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Researchers from IRRI and the University of California´s campuses of Davis and Riverside have recently solved a rice riddle that have bewildered scientists for more than half a century. Finally, they have identified a new gene that enables rice to survive in “complete submergence.”

The discovery of the water resistant gene or will eventually lead to cultivation and development of rice varieties that can withstand flooding. Answering this age-old farming problem, Sub1A1 will help poor farmers especially in Asia, where crops are threatened yearly by the monsoon season.

Sesame Street for AIDS by Tuesday Gutierrez
  Children all over the world first learn their ABCs from the popular program Sesame Street. But in the South African version, children learn a new set of letters, "H-I-V" and "A-I-D-S."
In Takalani Sesame, Kami is like any other children's puppet, except for one significant difference: she has HIV. Kami brings to life the reality of HIV/AIDS and ends the stigma of the disease.
Moving almost four years ago to the Takalani Sesame neighborhood, Kami not only represents the face of AIDS in Africa but also the 14 million orphans whose parents have died from the disease, a number which is currently rising as more and more people with children die every year in the region.

According to the UN, "the disease is in effect making orphans of a whole generation of children, jeopardizing their health, their rights, their well-being and sometimes their very survival, not to mention the overall development prospects of their countries."

Is Kami ready to move into the global Sesame neighborhoodContinue reading at: http://www.gazpachu.com/lasolidaridad/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=85&mode=&order=0&thold=0

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Rice is not only considered staple food in Asia. It is the life-blood of the Asian culture, held to almost sacred status for saving people during times of war and famine. Asians depend heavily on rice for daily sustenance, and like a ritual, is consumed several times a day. Eating rice is a diet deeply ingrained in the Asian psyche, almost like a religion.

But the sacred food they worship may be bowing out to the signs of the times.

This article was written by a friend of mine, a journalist from Visayas, Philippines. CNN and BBC only covered this tragedy in one article. The international community is clearly ignoring this environmental disaster and focusing more on featuring alleged paedophile killers or celebrities caught up in a drink-driving spree! Please fwd to all your friends

INQUIRER VISAYAS
Tragedy in Guimaras, Iloilo