CABI Blogs: hand picked... and carefully sorted

7,500 Years of Cheese Making in Europe

M Djuric, Dairy Science Editor

Compelling evidence of cheese-making has been uncovered in prehistoric pottery sieves found in the Kuyavia region in Poland by researchers from Great Britain, Poland and the United States. The study has just been published online in Nature journal on 12 December 2012.

An abundance of milk fats was detected in these specialized pottery vessels, comparable in form to modern cheese strainers, suggesting that humans have been making cheese in Europe for at least 7,500 years.  There is a possibility that cheese was made even at earlier times using other materials such as cloth or wooden cheese strainers, but these materials are more perishable and difficult to detect as archeological material.

Pandemic influenza: lessons learned from 2009-10

Pandemics appear to have occurred throughout history, the first being recognized in 1580. Reviewing previous pandemics can give an indication of what might be expected, however nothing is certain - it is impossible to predict the next pandemic virus or its impact, as demonstrated by the 2009 A(H1N1) pandemic.

By guest bloggers Jonathan Van-Tam and Chloe Sellwood

The 2009 flu pandemic was officially declared on 11 June 2009. The first cases of A(H1N1)pdm09 occurred in Mexico between January and March 2009, followed shortly by early first waves in north America, the UK and across the southern hemisphere countries in spring 2009. Many of the first cases of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 in Europe were reported in travellers returning from Mexico or the USA within a few days of the outbreak being announced, and cases rapidly emerged in countries as far away as New Zealand. A second, more widespread northern hemisphere wave followed in autumn/winter of the same year. After the pandemic was declared over on 10 August 2010 there were effective ‘third waves’ of A(H1N1)pdm09 disease in both southern then northern hemispheres in the following winter seasons.

Dog share?

“Can we have a pet for Christmas?” is something I hear a lot each December. The answer, much to my children’s disappointment, is always no.

In addition to the fact that we are often told that Christmas is not the best time to introduce a new animal into a household [e.g. see PetRescue.Com article: No Christmas Puppies, Please!], I can’t think of any pet that is both practical and fulfils the necessary fluffy/cute criteria that my kids are requesting. (Apparently the stick insects that we have are not ‘proper’ pets!). 

After listening to experts talk at CABI’s Human-Animal Bond Symposium last month, I can appreciate the benefits that introducing something cuddly into the family could bring. Professor Alan Beck, of Purdue University, described some of the ways that pets can benefit human health and welfare. For example, dog ownership generally results in increased exercise and greater social contact through talking with other dog owners; people with dogs or cats have been found to have lower blood pressure, heart rates and reduced cholesterol than those without; and even staring at a fish tank can provide enough of a distraction from our worries to induce a relaxation response. Animals can also help teach children about responsibility and compassion.

Voices from the woodlands

2012 has been an interesting year for those concerned with woods and forests. We’ve seen the outputs from the Independent Panel on Forestry and we’ve had the British Woodlands Survey - not to mention ash dieback. A recent conference gave voice to those woodland workers, owners, and managers  who took part in the survey, providing a fresh perspective on the importance of woodlands. For woodland owners, woodlands are much less profitable today than they were 50 years ago. Thankfully, the recent fashion for wood-burning stoves has led to demand for wood fuel that provides a welcome income.

However, woods and forests provide much more to us than products alone and a key message of the conference was that Britain needs to revive its wood culture – the awareness and appreciation of woodlands and forests. They are essential habitats for both wildlife and humans, somewhere to escape to and enjoy whether it be walking, bird watching or biking.

The conference featured a great diversity of speakers from both Oxford and Cambridge University, the Sylva Foundation, the Woodland Trust, the Forestry Commission, the Earth Trust, Natural England and the Crown Estate, and also views from forest managers, forest owners and even BBC presenters!

If you would like to know more then please visit British Woodlands 2012. The conference presentations are now also available.

 

Meeting the MDG 4 and 5 targets: Scratching below the surface to save lives of mothers and babies

From guest blogger: Sue Jacob, Student Services Advisor for Royal College of MIdwives, UK.

AS the festive season approaches, a celebration linked to a particular birth at Christmas, midwives throughout the world will support women during the births of their babies. Whilst many mothers and babies survive childbirth, approximately 350,000 mothers die each year. 

The slow progress to meet MDGs 4 and 5, leading to the needless deaths of mothers and babies continues to be a cause for concern throughout the global health care community and political arenas (1,2). Stakeholders, professional associations, NGOs and civil society continue to invest considerable sums of money and are actively engaged in developing strategies to reduce this appalling loss of lives.

Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia carry the highest burden of global maternal, neonatal and child deaths. Scratch below the surface in these regions and you find midwives are too few, and poor in quality. I have seen this for myself in my role as Student services advisor, supporting the Royal College of Midwives (RCM)’ international work, and as lead for RCM’s Global Midwifery Twinning project. In my experience there are gaps in scope of the midwifery practice, there is no national mapping of midwife requirements, there is inadequate preparation of midwife educators to prepare and support future generations of midwives AND finally there is minimal supervision and accountability in clinical practice.

The 2012 UN Conference on Climate Change (COP 18) – the outcome

As it has become a tradition with the UN climate talks each year, a decision or final agreement wasn’t reached until after the official end. The meeting was meant to close on Friday, 7th December 2012, but final agreements were only reached and made public on Saturday 8th.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities – much still to be done in travel and leisure industries

Today, Monday 3 December, has been designated International Day of Persons with Disabilities by the UN, with the theme of "removing barriers to create an inclusive and accessible society for all". While the Paralympic Games in London this summer showed just what many people with disabilities are capable of achieving, and acted as a driver for improving accessibility in London, it is nevertheless the case that many aspects of life, including participation in travel, tourism, sport and other leisure activities, bring additional challenges to people with disabilities.

The 2012 UN Conference on Climate Change (COP 18) – My highlights of the first week

The United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 18) has been taking place in Doha, Qatar, for a week now (please see my previous blog). Much hope, albeit no optimism, is being pinned on these events, as scientists warned recently that the planet is heading for catastrophic levels of warming, of as much as 4-6 degrees C. They say emissions must peak by 2020 to have a chance of holding warming to no more than 2 degrees C. This is a highlight of events that caught my attention each day during COP 18, based on what I've been reading in the IISD reports of each day’s events.