and 25%had been used for growing grains said the study's researchers. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Fundaã§Ã£o de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de SãO Paulo.
#Grass-in-the-ear technique sets new trend in chimp etiquette: Chimpanzees spontaneously copy arbitrary behaviorchimpanzees are copycats
Such are the findings of an international group of scientists who waded through over 700 hours of video footage to understand how it came about that one chimpanzee stuck a piece of grass in her ear
In 2010 van Leeuwen first noticed how a female chimp named Julie repeatedly put a stiff strawlike blade of grass for no apparent reason in one or both of her ears.
The research team found that only one of the four groups regularly performed this so-called grass-in-the-ear behavior.
Generally at least two of the chimps put grass in their ear at the same time. Interestingly the chimpanzees Kathy and Val kept up the custom even after Julie the original inventor of this behavior died.
The observations show that there's nothing random about individual chimpanzees sticking grass into their ears.
In this study the researchers tracked these specific boron tolerance genes from wild wheats grown by the world's earliest farmers in the Mediterranean region through wheat lines brought into Australia more than a century ago to current day
If you looked at metal under a microscope you'd see that it is composed of millions of closely-packed grains says Yuntian Zhu a professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and senior author of two papers on the new work.
The size and disposition of those grains affect the metal's physical characteristics. Having small grains on the surface makes the metal harder
but also makes it less ductile--meaning it can't be stretched very far without breaking says Xiaolei Wu a professor of materials science at the Chinese Academy of Sciences'Institute of Mechanics
But if we gradually increase the size of the grains lower down in the material we can make the metal more ductile.
In short the gradual interface of the large and small grains makes the overall material stronger and more ductile
The researchers used two species of grass that are eaten commonly by locusts in Australia. The first Kangaroo grass gives a high protein diet at high temperatures and a high carbohydrate diet at low temperatures.
In wheat the protein/carbohydrate ratio does not change with temperature but locusts are able to absorb the nutrients more effectively at higher temperatures.
Consequently locusts raised on Kangaroo grass reach a larger size at low temperatures but locusts that are fed wheat are larger at high temperatures.
Following a meal of Kangaroo grass the locusts seek shady places such as behind grass stalks
Maize which we know as corn was grown in the region as early as 2000 B c. At first populations were slow to respond probably because of low productivity said Kohler.
But groups to the northeast would have been able to expand maize production into new areas as their populations grew he said.
If all of the acquired lands were farmed to their full capacity--a 100%closure of the yield gap--there would be a 308 per cent increase in rice production a 280 per cent increase in maize production a 148
If types of field boundaries such as grass verges or hedges were included in the comparison the difference between organic and nonorganic decreases.
To increase the number of habitats the authors of the study recommend adding structural elements such as woods grass verges
Both grains have high levels of protein fiber and beta-glucan. There is now evidence that oats
or fractionalize into edible and easy to use food components said Keshun Liu Phd research chemist United states Department of agriculture (USDA) National Small Grains and Potato Germplan Research Unit.
and the functionality of milled flour from these grains and a poor public image said Liu.
In addition the U s. has ample and affordable supplies of other grains such as rice and wheat
and more efficient methods of breaking down the components and nutrients in these grains to make oats
and to educate consumers about the health benefits of beta-glucan and these two grains.
and grass takes over. Researchers explain this change with two phenomena: fertilisation and sunlight. Sparse birch forests grow in nutrient-poor locations.
Moth outbreaks cause large amounts of larvae excrement and dead larvae to fall to the ground which fertilises the soil and promotes the growth of grass.
Fauna changes as wellwhen the ground vegetation changes from heath to grass there are impacts on the animal life.
In plant biology Arabidopsis is the reference plant for species like poplar and rice the reference plant for grasses.
#Offer kids whole grains; theyll eat them, study showsmany parents presume their children will shun whole grains
because they think they don't like them a University of Florida researcher says but a new UF study may start to debunk that idea.
If whole grains are offered kids eat them according to a new study by researchers at UF's Institute of food and agricultural sciences.
Eating whole grains combined with a healthy diet may reduce the risk of heart disease and help with weight management according to the U s. Department of agriculture.
