In the news
GMO foods: the myth won’t die while children do
GMO foods have not been around for a long time (1994) but during that period they have dramatically altered the global food system and at the same time have generated cries of alarm.
GMO technology, the insertion of genetic material into a plant species in order to modify certain characteristics, has led to the development of strains that are resistant to pests and certain diseases, and the alteration of their nutrient composition. The result has been the alleviation of hunger among many population groups, and a dramatic decrease in deaths, especially among children.
I began my pediatric career about ten years before the development of the measles vaccine and treated hundred of children with that disease during that decade. They were among the sickest that I saw, and I was able to make a diagnosis from across the room, not because of the rash but because of their miserable countenance, reddened eyes and persistent cough. About one in 500 developed encephalitis – severe brain inflammation – and about one in a thousand died. About half of those who appeared normal had changes in the spinal fluid that revealed inflammation of the brain – no wonder that teachers of the time noted the poor performance of their students in the months following a “normal” outbreak of measles.
In other parts of the world it was a different story. Primarily because of the deficiency of vitamin A, the mortality of measles was staggeringly high – as much as forty percent in the poorest areas of Africa, worsened by the lack of protein and other nutrients. Also, the major cause of blindness among children, even today, in Africa is vitamin A deficiency. All that is changing with the development of Golden Rice, a genetic modification that raises the amount of beta-carotene, the precursor of vitamin A, from nearly zero to lifesaving amounts.
In spite of the absolute absence of any toxicity or threat to agriculture of Golden Rice, it is being denied to many children in the Philippines and most countries of Africa. It has been blocked in the former country by organizations like Greenpeace and in the latter by economic factors as well as unreasoned opposition.
A 2026 publication (Kim AH et al., Genetically modified foods and human health; a comprehensive review and cross-national time-trend analysis, GM crops and food, 2026, vol 17 No. 1) revealed that organizations such as the World Health Organization “state explicitly that no adverse health effects have been reported from the consumption of GM foods”.
Irrational opposition is likely to continue for decades, while hundreds of thousands of children will never reach maturity and millions more will never see someone smile.
Lifestyle
Should we put music back in schools to delay dementia?
A study among more than 10,000 Australian seniors revealed that lifelong listening to music and/or playing an instrument was associated with a more than 30 percent lowered risk of developing dementia. That comes as no surprise in light of several earlier reports that speaking a second language – the longer the better – delays the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease by an average of four to six years.
The mechanism is similar in both activities: forcing the brain to be more active causes new connections to form between cells, providing a “brain reserve” that fills the gaps when amyloid and tau proteins accumulate among them.
This is analogous to physical activity that forces muscle cells to work harder. In doing so those muscles not only become bigger and stronger, but by adding stress to the bones to which they are attached, the skeleton becomes stronger, a reserve against osteoporosis. Physical activity also benefits the brain by increasing blood flow, thereby delivering more oxygen and nutrients to every brain cell and removing waste products. Brain cells are thus healthier, i.e., they function better, and they last longer.
Financial constraints force school systems to cut back on one of the most vulnerable areas of study: music programs. Some school programs in New York City, after such setbacks, have reintroduced music studies into the core curriculum. Kudos to them!
Language, music and physical activity are gradually gaining recognition as means to delay dementia. They all demand a greater role in the lives of our children. Let’s hope that the trend gains steam rapidly.
