, as well as emerging software, medicine, and other new technologies.  Monsanto’s Roundup Ready soybeans are among the most popular crop seeds purchased by American farmers, because they make weed ... http://www.voanews.com/content/biotech-seed-patent-case-goes-to-us-supreme-court/1604832.html http://www.voanews.com/content/biotech-seed-patent-case-goes-to-us-supreme-court/1604832.html Fri, 15 Feb 2013 19:19:42 -0500 USA Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) http://www.voanews.com/content/biotech-seed-patent-case-goes-to-us-supreme-court/1604832.html#relatedInfoContainer After nearly four decades of fishing, this season might be David Goethel's last. The New England Fisheries Management Council has cut the amount of cod fishermen like Goethel can catch in the Gulf of Maine by 77 percent. Painful cuts “For us, it basically means we’re all done," Goethel says. Under the new limits, he says he'd reach his quota of cod in just a few days of fishing.  And other fish are effectively off limits, or out of reach, for his kind of boat and ... http://www.voanews.com/content/new-england-fishing-quotas/1598427.html http://www.voanews.com/content/new-england-fishing-quotas/1598427.html Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:37:26 -0500 USA Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) http://www.voanews.com/content/new-england-fishing-quotas/1598427.html#relatedInfoContainer Severely malnourished children are more likely to survive if they receive antibiotics in addition to therapeutic feeding, according to a new study. In the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a week’s worth of common antibiotics reduced the death rate among severely malnourished children by 35 percent or more. About 20 million children worldwide are severely malnourished, and malnutrition is a factor in the death of about 1 million every year. So the results are a big ... http://www.voanews.com/content/study-in-malawi-links-microbes-to-malnutrition-deaths/1594383.html http://www.voanews.com/content/study-in-malawi-links-microbes-to-malnutrition-deaths/1594383.html Thu, 31 Jan 2013 09:00:30 -0500 Health Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) A second term for President Barack Obama allows Michelle Obama to continue her high-profile campaign against childhood obesity. It's a fight Mrs. Obama took up at the start of her husband's first term and she's expected to use her platform as first lady to continue it into his second.   Planting seeds for better health It started with the garden. Shortly after moving in four years ago, Michelle Obama dug up a patch of the White House lawn to plant organic vegetables ... http://www.voanews.com/content/new-term-lets-first-lady-press-anti-obesity-fight/1586442.html http://www.voanews.com/content/new-term-lets-first-lady-press-anti-obesity-fight/1586442.html Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:46:00 -0500 USA Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) http://www.voanews.com/content/new-term-lets-first-lady-press-anti-obesity-fight/1586442.html#relatedInfoContainer As influenza season peaks in the United States, one researcher is working to bring the public into tracking the epidemic.  Using new technology, he may be able to provide public health officials with useful information more quickly than the usual methods.  And he is applying the new tools to study disease outbreaks around the world. Boston Children's Hospital epidemiologist John Brownstein is literally pinning down where the flu outbreak is occurring.  “All the pins ... http://www.voanews.com/content/new-technology-used-to-track-us-flu-outbreak/1583114.html http://www.voanews.com/content/new-technology-used-to-track-us-flu-outbreak/1583114.html Sun, 13 Jan 2013 19:31:26 -0500 USA Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) http://www.voanews.com/content/new-technology-used-to-track-us-flu-outbreak/1583114.html#relatedInfoContainer With flu cases spiking in the U.S. city of Boston, the mayor has taken an unusual step. He has declared a public health emergency and is urging people to get vaccinated. While not everyone believes there is a crisis, the declaration is making many Bostonians take action. Hand washing is a big deal at the Tufts Medical Center emergency room. Nurse Sandy Gibbons said they've seen a surge of flu patients in the last couple weeks . “And it came on very fast. That's what we've ... http://www.voanews.com/content/us_boston_reels_under_flu_influenza_outbreak/1582688.html http://www.voanews.com/content/us_boston_reels_under_flu_influenza_outbreak/1582688.html Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:27:21 -0500 USA Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) http://www.voanews.com/content/us_boston_reels_under_flu_influenza_outbreak/1582688.html#relatedInfoContainer Most people might see cockroaches as good-for-nothing pests, but this germ-ridden insect could be an indirect source of new antibiotics for humans. Cockroaches host the larvae of a parasitic type of wasp, which spend their formative days eating the bacteria-laden body of the cockroach from the inside out. Researchers have discovered the wasp larva secretes chemicals that sanitize the decidedly unsanitary guts of the cockroach. These germ-killing chemicals could eventually be developed for ... http://www.voanews.com/content/germ-ridden-roaches-could-lead-to-new-antibiotics/1579985.html http://www.voanews.com/content/germ-ridden-roaches-could-lead-to-new-antibiotics/1579985.html Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:39:42 -0500 Science & Technology Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) http://www.voanews.com/content/germ-ridden-roaches-could-lead-to-new-antibiotics/1579985.html#relatedInfoContainer New rules hailed as the biggest improvements in U.S. food safety since the 1930s took a step forward Friday. Regulators say the proposals may prevent more than one million cases of foodborne illness each year. They come two years to the day since President Barack Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act. They are the first step in implementing that law, which puts the Food and Drug Administration [FDA] in charge of preventing foodborne disease outbreaks. Experts say that’s a change from ... http://www.voanews.com/content/new_us_food_safety_rules_released/1578127.html http://www.voanews.com/content/new_us_food_safety_rules_released/1578127.html Fri, 04 Jan 2013 18:58:30 -0500 USA Steve Baragona (Washington, D.C.) http://www.voanews.com/content/new_us_food_safety_rules_released/1578127.html#relatedInfoContainer