Latest news with #Wageningen
The Independent
2 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Being overweight as a child and young adult linked to bowel cancer risk
Being overweight as a child, teenager and young adult has been linked to a higher risk of bowel cancer in adulthood, researchers suggest. A higher birth weight was also associated with an increased chance of developing the disease, according to a study. Experts in the Netherlands reviewed 37 studies on body weight in early life and the risk of colorectal cancer – also known as bowel cancer – in adults. Cancer is a complex disease which develops over several decades, so better understanding of its early origins is critical for more effective prevention efforts and understanding the research gaps The research, which is published in the International Journal of Cancer, found an increase in BMI of 5kg/m2 heightened the risk of bowel cancer by 12% in people aged 18 to 25. In youngsters aged 10 to 19, an increased BMI was linked to a 5-18% risk of developing the disease, while in children aged two to nine, BMI was linked to a higher risk of colon cancer. Meanwhile, each 1kg increase in birth weight was linked to a 9% bowel cancer risk, the study found. Dr Dieuwertje Kok, associate professor of nutrition and cancer at Wageningen University & Research, said: 'Although the relationship between adult body size and colorectal cancer risk is well-documented, the potential influence of measures of body size during early life is less understood. 'The team was excited to review results from 37 publications that explored birth weight, as well as body mass index across different early life stages. 'This study bridges the existing knowledge gap and enhances our understanding of how early life factors may affect colorectal cancer risk in adults.' Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with almost 44,000 new diagnoses every year. The analysis is part of World Cancer Research Fund International's Global Cancer Update Programme. Dr Helen Croker, assistant director of research and policy at the World Cancer Research Fund, added: 'Cancer is a complex disease which develops over several decades, so better understanding of its early origins is critical for more effective prevention efforts and understanding the research gaps. 'The results of this study show that raised body mass index across childhood through young adulthood is an important risk factor for colorectal cancer.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Being overweight as a child and young adult linked to bowel cancer risk
Being overweight as a child, teenager and young adult has been linked to a higher risk of bowel cancer in adulthood, researchers suggest. A higher birth weight was also associated with an increased chance of developing the disease, according to a study. Experts in the Netherlands reviewed 37 studies on body weight in early life and the risk of colorectal cancer – also known as bowel cancer – in adults. Cancer is a complex disease which develops over several decades, so better understanding of its early origins is critical for more effective prevention efforts and understanding the research gaps The research, which is published in the International Journal of Cancer, found an increase in BMI of 5kg/m2 heightened the risk of bowel cancer by 12% in people aged 18 to 25. In youngsters aged 10 to 19, an increased BMI was linked to a 5-18% risk of developing the disease, while in children aged two to nine, BMI was linked to a higher risk of colon cancer. Meanwhile, each 1kg increase in birth weight was linked to a 9% bowel cancer risk, the study found. Dr Dieuwertje Kok, associate professor of nutrition and cancer at Wageningen University & Research, said: 'Although the relationship between adult body size and colorectal cancer risk is well-documented, the potential influence of measures of body size during early life is less understood. 'The team was excited to review results from 37 publications that explored birth weight, as well as body mass index across different early life stages. 'This study bridges the existing knowledge gap and enhances our understanding of how early life factors may affect colorectal cancer risk in adults.' Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with almost 44,000 new diagnoses every year. The analysis is part of World Cancer Research Fund International's Global Cancer Update Programme. Dr Helen Croker, assistant director of research and policy at the World Cancer Research Fund, added: 'Cancer is a complex disease which develops over several decades, so better understanding of its early origins is critical for more effective prevention efforts and understanding the research gaps. 'The results of this study show that raised body mass index across childhood through young adulthood is an important risk factor for colorectal cancer.'
Wall Street Journal
4 days ago
- General
- Wall Street Journal
Don't Forget to Give Canadian Vets Their Due
Almar Latour makes several salient observations about America's influence in the world in 'Brand America Never Goes Out of Style' (op-ed, May 20). Yet the notion that the Americans led the expulsion of Nazi forces from the Netherlands isn't right. While American troops participated along with British, Polish and Dutch resistance forces, the Canadian First Army played the dominant role. Canadian Gen. Charles Foulkes accepted the surrender of all German forces under the command of Gen. Johannes Blaskowitz at Hotel de Wereld in Wageningen on May 5, 1945. I have committed it to memory because it's personal: My late father was part of a large contingent of Canadian veterans from the war invited to the Netherlands in 1995 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Liberation Day.
