Food companies and their misleading labels

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Food is for nutrition and to provide the body with energy and vital nutrients. Names of foods help us to know what the likely ingredients might be in it. But often, we notice that food names are misleading. They can fool a person into buying only to realize that it did not meet their expectations and imagination. For instance, take the example of samosa. An ideal samosa is refined wheat flour (maida) wrap with mashed potatoes and boiled peas inside. And when we say paneer samosa (cottage cheese stuffed fried dumplings), the picture that comes to our mind is of a wrap of refined wheat flour dough with paneer inside. But to your disappointment, you will find that these samosas are nothing but the normal samosas with mashed potatoes with or without boiled peas and just 1 small piece of cottage cheese at one corner!!! If we talk about rusks, most of these are made of refined wheat flour or maida which is not healthy. Maida is stripped of all the vital nutrients such as fiber, vitamins,
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Galapagos islands giant tortoises and the bacterial resistance in them!!!

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 Worldwide antibiotic resistance has shown a tremendous surge. The covid pandemic has led to more of this due to irrational use of antibiotics for this new and unknown viral disease. At the same time, scientists have found that it is spreading also to wildlife. The Galapagos tortoises who are in close contact with human settlements on the islands have also demonstrated a rise in antibiotics resistant bacteria in their body. 

The study on Galapagos tortoises

Researchers attached to Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF), the Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine (ICM), the Animal Health Research Center (INIA-CISA), the Complutense University, and the European University of Madrid, with the staff from the Galapagos National Park Directorate (GNPD) conducted a study on the giant tortoises of the Galapagos islands. It was part of the Galapagos Tortoise Movement Ecology Program (GTMEP). 

They analyzed fecal samples of 270 tortoises from the famous islands. They were basically looking for 21 genes that are commonly associated with bacterial resistance in humans and animals (including farm animals on growth promoting antibiotics) to 8 commonly used antibiotics. 

The findings of the study

It revealed that tortoises who are close to human settlements and activities harbor more number of resistant bacteria in comparison to those that are in remote places like Alcedo Volcano on Isabela Island. 

The tortoises on Galapagos islands are a vital part of the ecosystem. They are gardeners and engineers of the ecosystem since they help disperse seeds and also has a role to play in its modification. They are also affected due to human population around them, indiscriminate use of antibiotics in farm animals and in veterinary medicine and also due to climate change. 

Giant tortoises of the Galapagos islands (Source: YouTube) 

It is not all bad news!!! 

All is not lost. The study tells that though the tortoises near humans and animals have larger number of bacteria with antibiotic resistance on them, but the amount is still in quantities lesser than those found elsewhere such as in intensive medical setups. Things could be brought under control there by awareness and education of people involved. It is all still in a reversible state. 

Immune age determination and its usefulness 

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