11.01.03
Plant scientists are working to develop corn fortified with beta-carotene to help fight blindness, birth defects and malnutrition in developing nations. The research, under way at Iowa State University in Ames, also involves identifying known hybrids high in beta-carotene. The substance is converted by the human body into vitamin A, which is essential for vision, cell division and growth. “Corn is a good way of delivering vitamin A because you help to deliver it with fats and oils that help in its uptake,” said Stephen Howell, director of the university’s Plant Sciences Institute. The project has two components: Geneticist Steve Rodermel will lead a team in developing the new corn varieties and nutrition expert Wendy White will examine how vitamin A enrichment works…The study will focus on 48 developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa that use corn as their staple food.
—New York Times, 10/16/03
—New York Times, 10/16/03