CTV News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Canada looks again to Europe as world marks 80 years since end of Second World War
Young Dutch children wave Canadian flags as they reach out to touch the hand of a Second World War veteran as he takes part in a parade to celebrate the anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands in Wageningen, Netherlands on Tuesday, May 5, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA — After the Second World War came to a close, Canada pulled itself away from Great Britain and planted itself firmly within a North American political and economic compact that generated prosperity for much of the western world for decades. But as the world marks 80 years since the end of the war in Europe, an increasingly unstable geopolitical climate — and an administration in Washington bent on fighting a trade war with much of the world — has Canada looking back to the continent as a way to preserve peace and prosperity. 'Without a doubt, we certainly have to be much more aware of the possibility of a larger-scale conflict than we've seen in many, many years,' said David O'Keefe, a history professor at Marianopolis College near Montreal who studies the Second World War. In a rare move for an incoming prime minister, Mark Carney visited Europe instead of Washington in his first trip abroad as head of the federal government. He also has pledged to have Canada take part in the European Union's efforts to rearm the continent through ongoing negotiations on joint military procurement. The pivot to Europe comes decades after Canada went from backwater status to establishing itself as key middle power during the Second World War. O'Keefe said Canada's wartime legacy is still remembered in places like the Netherlands, where Canadians played a major role in liberating the country from Nazi tyranny and feeding people who had resorted to eating tulip bulbs due to food shortages. Members of the Dutch royal family took refuge in Ottawa. Princess Margriet was born there in 1943, prompting the Netherlands to send an annual gift of tulips to the capital city. The war, O'Keefe said, 'signalled the pivot out of the orbit of the British Empire and into more of a North American vision, and that's when we started co-operating intensely with the United States.' After the war ended, the U.S. backstopped much of Canada's national defence and provided ample economic opportunities. Ottawa sought to reinforce the post-war global order by supporting international institutions like the United Nations, the NATO military alliance and the International Monetary Fund. Those efforts helped to make North America 'the most politically stable and economically prosperous continent the world has ever known,' said Christian Leuprecht, a political-science professor at Queen's University and the Royal Military College. 'But we've completely lost our sense of how we got here — that this was not by accident but it was a deliberate strategy that we pursued.' Ottawa's role in international initiatives like peacekeeping and conflict prevention dwindled over the decades, as American governments gradually implemented protectionist policies that blunted Canada's economic edge. That was before U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House and started threatening both Canada's sovereignty and its economic well-being — and suggested Washington would not protect NATO allies in a direct conflict. Suddenly, the world is facing 'tectonic realignments,' O'Keefe said. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and unrelated conflicts in the Middle East and Africa have undermined the institutions set up over the past eight decades to prevent global wars. 'The way it seems to be unfolding is more of a tripolar world where you have an authoritarian system in China and the same thing in Russia,' said O'Keefe. 'And it appears that's what the Trump administration seems to be hell-bent on in the States. 'There could be a whole lot of unexpected things that will pop up when you have something so fundamental as what is happening right now.' O'Keefe said he sees some alarming parallels between Canada's current plight — sharing a continent with a superpower run by an unpredictable leader with expansionist views — and that of another country in years before the outbreak of the last global war. In 1938, he said, people in Austria were still trying to cope with a shaky economy and the after-effects of losing the First World War when their country was annexed by Nazi Germany. 'We're not walking lockstep, like back in the late 1930s, but certainly the trend lines are there,' he said. O'Keefe said that while Trump's goal of making Canada a U.S. state seems improbable — and would be rejected by most U.S. military officials and elected leaders — it's still cause for concern. 'You can't rule out the possibility that somebody in the White House is going to do something truly stupid and catastrophic,' he said. O'Keefe argued Canada must project enough strength to dissuade American military or economic measures — but not so much that Washington concludes its northern neighbour poses a threat. 'We're not fighting from a position of strength, so we have to be extremely skilled and extremely smart,' he said. Leuprecht said that if Canada wants to make new friends in the world, it needs to make itself useful — by delivering on defence spending commitments and exporting energy to countries eager to buy it. He said allies have been largely silent about the threats Canada faces. He pointed out that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer chose not to push back on Trump's talk of annexing Canada when asked about it during a February visit to the White House. 'Canada has for decades used Europe … to offset some of that power imbalance that we have with the United States,' Leuprecht said. Carney is trying that approach by seeking agreements with the European Union to jointly procure military equipment, which would boost the defence sector for both partners. He is also pledging not to cut foreign aid. Leuprecht said that while Canada may now need to spend a lot more on defence and on supporting global institutions, that would be cheaper than fighting actual wars. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2025. Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
