Colombia’s biofortified rice has untapped potential to improve nutrition. And consumers want it

Colombia’s biofortified rice provides 1.5 more zinc than normal rice

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture

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In the fields outside of Cali, Colombia, researchers at the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT trial improved rice varieties. 

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Credit: Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT

An effective measure to fight nutrient deficiency is to increase the nutrient content of food, particularly staples that are cheap to produce and widely consumed. Scientists do this by breeding crop varieties that are higher in iron, zinc, vitamins and other nutrients, a process called biofortification.

But many factors must align for biofortified crops to be successful. They need to grow at least as well as conventional varieties, seeds need to be produced and distributed at scale, and producers require incentives to adopt new varieties. Most importantly, consumers need to actually want to eat the new varieties. And if they are willing to pay more for them, this can help incentivize higher production.

A zinc-enhanced rice variety released in Colombia seems to tick all those boxes. A blind study of 400 consumers in Cartagena, a city on Colombia’s Caribbean coast where zinc deficiency is pervasive, found they considered biofortified rice to have the same quality as commercial varieties. In some cases, they even preferred it, and that was without knowing about its increased zinc content.

When the people in the study were informed the rice had more zinc than standard rice and of the associated health benefits, consumers said they were willing to pay more for it. They placed a 41% premium on biofortified rice over standard rice and a 12% premium over other premium rice.

“The findings show that biofortified rice in Colombia has high potential to be successfully promoted, more widely consumed, and improve the health of consumers,” said Robert Andrade, a co-author of the study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Research in May.

Andrade, a researcher at the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, and colleagues research in 2023, a year of high food inflation in Colombia. Finding increased “willingness to pay” even under economic duress further underscores consumer demand for access to healthy food.

“These findings should encourage research investors and governments implementing nutrition programs to increase support for biofortification research,” Andrade said.

Collaborators included Fundación Canal del Dique COMPAS, which played a key role in releasing the rice variety, and Colombia’s extended education organization, the Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje (SENA), which helped facilitate the research.

Rice on target

In 2021, Colombia officially released the biofortified rice variety BIOZn035 (which is not genetically modified) through Fedearroz, the national rice producers’ association. Authorities approved the rice for Colombia’s Caribbean region, where zinc deficiency is 41% among children aged 1-4, one of the highest levels in the country.

Zinc deficiency is linked to several developmental problems, and rates this high make it a major public health concern.

BIOZn035 was developed byCIAT (now the Alliance) and the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development, or , developed BIOZn035. Their work was informed by research on zinc deficiency and socioeconomic studies in Colombia’s Caribbean region. Initially, they hoped to create a zinc-rich variety that women and heads of households would incorporate into meal planning. Researchers said that market intelligenceCIRAD. Their work was informed by research on zinc deficiency and socioeconomic studies in Colombia’s Caribbean region. Initially, they hoped to create a zinc-rich variety that women and heads of households would incorporate into meal planning. Researchers said that market intelligence

“Starting with an understanding of community needs and food preferences were critical to knowing what traits the rice needed to have,” said Carolina Gonzalez, thematic leader on Foresight and Applied Economics for Impact at the Alliance. “One challenge biofortified crops can face is a lack of alignment with people’s taste preferences. Fortunately, this variety has traits for both nutrition and consumption.”

Research varies on how much additional zinc people consume when eating biofortified rice, but numerous studies point to significant increases.

Lab and field research, including at 12 locations in Colombia, found that biofortified rice had 62.5% more zinc content than standard rice.

The rice’s launch coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 2000 and 2024, farmers used 15.6 tons of seeds to produce 785 tons of rice for consumption. Yields were on par with standard rice. This year, Fedearroz is ramping up seed production and is increasingly promoting the variety.

The biofortified rice is part of long-term work by CGIAR centers like the Alliance to produce biofortified crops. CGIAR’s biofortified crops include beans, cassava, maize, sweat potato and wheat.

Ongoing biofortification research at the Alliance is focused on increasing zinc content for rice varieties adapted to other rice-growing regions in the country. (While zinc deficiency is highest in Colombia’s Caribbean areas, it is a nationwide problem with zinc deficiency as high as 25%. Rice is a major staple in Colombian diets.)

“Colombia is facing persistent hunger and nutrition challenges, particularly in rural and coastal areas,” said Maria Fernanda Alvarez, Director of the Alliance’s Crops for Nutrition and Health research area. “Our current collaborations on biofortification hope to provide farmers and the government with more options that can replicate the successes of BIOZn035.”

