In this fast-paced modern world, it is sometimes easy to lose sight of valuable traditional knowledge and practices. There is a tendency to think of traditional habits and customs as outdated or primitive. Yet, experience across numerous fields has highlighted the value and benefits to be gained from combining customary knowledge and approaches with modern science and understanding.

Such is the case with edible forest insects. The practice of eating insects goes back thousands of years and has been documented in nearly every part of the world. In modern times, however, consumption of insects has declined in many societies and is sometimes ridiculed as old-fashioned and unhealthy. Yet, it would be prudent to carefully consider the value of customary knowledge before discarding it too readily. Scientific analysis confirms, for example, the exceptional nutritional benefits of many forest insects, and studies point to the potential to produce insects for food with far fewer negative environmental impacts than for many mainstream foods consumed today.

Aside from their nutritional and environmental benefits, experts see considerable opportunity for edible insects to provide income and jobs for rural people who capture, rear, process, transport and market insects as food. These prospects can be enhanced through promotion and adoption of modern food technology standards to ensure that the insects are safe and attractive for human consumption.

Traditionally, most edible insects have been harvested from natural forests, but surprisingly little is known about the life cycles, population dynamics, commercial and management potential of most edible forest insects. Among forest managers, knowledge and appreciation of how to manage and harvest insects sustainably is limited. On the other hand, traditional forest dwellers and forest-dependent people often possess remarkable knowledge of the insects and their management, offering excellent opportunities for modern science and traditional knowledge to work together.

In an effort to more fully explore the various facets of edible forest insects, the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific organized an international workshop, entitled “Forest Insects as Food: Humans Bite Back” in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in February 2008. The workshop brought together many of the world’s foremost experts on entomophagy – the practice of eating insects. Specialists in the three-day workshop focused specifically on the science management, collection, harvest, processing, marketing and consumption of edible forest insects, as well as their potential to be reared commercially by local farmers.

http://www.doc-developpement-durable.org/file/Elevages/Insectes/edible%20forest%20insects.pdf

Samples of four insects cooked according to traditional methods in central Angola, were analysed by approved chemical and microbiological techniques. The quality of the proteins was evaluated by several chemical indices. The larvae of Usta terpsichore had the greatest potential nutritional value but the other insects were also useful sources of nutrients.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03670244.1976.9990450

This paper provides an overview of the nutritional aspects of insect consumption (entomophagy) among indigenous populations. The nutritional quality of food insects is discussed with special emphasis on the role of food insects as a source of animal protein. Available data on the amino acid composition of the most common food insects are summarized, and the potential of insect protein to complement protein of various staple foods is analyzed. Micronutrient composition of insects is briefly discussed.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03670244.1997.9991521

7 January 2014

Using visualisation technology developed at Linköping University under the auspices of Visualization Center C, visitors to the British Museum can reveal the murder of the mummified Geberlein Man, 5,500 years ago. This world-leading technology has been described in a prestigious journal of computer science, Communications of the ACM.

In cooperation with an international team of experts, scientists from the German Primate Center (DPZ) demand immediate measures to protect primates.

Worldwide, around 60 per cent of the 500 known primate species are threatened with extinction. primates live in tropical and subtropical areas and are mainly found in regions of Africa, South America, Madagascar and Asia. However, the extinction of a species must be considered a global problem. An international research team that includes two scientists from the German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, evaluated the economic, social, cultural, ecological and scientific importance of primates and the global consequences of species extinctions. They call for a strengthening of awareness and a rethinking of the impending extinction events. In order to protect primates, immediate action must be focused on conservation and sustainability (Science Advances).

Ricercatori di Isasi-Cnr svelano un’innovativa e originale possibilità di individuazione di cellule malate nel sangue, che resterebbero nascoste alle attuali tecniche. Il risultato è pubblicato su una rivista del gruppo Nature, Light: Science and Applications. L’efficacia è stata dimostrata anche nel riconoscimento dei potenziali contaminanti delle acque

Una delle maggiori sfide della medicina moderna è la diagnosi precoce di malattie tumorali, poiché un intervento tempestivo aumenta sensibilmente le probabilità di guarigione. Una ricerca condotta da un team di giovani ricercatori, svolta a Pozzuoli presso l’Istituto di scienze applicate e sistemi intelligenti del Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche (Isasi-Cnr) in collaborazione con il Consorzio Ceinge-biotecnologie avanzate, di cui fa parte l’Università di Napoli Federico II, svela una nuova e originale tecnica applicabile all’identificazione di cellule estranee circolanti all’interno del flusso sanguigno, le cosiddette Ctc (Circulating Tumor Cells). La ricerca è stata pubblicata su Light: Science and Applications, rivista del gruppo Nature.