Irish Examiner
07-05-2025
- Science
- Irish Examiner
Donald Trump's cuts to USAID expose world's hungriest to famine
The global Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) has gone offline, leaving some of the world's most vulnerable people unprotected, due to the Trump administration's huge cuts in federal agency funding. FEWS monitored 30 countries across Africa, Central America, the Caribbean and South Asia, collecting data on weather patterns, agricultural production, market prices and conflict trends, to predict food crises before they escalate into full-blown famine. It was part of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which has been largely dismantled by the President's flood of executive orders in his first 100 days. The disappearance of FEWS has left humanitarian relief organisations short of guidance on when, where and how to deploy aid. In 1984, the Reagan administration and the National Security Council were shocked by the images of Ethiopian children dying in a famine. It resulted in an estimated one million deaths, and President Ronald Reagan took a personal interest, followed by congressional leaders starting the process to set up FEWS. It proved its worth, for example, being credited with preventing another famine in Ethiopia in 2016. Now, researchers warn that Trump's funding cuts have greatly affected the world of agriculture, food, and famine. "The reality in science is changing almost by the day due to US government policies," according to a statement by Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, ranked No 1 in the world for agriculture and forestry. Amid requests from US scientists looking for new jobs, professors at Wageningen are worrying about the availability of data they use from US agencies such as NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and of data from American satellites. Gert-Jan Nabuurs, professor of European Forests at Wageningen, said: It's frightening how fast things are moving. Entire groups in climate research are being wiped out. Their research is not consistent with the government's ideas, it's getting dictatorial. This is really going to lead to a brain drain in the US. Wageningen scientists noted that FEWS, and its analyses to predict famine, "went down overnight". Professor Guido van der Werf of the Department of Meteorology and Air Quality at Wageningen, said: "There is a lot going on. You notice that academic freedom is being restricted, and that is terrifying. Ignoring scientific information that does not fit into one's worldview is of all times, but because of this official policy, we are going back to the days of quackery." Professor of Meteorology and Air Quality at Wageningen, Jordi Vila, said: "Currently, NOAA is facing significant redundancies. Critical services are at risk due to reduced manpower. Think of the prediction of extreme weather, such as tornadoes. "Entire lines of research are being abruptly discontinued, hampering efforts to monitor climate change and our understanding. Rebuilding these research teams would require years of work". He warned of a particularly concerning setback, given the accelerating pace of climate change. Professor Nabuurs was concerned about the effect on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, on which governments rely for scientific information to develop climate policies. He said: "The latest news is that the US has already withdrawn funding for one report." He said nothing will come of the upcoming climate summit in Brazil, COP30, without the US, one of the big emitters, now at odds with China, the other big emitter. Mistaken dismissals Along with scientists, thousands of US Department of Agriculture (USDA) employees have been fired. But an independent federal board ordered the USDA to temporarily reinstate close to 6,000 employees fired since February 13, finding reasonable grounds to believe the agency illegally fired probationary employees. In particular, the USDA said their Food Safety and Inspection Service frontline positions are considered public safety positions, and it had to rescind some dismissal letters to these workers. "We're looking to hear from federal government workers who have been laid off. If you're willing to talk with us, please email us," was the message to some fired employees. The error was one of many, as the mass firings of federal workers was carried out by tech billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, which is heavily staffed by people without government experience. Others fired in error included nuclear safety employees. About 25% of employees in an office doing avian flu tests were fired and many of them must be re-hired for the Trump administration's $1 billion plan to stop bird flu spreading. This is a hot inflation-linked political issue for Trump, because egg prices rose to record levels, linked to the loss of 166 million birds in flu-infected flocks. There are also reports of dismissals causing partial shutdown of research facilities involved in the fight against bird flu, which has spread beyond poultry and into dairy herds in more than a dozen states. The Agricultural Research Service (ARS), which is the USDA's chief in-house research agency with more than 90 research units and laboratories spanning 42 states, had some 800 employees laid off, as food and agriculture were hit hard by the chaotic firings, or targeting for layoffs, of at least 121,000 workers in more than 30 federal agencies, in the three months since President Trump's second term began. Included was the systematic dismantling of USAID, the final blow of which was closing 21 USAID-funded Feed the Future Innovation Labs, tasked with specialised research on agricultural challenges that disrupt the global food supply. It is feared that agricultural research funding and staff cuts will cut off access for farmers in the USA to innovations that improve yields, resilience, and profitability. Read More Collapse of USAID leaves a gap in our huge fight against malaria