 

Beyond biofortification

While biofortified rice is one route to improved nutrition, rice can have a high glycemic index (GI), meaning it cranks up blood-sugar levels after consumption. (Though GI levels in rice can vary widely and are generally lower in rice in Latin America when compared to Asia, for example.) High consumption of foods with high GI are linked to type 2 diabetes, a major global health threat tied to a lack of diversity in diets.

Alvaro Durand-Morat, the study lead author and an agricultural economist at the University of Arkansas, said part of his team’s current research found that consumers in the Philippines would happily switch from rice to another food to reduce diabetes risk. But most alternatives are also high-GI offenders.

“Work on biofortification needs to continue but we need to move beyond just increasing the nutrient content of staples,” said Durand-Morat, pointing to a growing emphasis among staple crop breeders (the professionals who develop new crop varieties) to work on varieties with lower GIs.

“It’s difficult to change consumption patterns,” said Durand-Morat. “And people without the economic means to eat different foods don’t really have options. It makes more sense to improve the overall health of the foods they already eat and have most readily available.”

Takeaways to improve nutrition and food security

The research provides a useful roadmap for Colombia and other nations as they work to improve nutrition and food security:

• The study finds that consumers, even when budgets are tight, will pay extra for biofortified staples, provided they enjoy the taste and texture. This should encourage policymakers and industry to incentivize the production, distribution, and commercialization of healthier staples.
• Researchers recommend that the promotion of biofortified rice target women and families with young children, particularly because of the health risks zinc deficiency poses for resource-poor families.
• Finally, governments and funders of research for development should increase support for improving staple foods for nutrition.

“The point of the study is to show that science can help people live better, healthier lives, even if they have economic constraints,” Durand-Morat said.

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Journal

Journal of Agriculture and Food Research

DOI

10.1016/j.jafr.2025.102034 

Article Title

From deficiency to demand: Consumer preferences for zinc-biofortified rice in Colombia

 

Friendship promotes neural and behavioral similarity

Close relationships match neural activity between friends to promote similar cognitive behavior. This activity can even predict the purchasing intentions of both friends

Society for Neuroscience

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How does friendship affect the human brain and influence behavior? In a new JNeurosci paper, Jia Jin and colleagues, from Shanghai International Studies University, present their work examining how close relationships influence consumer behavior and neural activity. Through a combination of long-term behavioral experiments with 175 participants and neuroimaging data from 47 participants, the researchers shed light on how friendships promote neural and behavioral similarity. 

Participants evaluated products more similarly to their friends than strangers. As friends grew closer over time, this similarity became even stronger. Neuroimaging revealed that as friends viewed advertisements together, they had synchronized neural activity linked to object perception, attention, memory, social judgement, and reward processing. Lastly, Jin et al. discovered brain activity of study participants that could predict not only their own purchasing intentions, but also the intentions of their friends.  

According to the authors, this work advances understanding of how strongly dynamic social relationships can influence behavior. The authors’ findings suggest that close relationships can predictably shape the way people act, at least when it comes to consumer-related behaviors. 

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Please contact media@sfn.org for full-text PDF. 

About JNeurosci 

JNeurosci was launched in 1981 as a means to communicate the findings of the highest quality neuroscience research to the growing field. Today, the journal remains committed to publishing cutting-edge neuroscience that will have an immediate and lasting scientific impact, while responding to authors' changing publishing needs, representing breadth of the field and diversity in authorship. 

About The Society for Neuroscience 

The Society for Neuroscience is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, now has nearly 35,000 members in more than 95 countries. 

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Journal

JNeurosci

DOI

10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0073-25.2025 

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Neural Synchrony and Consumer Behavior: Predicting Friends’ Behavior in Real-World Social Networks

Article Publication Date

14-Jul-2025

 

The secret life of neutrinos

University of California - San Diego

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Left Panel: When neutrinos scatter with themselves via standard model interactions the collapsing core of the massive star is relatively cold, and the neutrinos are mostly all electron flavor. In this scenario we may get a supernova explosion leaving, usually, a neutron star remnant. 

Right Panel:view more 

Credit: George Fuller lab / UC San Diego

Neutrinos are cosmic tricksters, paradoxically hardly there but lethal to stars significantly more massive than the sun. These elementary particles come in three known “flavors”:  electron, muon and tau. Whatever the flavor, neutrinos are notoriously slippery, and much about their properties remains mysterious. It is almost impossible to collide neutrinos with each other in the lab, so it is not known if neutrinos interact with each other according to the standard model of particle physics, or if there are much-speculated “secret” interactions only among neutrinos.

