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Dramatic cancer progress with CLAMarch 20, 2006: There's good news on the cancer front for research into conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), the natural fat found in dairy and beef products. Early studies show feeding CLA to animals can reduce the growth and formation of cancer - a remarkable finding for a food nutrient. As a next step, scientists are investigating CLA in human tissue studies, and human clinical trials could soon follow. For cancer researchers, one of the most exciting things about CLA is its wide potential for guarding against many types of cancer and its apparent relatively strong potency. For example, those investigating the potential of fatty acids have long concentrated on omega three fatty acids, derived from fish oil, which have shown significant promise. At first, indications were that CLA would act in the same way as omega three, but study results point toward CLA as having quite different mechanisms and producing an anti-cancer effect at a much lower concentration. If proven true in humans, the identification of a fatty acid that could be fed at a lower level than omega three and deliver clinical outcomes would represent a major breakthrough in cancer treatment. More in a new article from the CLA Network. Organic wheat breeding gets a boostMarch 20, 2006: Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) will begin funding a three-year initial program for the development of breeding infrastructure for CWRS wheat for organic management systems and low-input environments. The program is a joint effort between the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Alberta wheat breeding programs for low input environments of special interest to organic farmers. Both Universities have identified farm sites low in phosphorous (P), a common deficiency on organic farms of the Prairie Provinces. The University of Alberta research farm also has 11 acres of organic land in the black soil zone, which will be used for the project. This site is also nutrient deficient with an elevated weed profile. "Fertility and competition will be the major focus of the research work," says Dr. Dean Spaner, wheat breeder at the University of Alberta. "The goal of the three-year initial program will be to begin a process to identify material that might hold promise for further breeding and development of new lines." More in Western Grains Research Magazine. Health opportunity for grains researchMarch 20, 2006: How can the grains industry attract additional government investment for research? One powerful lever may be targeted initiatives for nutrition and functional food efforts, says Dr. Richard Gray, agricultural economist at the University of Saskatchewan. "Consumer health is a $100 billion issue in Canada. Nutrition and functional food certainly can be part of the solution." Health is an area uniquely suited to government support, he says. The benefits of crop varieties with enhanced nutritional or functional food value are captured by taxpayers in the form of quality of life and reduced health care costs. "Because the benefits are external, public good benefits, we can't expect market-driven solutions in this area." One percent of Canada's health budget is $1 billion dollars per year, he says. Those are big dollars agriculture could tap into. More in the Meristem Land and Science 2006 PRRCG Report: Building Canada's new strategy. Reprintable with permission. Reproduction of this article - in whole or in part, in print or electronic - requires direct permission from Meristem Information Resources, Ltd. Contact Meristem directly to request reprint permission. |
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Livestock industry tackles new era in animal welfare 