Refined grains enriched and fortified with nutrients include foods such as white rice and white bread. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans call for at least half the grain consumers eat to be whole grains
and they urge adolescents to consume 5 to 7 ounces of grains daily with at least half being whole grains.
National surveys suggest adolescents consume far less: about 1 ounce or the grain contained in one slice of bread.
The new rules requiring more whole grains in school lunches should result in adolescents eating more of them Dahl said
but many parents believe their kids won't eat whole grains. General mills funded a broad study on the impact of whole grains on immunity.
As part of the study Radford wanted to know if children could meet the 2010 dietary guidelines for whole grains.
For the study 83 students in a Florida middle school were assigned randomly to receive either whole-or refined-grain foods over a six-week period in 2010.
and grains they ate in the previous 24 hours. Before the study participants were eating about one ounce of whole grain per day.
During the study students in both groups reported eating more than 6 ounces of grains each day and those given whole grains reported more than half their grain intake came from whole grains meeting the 2010 dietary guidelines.
Not a true apple this relative of the eggplant smothers native grasses with its thorny stalks while its striking yellow fruit provides a deadly temptation to sheep and cattle.
On the other hand grazers such as cows sheep and zebras primarily eat grass which is rarely poisonous. These animals easily succumb to the Sodom apple.
Dracaena a genus consisting of approximately 40 different species including the widely recognized lucky bamboo is among the most frequently imported group of ornamentals to enter the U s. for domestic sale and eventual export to Canada.
Lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) with anthracnose symptoms was first found in Florida in 2009; the infection was associated with the fungus Colletotrichum dracaenophilum a pathogen that originated in Asia.
The researchers evaluated the effects of hot water treatments on symptomless lucky bamboo planting material and tested fungicides for the control of Colletotrichum in asymptomatic
The most important finding of our study was that the hot water treatments tested were not promising for the control of C. dracaenophilum latently present in lucky bamboo as plants become more susceptible at higher temperatures the researchers said.
The team also determined that seemingly healthy rooted cuttings of lucky bamboo introduced from China may carry C. dracaenophilum
bamboo's destinations. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by American Society for Horticultural Science.
Thin microscopic sections of dirt samples show organization of soil grains revealing whether an earthen structure was built human
which was considered typical of the Mediterranean diet (vegetables fruit and nuts fish and cereal grains) as well as one point for low intakes of foods untypical of the Mediterranean diet (such as dairy and meat products).
Over the past 25 years we have reduced soil erosion by over 40%mainly by conservation practices such as conservation tillage terracing cover crops and grass waterways.
Farmers are reducing their cultivation of maize beans and other staples which are prized highly by raiding species
When you consider that the tiny drab flowers of a single ragweed plant can produce up to a billion pollen grains annually it's clear that Detroit vacant lots are pollen factories churning out a noxious product that afflicts thousands of city residents.
When the lots are left unmowed the common perennial plants that replace ragweed include goldenrod milkweed Kentucky bluegrass chicory and aster.
They also set up pollen collectors at 34 sites and analyzed the concentration of ragweed pollen grains collected at each location.
Though individual pollen grains occasionally travel hundreds of miles previous studies have demonstrated that more than 90 percent of pollen grains travel less than 100 meters from the source plant.
Because pollen grains can travel long distances sometimes people make the mistake of assuming that it usually does travel long distances he said.
#and that's good news for the United states. Jay O'Neil an instructor and specialist at the university's International Grains Program says what happens with El Niã o will affect worldwide crop production.
and certain whole grains such as barley and oats-are broken down more slowly so that people get more gentle raises in blood glucose
The study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public health found that those who improved their diet quality index scores by 10 percent over four years--by eating more whole grains fruits
and sugar-sweetened beverages and more fruits vegetables and whole grains--they are going to improve their health
consuming whole grains and also limiting refined grains starchy vegetables and added sugar. Story Source:
and your maize just came up year after year he said. Andrew Hanson a UF eminent scholar in horticultural sciences said he believes Plantseed--the capstone of the team's three-year effort--will prove even more of a boon to traditional breeders
This involved taking the areas down to the bare ground and then seeding native grasses.
and maize or occasionally squash are planted either simultaneously or else in a relay system where the beans follow maize.