Il sangue è composto da milioni di cellule quali globuli rossi, bianchi, piastrine, linfociti. La diagnostica di malattie del sangue viene eseguita tramite l’emocromo, che fornisce parametri statistici sulle cellule esaminate come il volume cellulare, l’emoglobina, ecc. Per ottenere informazioni morfologiche è però necessario studiare al microscopio lo striscio di sangue, che restringe l’analisi a una piccola parte delle cellule e inoltre è ‘soggettivo’, dipendendo dall’interpretazione del medico che studia l’immagine. I risultati ottenuti e descritti nella pubblicazione dimostrano la possibilità di effettuare una cito-tomografia in flusso su campioni liquidi su tecnologia microfluidica o moce (Lab-on-a-Chip).

“Questa nuova tecnica di tipo interferometrico, basata sull’olografia digitale, consente di analizzare anche milioni di cellule mentre scorrono in un canale microfluidico fornendo parametri quali l’emoglobina, al pari del classico emocromo. Inoltre è in grado di analizzare ogni singola cellula praticamente in tempo reale, ricostruendone l’immagine tridimensionale con una accuratezza senza precedenti”, spiegano gli autori Francesco Merola, Lisa Miccio, Pasquale Memmolo e Martina Mugnano di Isasi-Cnr. “In questo modo è possibile identificare cellule rare, sintomo precoce di eventuali patologie, che passerebbero inosservate a un’analisi tradizionale. La chiave della tecnica sta nello sfruttare la rotazione di 360° delle cellule mentre scorrono nel canale, questo ci consente di ricostruire la struttura tridimensionale di ogni cellula fino a dimensioni di millesimi di millimetro”.

Lo studio ha consentito di ottenere una tomografia di globuli rossi da pazienti con diverse forme di anemie, identificandole con precisione assoluta. “Grazie alla particolare accuratezza di questa tecnica di imaging ottico, anche la più piccola variazione morfologica rispetto al globulo rosso sano può essere rivelata, riconoscendo velocemente e oggettivamente l’eventuale malattia connessa: una sorta di biopsia liquida”, conclude Achille Iolascon del Ceinge, ordinario di genetica medica dell’Università Federico II. “Tramite questa tecnica sarà possibile studiare qualsiasi tipo di cellula, non solo quelle del sangue”, conclude Pietro Ferraro, direttore di Isasi-Cnr. “Infatti - grazie al contributo dei colleghi dell’Istituto di chimica biomolecolare (Icb-Cnr) - la validità è stata confermata anche con le diatomee, alghe cui si deve la produzione di oltre il 20% dell’ossigeno dell’intero pianeta, la cui presenza negli oceani è un importantissimo segnale di salute degli ecosistemi. I cloroplasti, gli elementi delle diatomee responsabili della fotosintesi, sono estremamente sensibili ai contaminanti presenti nell’acqua marina e la tecnica permette di ottenerne la forma completa tridimensionale, fornendo informazioni su un’eventuale contaminazione”.

Il team interdisciplinare di ricercatori - costituito da fisici, ingegneri, biologi e chimici – ha ottenuto un risultato che potrà avere un forte impatto sulla diagnostica oncologica. Questa prima tomografia completa in flusso continuo apre la strada alla possibilità di trovare ‘l’ago nel pagliaio’, ovvero le cellule tumorali circolanti, primissimo segnale premonitore di metastasi finora inafferrabile.

Roma, 19 gennaio 2017

A new research article, with lead authors from the University of Gothenburg, gives indications of the best places in Iceland to build thermal power stations.

In Iceland, heat is extracted for use in power plants directly from the ground in volcanic areas. Constructing a geothermal power station near a volcano can be beneficial, since Earth’s mantle is located relatively close to the crust in those areas, making the heat easily accessible. This means that the boreholes do not need to be very deep and the pipes to the power plant can be short.

To treat sea lice infections in aquaculture, veterinary medicines are widely used. However, these medicines may cause collateral damage.

Sea lice are a group of marine copepods living as parasites and severely affecting the fitness of the host fish, especially farmed fish, such as salmonids. Emamectin benozoate (EMB), an efficient insecticide in terrestrial pest control, is used to kill sea lice and combat sea lice infections in high-intensity salmonid aquaculture. Although beneficial for ensuring healthy fish and maintaining cost-effective production of salmonids, the use of EMB has become controversial due to reported adverse effects on non-target species that are considered key for maintaining a healthy environment.

To treat sea lice infections in aquaculture, veterinary medicines are widely used. However, these medicines may cause collateral damage.

27 February 2017 — 02 March 2017 Graphene Flagship

Location: Barcelona, Spain

Venue: Graphene Experience Zone at the 2017 Mobile World Congress (MWC)

The Graphene Flagship and ICFO, with support from the GSMA, present the Graphene Experience Zone at the 2017 Mobile World Congress (MWC). MWC is the world's largest gathering for the mobile industry, (with over 100,000 attendees), and will be held from 27 February to 2 March 2017 in Barcelona. The Graphene Experience Zone will showcase the latest achievements and innovations from the graphene community in an interactive and accessible way.