Now a team of researchers from the Network for Neutrinos, Nuclear Astrophysics, and Symmetries (N3AS), including several from UC San Diego, have shown, through theoretical calculations, how collapsing massive stars can act as a "neutrino collider.” Neutrinos steal thermal energy from these stars, forcing them to contract and causing their electrons to move near light speed. This drives the stars to instability and collapse

Eventually the collapsing star’s density becomes so high that the neutrinos are trapped and collide with each other. With purely standard model interactions, the neutrinos will be mostly electron flavor, the matter will be relatively “cold,” and the collapse will likely leave a neutron star remnant. However, secret interactions that change neutrino flavor radically alter this scenario, producing neutrinos of all flavors and leading to a mostly neutron “hot” core that may lead to a black hole remnant. 

Fermi National Accelerator Lab’s upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) might be able to test these ideas, as might future observations of the neutrinos or gravitational waves from collapsing stars.

The study, published June 18, 2025 in Physical Review Letters, was led by UC San Diego researchers Anna M. Suliga, Julien Froustey, Lukáš Gráf, Kyle Kehrer and George Fuller, as well as collaborators from other institutions. Their research was funded, in part, by the National Science Foundation (PHY-2209578 and PHY-2020275), the Department of Energy (DE-AC02-07CHI11359), and the Heising-Simons Foundation (2017-228). 

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Journal

Physical Review Letters

DOI

10.1103/gnp5-4y8k 

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Article Title

Nonconservation of Lepton Numbers in the Neutrino Sector Could Change the Prospects for Core Collapse Supernova Explosions

 

Common sugar substitute shown to impair brain cells, boost stroke risk

Study suggests the sweetener erythritol, often recommended for people with obesity and diabetes, may come with health risks of its own

University of Colorado at Boulder

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From low-carb ice cream to keto protein bars to “sugar-free” soda, the decades-old sweetener erythritol is everywhere.

But new University of Colorado Boulder research shows the popular sugar substitute and specialty food additive comes with serious downsides, impacting brain cells in numerous ways that can boost risk of stroke.

The study was published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

“Our study adds to the evidence suggesting that non-nutritive sweeteners that have generally been purported to be safe, may not come without negative health consequences,” said senior author Christopher DeSouza, professor of integrative physiology and director of the Integrative Vascular Biology Lab.

First approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2001, erythritol is a sugar alcohol, often produced by fermenting corn and found in hundreds of products. It has almost no calories, is about 80% as sweet as table sugar, and has negligible impact on insulin levels, making it a favorite for people trying to lose weight, keep their blood sugar in check or avoid carbohydrates. 

But recent research has begun to shed light on its risks.

One recent study involving 4,000 people in the U.S. and Europe found that men and women with higher circulating levels of erythritol were significantly more likely to have a heart attack or stroke within the next three years.

DeSouza and first author Auburn Berry, a graduate student in his lab, set out to understand what might be driving that increased risk.

Researchers in the lab treated human cells that line blood vessels in the brain for three hours with about the same amount of erythritol contained in a typical sugar-free beverage.

They observed that the treated cells were altered in numerous ways: They expressed significantly less nitric oxide, a molecule that relaxes and widens blood vessels, and more endothelin-1, a protein that constricts blood vessels. Meanwhile, when challenged with a clot-forming compound called thrombin, cellular production of the natural clot-busting compound t-PA was “markedly blunted.” The erythritol-treated cells also produced more reactive oxygen species (ROS), a.k.a. “free radicals,” metabolic byproducts which can age and damage cells and inflame tissue.

“Big picture, if your vessels are more constricted and your ability to break down blood clots is lowered, your risk of stroke goes up,” said Berry. “Our research demonstrates not only that, but how erythritol has the potential to increase stroke risk.”

DeSouza notes that their study used only a serving-size worth of the sugar substitute.  For those who consume multiple servings per day, the impact, presumably, could be worse.

The authors caution that their study was a laboratory study, conducted on cells, and larger studies in people are needed.

That said, De Souza encourages consumers to read labels, looking for erythritol or “sugar alcohol” on the label. 

“Given the epidemiological study that inspired our work, and now our cellular findings, we believe it would be prudent for people to monitor their consumption of non-nutrient-sweeteners such as this one,” he said.

