CU, USDA team to curb two invasive, poisonous vines
With no known enemies in North America, two types of invasive vines are growing rampant in forests and fields, threatening reforestation, fragile butterfly populations and bird habitats. The vines are pale and black swallow-wort, and to find a biological control to stem the growth of and their steady conquest of local ecosystems in the northern United States and Canada, Cornell University...Gates Foundation to donate USD 104 million to TB Alliance
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will donate USD 104 million to the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) to advance a pipeline of new TB drugs// over the next five years to find a faster and more effective cure for the disease. Since its formation in 2000, the non-profit TB Alliance has built the largest pipeline in history of potential new drugs for the treatment...USDA clear about India's stance on poultry imports
A USDA communiqué has indicated India's stance on Poultry imports, which is seeing an extension in the ban by a 6month period. Poultry products, live poultry and import// of pork will be prohibited, more so from the areas vulnerable to bird-flu outbreak. The prohibited products will include domestic birds, wild birds, unprocessed meat and meat products of Avian Species including sem...USDA Gives Go-Ahead to Market Controversial Genetically Engineered Rice, LL601
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today gave the ‘go-ahead’ to market a genetically-engineered (GE) rice variety. The crop named as LibertyLink601 (LL601) was in a// mess just 3 months ago regarding its alleged contamination of food supply and rice exports. The approval to market this crop came as a shock, especially after the manufacturer Bayer crop science had shelved any plans...Funding of 61 Million USD by Indonesia to Check Bird Flu
Indonesia intends to cough up 61 million U.S. dollars to take the anti-bird flu initiative forward, in 2007. There has been a 6 million increase in the budget for 2007 as// compared to the spending allocated in 2006. According to the head honcho of the National Committee for bird flu control, Bayu Krishnamurthi, the added spending on bird flu control will hopefully infuse renewed thru...