The practice ensures that the land can continue to produce high-yield crops without resorting to adding fertilizers or other artificial methods of providing nutrients to the soil.
and DAZ2 produce pollen grains with a single sperm that is unable to fertilize. The researchers show that DAZ1
and to further demystify the fascinating process--of how plants make the fertile sperm inside the pollen grains--that are essential for the vast majority of our food crop production.
which makes them so well-suited to a diet of low quality grass and other plants.
#Scientists map the worst times of day for people allergic to grass pollenatishoo! Help there are flowering grasses around please stay indoors
--while your friends enjoy the nice summer weather! Traditionally people allergic to grass pollen are advised to be aware of high pollen concentrations during the day
and to reduce their outdoor activities during this period. A new study led by researchers from Aarhus University shows that it is complicated considerably more to avoid grass pollen.
Based on a three-year study with intensive measurements at three different locations in Aarhus they divide the grass pollen season into three periods as shown in the graph below:
a twin peak profile during the early season a single evening profile in the middle season and a single midday profile during the late season.
Different species have different patternsconcentrations of grass pollen are influenced by many factors the most important being the weather and the emissions
which again depends on the grass species. In Denmark alone 230 species of grass (atishoo!)have been recorded of which around 20 species are likely to be particularly common in urban environments.
So no wonder the patterns of grass pollen are complicated. But in general people react more or less in the same manner to the pollen of all grasses growing in Denmark
--and you cannot distinguish the species when counting pollen under a microscope. Even though the information of the exact species present in the monitored area
and his colleagues conclude that the best way to explain the three concentration patterns is to look at the succession of different grass species with different diurnal flowering patterns which dominate the atmospheric pollen loads as the season progresses.
and chicken as well as fruit whole grains and vegetables had significantly lower risk of preterm birth.
and grass-grazing baboons digest different diets researchers have shown that ancestral human diets so called paleo diets did not necessarily result in better appetite suppression.
and from three gelada baboons the only modern primate to eat mainly grasses. Getting to the bottom of how our gut bacteria
The team established gut bacteria cultures in flasks and then'fed'them two different diets--either a predigested potato high-starch diet or a predigested grass high-fiber diet.
Even the baboon cultures fed potato produced more SCFAS than the baboon cultures fed grass.
or grass diets showed that as the levels of the amino acids isoleucine and valine rose so too did the amount of PYY released.
and most of them display pronounced and lush peripheral growth of grass. These so-called fairy circles virtually do extend an open invitation for speculation:
A third fraction of scientists believes self-regulating grass growth in itself being the cause under certain circumstances for this type of spatial patterning
If competition becomes too strong and available soil moisture resources too scarce this could lead to the emergence of bare patches with a lush peripheral grass ring formation.
For the UFZ researchers this represents compelling evidence that the enigmatic patches may in fact be the result of spatially self-organising grass growth.
Both eat mostly fibrous bamboo. Candace Williams an MSU doctoral student in biochemistry conducted the research in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison the Memphis Zoo
Future research will examine the nutritional composition of bamboo to determine whether the pandas are consuming different varieties of the fibrous plant.
Grains of corn could be engineered to produce proteins that could be extracted and processed into medicine pharmaceuticals
As carbon dioxide levels rise this century some grains and legumes will become significantly less nutritious than they are today.
Eight institutions from Australia Israel Japan and the United states contributed to the analysis. The researchers looked at multiple varieties of wheat rice field peas soybeans maize
Nutrients in sorghum and maize remained relatively stable at higher CO2 levels because these crops use a type of photosynthesis called C4
C4 is sort of a fuel-injected photosynthesis that maize and sorghum and millet have said he.
One of the experiments looked into the physiological factors of a diet of freshly cut grass in tie-stall conditions.
In numerical terms the response to silage seems to be somewhat higher at pasture than with exclusive silage feeding considering the high forage value of the grass from pasture.
These practices include better management of pastureland by rotating where animals graze planting better grasses more frequently
Results of the experiments revealed that maximum smooth crabgrass control broadleaf weed control and yellow nutsedge control occurred with the 15-lb/acre PA treatment at 9 days after initial spray treatment and 1 day after the sequential treatment.
or slightly greater smooth crabgrass and broadleaf control compared with the 10-lb/acre application and consistently greater control than the 5-lb/acre rate and the weedy control.
Pelargonic acid was less effective at controlling yellow nutsedge than smooth crabgrass and broadleaf weeds. Analyses showed that increasing the PA application rate increased the crop injury rating at 1 and 3 days after each application;
The winner by far was runaway herbivory of cordgrass by the Sesarma crab. In the other study published in the journal Ecology Letters they directly tested that hypothesis with experiments on Cape cod.
The results were that wherever they protected Sesarma from the pressure of predators the crabs ruthlessly mowed the grasses down.
To determine whether local growing conditions were poor for the grasses they planted healthy grass in each site
To assess whether any site had too much nitrogen they took leaves of the grasses at each site back to the lab ground them up
and then stopping every two meters to measure signs of crab damage on 100 cordgrass stalks.
Sure enough the team reported in Ecology Letters that excluding predators for a single growing season rapidly led to a more than 100-percent increase in Sesarma herbivory a more than 60-percent decrease in aboveground cordgrass biomass a more than 95-percent
The method is equivalent to a label that cannot be removed says Robert Grass lecturer in the Department of chemistry and Applied Biosciences at ETH Zurich.
With DNA there are millions of options that can be used as codes says Grass. Moreover the material has an extremely low detection limit so tiny amounts are sufficient for labelling purposes.
and simply as possible Grass and his team employed another trick: they magnetised the tag by attaching iron oxide nanoparticles.
Nevertheless Grass sees the greatest potential for the use of invisible labels in the food industry.
These are things that we already ingest today says Grass. Silica particles are present in ketchup
Of course the new technology must yield benefits that far outweigh any risks says Grass. He concedes that as the inventor of the method he might not be entirely impartial.
Abandoned fields with dry grasses provide the detritus that can fuel an out of control blaze with a single spark.
In southwest Primorsky Province dry grass has been burned for centuries. This uncontrolled method of managing agricultural areas each year turns the entire southern tip of Primorsky Province into an enormous firebed enveloping up to 40 percent of the entire territory.
which give way to fields of grass and shrubs. The area of forest degradation is increasing posing serious threats to certain species
and Platte rivers says hydrologist Reed Maxwell of the Colorado School Of mines. Maxwell and colleagues have published results of their study of beetle effects on stream flows in this week's issue of the journal Nature Climate Change.
Whole grains fiber and Vitamin d topped the list of ingredients that two-thirds of those trying to manage their weight added to the diet
More recently they have examined also archaeological remains of plants including pollen starch grains and even mineralized plant secretions.
Cellulosic ethanol producers also could turn to alternative feedstocks such as perennial grasses or wood residue or export electricity from biofuel production facilities to offset emissions from coal-fueled power plants.
and soybean rotations without cover crops small grains and forages may not be increasing soil organic carbon stocks at the published rates. â#oesome studies have shown that both moldboard
and improperly managed grazing can impact them in a negative mannerâ#Lee said. â#oehaying of native grass might not be allowed.
whether that decision is to retain the permanent grass cover or convert back to crop production.
Shattering in domesticated foxtail millet provides an example of insensitivity to epistasis. Branching in maize illustrates insensitivity to environmental effects.
Shattering in foxtail millet and its wild ancestor green millet is controlled by two stretches of DNA containing
or linked to genes that underlie this trait a major one called QTL 1 and a minor one called QTL2.
In contrast shattering in plants with the foxtail-millet allele at QTL1 is unaffected by the allele at the QTL2 location.
When a teosinte plant with a wild tb1 gene is backcrossed repeatedly with maize it produces highly branched plants in uncrowded growing conditions
Grasses take up this toxic heavy metal which is eaten then by the cattle and sheep that graze them.
These fragmented forests are more likely to be invaded by flammable grasses which further increase the likelihood and intensity of future fires.
Plant trees and grass. The greening of neighborhoods could be a simple solution to reducing stress says Malecki.
Unlike corn or other grains most of the agave plant can be converted to ethanol Ravi said.
Understanding the factors that influence branching in the pea plants used in this study may offer valuable insights to help optimize the growth of bioenergy grasses such as switchgrass
Those with grass allergies should avoid melon tomatoes and oranges Leija warns. And ragweed allergies are linked also to allergies to bananas cantaloupe cucumber zucchini and chamomile tea.
Genetic modificationthe genetic modification strategy employed in this study could also be used on other plants like grasses to be used as a new kind of fuel to replace petroleum.
Managers are now seeing sagebrush country burn every 20 years in parts of the Great Basin fueled by drought and vigorous nonnatives like cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum.
They customize a mix of forb bunchgrass and shrub seeds to the site. In recent years BLM has moved to using native species when possible.
and colleagues found preferring a sagebrush steppe environment featuring very little human development and dwarf sagebrush (Artemisia arbuscula A. nova or A. tripartita) but not cheatgrass or other nonnative plants.
And for those suffering from an allergy to some grasses the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of the oral dissolvable tablets designed to help treat symptoms may be beneficial.
It's an additional treatment option for those who are allergic to some types of grasses but not those allergic to other varieties of grass trees and weeds.
According to ACAAI those with seasonal allergies can be affected by the pollen of 11 different types of weeds and trees and eight varieties of grass.
Although the approved tablets are beneficial only for those suffering from some forms of grass allergy the FDA's approval will help open the door for others getting approved such as tablets for ragweed and dust mite allergy.
#Ancient nomads spread earliest domestic grains along Silk road: Earliest known East-West interaction pushed back 2,
000 yearscharred grains of barley millet and wheat deposited nearly 5000 years ago at campsites in the high plains of Kazakhstan show that nomadic sheepherders played a surprisingly important role in the early spread of domesticated
Ancient wheat and broomcorn millet recovered in nomadic campsites in Kazakhstan show that prehistoric herders in Central Eurasia had incorporated both regional crops into their economy
The study to be published April 2 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B establishes that several strains of ancient grains
. while broomcorn millet domesticated 8000 years ago in China is missing in Southwest asia before 2000 B c. This study documents that ancient grains from eastern China
The researchers will look at how the natural seasonality of river levels influences aquatic and terrestrial grasses fisheries
Amazonian grasses sometimes called macrophytes convert atmospheric carbon to plant biomass which is processed then by aquatic microorganisms upon decomposition.
Terrestrial grasses grow during the short window when water levels are low sequestering some carbon and then die when the floods arrive releasing the carbon into the aquatic system said Thiago Silva an assistant professor of geography at SãO Paulo State university in Rio Claro Brazil.
They are followed by aquatic grasses that need to grow extremely fast to surpass the rising floods
In an era of climate change pollution and the global spread of pathogens these new grains must also be able to handle stress.
The starch from most grains which consist largely of an unbranched glucose polymer known as amylose is broken normally down into glucose during the digestive process
Craig Brodersen Cody Narciso Mary Reed and Ed Etxeberria from the University of Florida's Citrus Research and Education Center published the results of a study in Hortscience in
and the carbon isotopes of leaf wax a marker for plant varieties (grasses indicate dry conditions).
Tropical grasses which are adapted for dryer climates tend to have the C-13 isotope. Trees which thrive in wetter environs use the C-12 isotope.
The ratio of those two isotopes in the sediment cores is an indicator of the relative abundance of grass versus trees.
The cores showed an increase in abundance of grass in the same sediments that showed a decrease in surface runoff.
Issaquena County MS 1. 1%Meagher County MT 0. 9%Bent County CO 0. 8%Hardy County WV 0. 7
Folate is found in foods such as green leafy vegetables like spinach citrus fruits legumes whole grains and vegemite.
which has estimated for the first time the global effects of extreme temperatures and elevated levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) on the production of maize wheat and soybean.
Earlier studies have found that climate change is projected to reduce maize yields globally by the end of the century under a business as usual scenario for future emissions of greenhouse gases;
Some of the largest affected areas are key for crop production for example the North american corn belt for maize.
Our results show that maize yields are expected to be affected negatively by climate change while the impacts on wheat and soybean are generally positive
Climate mitigation policy would help reduce risks of serious negative impacts on maize worldwide and reduce risks of extreme heat stress that threaten global crop production.
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