 

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Journal

Journal of Applied Physiology

DOI

10.1152/japplphysiol.00276.2025 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Cells

Article Title

The non-nutritive sweetener erythritol adversely affects brain microvascular endothelial cell function

 

World Snake Week is here

Cal Poly biological sciences Professor Emily Taylor is co-organizing the worldwide awareness week for the largely misunderstood reptiles

LET'S MAKE IT THE NEW 'SHARK WEEK'

California Polytechnic State University

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Cal Poly biological sciences Professor Emily Taylor (right) receives a certificate of recognition presented by Andrea Chmelik (middle) from Assemblymember Dawn Addis at a World Snake Day event in 2023, along with Andrea's daughter Fiona and Milo, the gopher snake.

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Credit: Courtesy Cal Poly

Highlighting a diverse array of snake species — over 3,500 globally — and the critical roles they play in controlling pest populations and maintaining biodiversity, the first-ever World Snake Week is taking place this week.

Emily Taylor, a Cal Poly biological sciences professor and renowned international snake expert, is part of the team organizing the inaugural World Snake Week, which began Sunday, July 13, and will run through Saturday, July 19. More than 50 in-person and online events will be coordinated internationally by conservation groups, scientists, zoos, museums and herpetological societies. These special events will celebrate the world of snakes.

“Snakes are among the most maligned wildlife across the globe, and we want to change the way people see them,” Taylor said. “These animals benefit us by consuming plant-eating, disease-carrying rodents, and they are important parts of food webs. Snake venoms continue to give rise to new life-saving medicines. Promoting the peaceful coexistence of people and snakes is good for both people and snakes.”

As part of the celebration, a local event open to the public will be held July 18 from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the Pismo Preserve, 80 Mattie Road in Pismo Beach, Calif., including live snakes, crafts, displays and more. Taylor and Cal Poly herpetology students will be on hand with many live snakes for people to hold safely.

Taylor will present a short talk on rattlesnakes and demonstrate tubing an 8-year-old male named Buzz Jr., which is a rare chance for most people to see a rattlesnake up close and even touch its tail. Tubing involves gently guiding a snake into a clear, appropriately sized polycarbonate tube. Once the snake is inside, the handler can safely secure it without needing to grab it by the head.

Worldwide, snake enthusiasts in other countries are participating in the awareness week, which aims to promote snake education, awareness and conservation and help shift negative attitudes toward the limbless reptiles. Participating nations include Ecuador, India, Australia, Philippines, United Kingdom, France, Peru and others.

This is the first year that Taylor and her co-organizers have held World Snake Week. Co-organizers include Australia-based herpetologist, Christina Zdenek, as well as Melissa Amarello, of Arizona, who is a cofounder and executive director of Advocates for Snake Preservation.

It’s an expansion of World Snake Day, which has been celebrated each July 16 since at least 2009 to raise awareness about snakes and their importance in ecosystems. Events in San Luis Obispo County, California have been held on World Snake Day at the Pismo Preserve since 2020.

“We are excited this year to make it part of the global World Snake Week events,” Taylor said.

For more information about World Snake Week, go to: snakeweek.org.

A child touches the tail of a tubed snake with an expert on hand as part of a Central Coast Snake Services demonstration.

Credit

Courtesy Cal Poly

 

 

Anti-obesity medications can normalize testosterone levels in men

Treatment led to increased testosterone levels in men with obesity or type 2 diabetes

The Endocrine Society

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SAN FRANCISCO—Anti-obesity medications can significantly raise testosterone levels and improve health outcomes for men with obesity or type 2 diabetes, according to a new study being presented Monday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

Testosterone not only plays a critical role in the body when it comes to male sexual functioning, but it can also have an impact on an individual’s bone mass, fat distribution, muscle mass, strength and red blood cell production. Increases in body weight and prevalence of type 2 diabetes are often associated with lowered testosterone levels, resulting in fatigue, decreased libido and quality of life.

“While it is well known that weight loss from lifestyle changes or bariatric surgery increases testosterone levels, the impact that anti-obesity medications may also have on these levels has not been widely studied,” said Shellsea Portillo Canales, M.D., endocrinology fellow at SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. “Our study is among the first to provide compelling evidence that low testosterone can be reversed with the use of commonly prescribed anti-obesity medications.”

To test this hypothesis, researchers analyzed the electronic health records of 110 adult men with obesity or type 2 diabetes being treated with the weight-loss medications semaglutide, dulaglutide or tirzepatide and who were not on testosterone or hormonal therapy. Participants’ total and free testosterone levels were measured before and during treatment over the course of 18 months.

Along with 10% weight loss, the proportion of men with normal levels of both total and free testosterone rose from 53% to 77%. These findings indicate that anti-obesity medications also can have a positive effect on the reproductive health of men with obesity or type 2 diabetes.

“Results from this study show that there is a direct correlation between the use of anti-obesity medications and testosterone levels,” said Portillo Canales. “Doctors and their patients can now consider this class of medications not only for the treatment of obesity and to control blood sugar, but also to benefit men’s reproductive health.”

Study finds patients with interrupted GLP-1 access still achieve significant weight loss

Obesity can be treated with medication, coaching and lifestyle change

The Endocrine Society

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SAN FRANCISCO—Popular anti-obesity medications continue to be effective for weight loss even when availability and access is interrupted, according to a study being presented by a private weight-loss company Monday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

“Patients taking GLP-1 treatments like semaglutide and tirzepatide often face challenges consistently accessing their medications due to supply shortages or insurance coverage obstacles,” said Kaelen L. Medeiros, M.S., director of data and research at privately held weight-loss company Calibrate in New York, N.Y. “While unpredictable GLP-1 medication access is frustrating, the good news is that our research shows effective weight loss can still be achieved if paired with appropriate lifestyle changes and coaching support.”

Researchers looked at how interruptions to GLP-1 medication access impacted weight-loss outcomes in real-world patients taking part in a commercial metabolic health program that also included intensive lifestyle intervention. Participants followed an intensive lifestyle change curriculum that emphasized the four pillars of metabolic health: food, exercise, sleep and emotional health, while receiving one-on-one health coaching.

The study reviewed records for 6,392 participants who had at least one month of GLP-1 access and completed at least one year in an obesity and overweight care program. Of these participants, 72.5% experienced at least one disruption in their GLP-1 treatment and 11.1% had multiple disruptions. Participants received an average of 8.13 GLP-1 fills during the first year of research and 15.25 fills during the second year.

After 12 months, participants who faced access issues achieved 13.7% weight loss in 12 months and 14.9% in 24 months. Those without treatment interruptions had 17% weight loss in 12 months and 20.1% in 24 months. Those who received only 1 to 4 treatments over 12 months also achieved clinically significant weight loss, with more than 10% change in body weight on average.

“Given the often-unpredictable availability and shifting insurance coverage associated with anti-obesity medications, it’s important that patients understand the significant impact that lifestyle changes and coaching paired with treatment can have on their health outcomes,” Medeiros said.

While findings indicate that significant weight loss is still possible for those with inconsistent access to GLP-1 medications, Medeiros said the results found that a consistent medication course combined with lifestyle changes and support remains the most effective weight-loss program option.

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Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world’s oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions. 

The Society has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia.

 

Night shift work may increase risk of irregular periods, hormonal imbalances and birth complications

The Endocrine Society

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SAN FRANCISCO—Women who work night shifts may have an increased risk for irregular periods and hormonal imbalances, according to a study being presented Monday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

“Shiftwork-like light exposure disrupts the body’s internal timing, causing a split response where some females have disrupted reproductive cycles and hormones while others do not, but both groups face increased risk of ovarian disruption and pregnancy complications, including difficult labor, in response to shift work-like light exposure,” said Alexandra Yaw, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Animal Science at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich.

Yaw and colleagues used a mouse model of rotating light shifts that mimics changing light patterns to understand how shift work affects the reproductive system. Specifically, the researchers started and delayed the 12-hour light to 12-hour dark cycle for 6 hours every 4 days for 5 to 9 weeks.

Half of the female mice exposed to the shiftwork lights developed irregular cycles, while the others continued cycling normally. Those with irregular cycles also had hormonal imbalances and signs of poor ovarian health.

However, the shiftwork lighting disrupted the timing of the ovaries and uterus, even in mice with normal cycles.

To understand if the rotating light affected pregnancy, they mated the mice. They found all the mice, even the ‘shift workers,’ were able to get pregnant, but all mice exposed to the shiftwork lighting had smaller litters and a much higher chance of having complications during labor.  “This study helps explain the hidden reproductive risks associated with shift work,” Yaw said. “While everyone reacts differently, some are more vulnerable than others. The resilience among some may depend on how their brain and body maintain hormonal balances despite disruptions to their circadian rhythm.”

In the long term, the researchers hope this work helps women protect their fertility and pregnancy outcomes and empowers them to make informed decisions about their health and work schedules.

Future studies looking at how the pregnant uterus works in the model will be important for figuring out how rotating light shifts cause difficult labor, the researchers said.

# # #

Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world’s oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.

The Society has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia.