which we use nutrients and water to grow crops. Agriculture is responsible for 20 to 35 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions largely in the form of carbon dioxide from tropical deforestation methane from livestock and rice growing and nitrous oxide from crop fertilization.
With respect to nutrient use the study found that worldwide 60 percent of nitrogen and nearly 50 percent of phosphorus applications exceed
China India and the U s.--and three crops rice wheat and corn--are the biggest sources of excess nutrient use worldwide so offer the greatest opportunity for improvement.
and Western europe account for the bulk of this diet gap with corn the main crop being diverted to animal feed.
Although cultural preferences and politics limit the ability to change this picture the authors note that shifting crops from animal feed to human food could serve as a safety net
The loss of 1 kilogram of boneless beef has the same effect as wasting 24 kilograms of wheat due to inefficiencies in converting grain to meat.
#Chromosome-based draft of the wheat genome completedseveral Kansas State university researchers were essential in helping scientists assemble a draft of a genetic blueprint of bread wheat also known as common wheat.
A chromosome-based draft sequence of the hexaploid bread wheat genome is one of four papers about the wheat genome that appear in the journal Science.
and water resources and changing diets and health expectations said Sonny Ramaswamy director of USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture and a former Kansas State university faculty member.
or high-fructose corn syrup when times are lean inside the hive. This practice has come under scrutiny
In a new study described in Scientific Reports researchers took a broad look at changes in gene activity in response to diet in the Western honey bee (Apis mellifera)
which functions like the liver and fat tissues in humans and other vertebrates. We figured that the fat body might be a particularly revealing tissue to examine
The researchers focused on gene activity in response to feeding with honey high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or sucrose.
These differences remained even in an experimental hive that the researchers discovered was infected with deformed wing virus one of the many maladies that afflict honey bees around the world.
With cinnamonseeking ways to prevent some of the most serious foodborne illnesses caused by pathogenic bacteria two Washington state University scientists have found promise in an ancient but common cooking spice:
cinnamon. Recent findings published in Food Control journal online suggest Cinnamomum cassia oil can work effectively as a natural antibacterial agent in the food industry.
The cinnamon cassia oil is effective in low concentrations she said--about 10 drops diluted in a liter of water killed the bacteria within 24 hours.
The U s. Department of agriculture Food safety and Inspection Service has a zero tolerance policy for the CDC top six non-O157 STECS in raw ground beef
and trimmings indicating any raw non-intact beef products containing these pathogens will be considered adulterated. This has led Zhu
and Sheng to include the beef industry in the large-scale application of their findings on cinnamon.
and coatings for packaging both meat and fresh produce Sheng said. It can also be added into the washing step of meat fruits
or vegetables to eliminate microorganisms. Cassia cinnamon is produced primarily in Indonesia and has a stronger smell than the other common cinnamon variety Ceylon.
In addition to Cinnamomum cassia oil Sheng plans to take a look at another natural source to kill bacteria. She and her coworkers will study the potential of dandelions to inhibit bacteria related to bovine mastitis an infection in the mammary glands of dairy cows.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Washington state University. The original article was written by Rachel Webber.
and vegetables in your diet reduces the risk of heart disease stroke diabetes and even some forms of cancer The World health organization WHO recommends a daily intake of at least 400 grams of fruit and vegetables.
when it comes to vegetables. 55 per cent add vegetables to their diet on a daily basis says Agneta Yngve.
We believe this is down to Swedish school lunches. A good selection of salads and vegetables are offered normally.
At the same time Swedish children are far from getting enough vegetables. An average of 141 grams per day simply is not sufficient.
if the worm's egg cocoons survived a particularly harsh Wisconsin winter. That appears to be the case according to Brad Herrick arboretum ecologist
The Amynthas eat so much that they take away the spongy surface organic layer that those plants need for nutrients.
However a new study published in the journal Environment International has estimated for the first time the potential cancer risk by age group through non-dietary ingestion and dermal exposure to third hand smoke.
Other bee species are generalists flitting among flower species to drink nectar and collect pollen from a diverse variety of plants.
A bee collects pollen on its body as it laps sugar-rich nectar from within the cupped interior of the flower's petals
and retracting it to lap up the nectar. If its tongue is too short to reach the nectar the bee has a problem.
Long flowers like honeysuckle or columbine are too deep for short-tongued bees. But longer isn't always better;
whose mutation affects plant stem growth a finding that could lead to the development of improved soybean cultivars for the northern United states. Purdue agronomy professor Jianxin Ma (pronounced Jen-SHIN'Ma)
and rice-based foods--mainly concentrated in the bran layers. Therefore the risk from consumption of products made from rice bran such as rice drinks is much higher than from raw
but polished (white rice the Committee on Nutrition points out. There's special concern about exposure to arsenic in rice in infants and young children.
In addition rice and rice products such as starch flour and syrup are added commonly to infant foods and drinks.
The authors suggest limiting children's exposure to arsenic rice by including a variety of grains in their diets such as oats barley wheat and maize (corn) in addition to rice.
Their data on rainfall fluctuations and on the productivity and regenerative capacity of pasture vegetation formed the basis for the ecological part of the model.
those that retained a single copy went on to become the plant we now know as sorghum.
However there is increasing evidence that the global honey bee trade has detrimental effects including the spread of new diseases
and age influenced the way mammoths grew into the huge adults that captivate us today said co-author Zachary T. Calamari of the American Museum of Natural history who began investigating mammoths as a U-M undergraduate working with Fisher.
In addition to Fisher and Calamari the paper's authors are Ethan A. Shirley Christopher D. Whalen and Adam Rountrey of the U-M Museum of Paleontology;
Calamari Shirley and Whalen are recent U-M graduates and spent a month in Siberia with Fisher in 2012 searching for mammoth remains.
By'staining'the plaque with curcumin a component of the common spice turmeric we could detect it in the retina even before it began to accumulate in the brain.
and will marshal the extra resources into producing sugars and starches. As a result the harvested portion of the plant will often contain lower concentrations of other nutrients including health-promoting antioxidants Without the synthetic chemical pesticides applied on conventional crops organic plants also tend to produce more phenols
and polyphenols to defend against pest attacks and related injuries. In people phenols and polyphenols can help prevent diseases triggered
but incorporated less than half the number of comparisons for most health-promoting nutrients. We benefited from a much larger and higher quality set of studies than our colleagues who carried out earlier reviews said Carlo Leifert a Newcastle University professor and the project leader.
The authors assumed that the elimination of Gmchx1 in salt-sensitive germplasms may be an example of negative selection against a stress tolerance gene in unstressed environments.
The major nutrient in fertilizer is nitrate. A New mexico State university turfgrass expert has a new vision for even more efficiency.
and its capability of being spread will be enhanced. Now evidence is available that this underlying concept works in practice says Kari Tiilikkala Professor at MTT.
The disease is most likely spread by wind-driven rain or overhead irrigation and some crape myrtle varieties are more susceptible than others.
and is spread by factors such as overhead irrigation systems and large numbers of plants kept in close quarters.
Most bacterial diseases can be spread in wind-driven rain and in Florida we know there's no shortage of that said Mathews Paret an assistant professor of plant pathology who led the study.
while Carolina Beauty Arapaho Tuscarora White Chocolate Red Rocket and Rhapsody in Pink were more susceptible in field trials funded by the Florida Nursery Growers and Landscape Association.
If guidelines are not put in place very soon researchers say the spread of those large-scale industrial plantations from Asia into Africa will be bad news for great apes there as well.
Palm oil is found in a large number of products from popcorn to candy to soap to cosmetics making growth of the tropical trees a very lucrative industry.
or prevent further spread. In the case of A. gracilipes in the Vallã e de Mai further research into control
Drought conditions lead to poor pasture conditions and hay production which then impacts the number of cattle ranchers can graze Knapp said.
In a gastronomic tour of some of the many food descriptors used in medicine the author highlights imagery such as'anchovy sauce'to describe the pus from a liver abscess through'sago spleen'to indicate protein (amyloid) deposits to'oat
And'egg shell crackling'denotes the grating sound indicative of the bone tumour ameloblastoma. Fruit is also popular as in'apple
Water melon oranges currant jelly grapes and cherry all find their way into visual clues for a range of conditions
while breakfast food imagery is common. A'croissant'appearance in a cell nucleus is indicative of a benign growth on peripheral nerves.
Similarly a'blueberry muffin'rash is characteristic of congenital rubella while the appearance of a red blood cell is referred to as'doughnut'shaped.
There's even a reference to an entire dish as a skin condition called tinea versicolor is denoted by its'spaghetti and meatball'appearance.
The author suggests that food descriptors reflect a basic human need for survival or perhaps the fact that many medical practitioners are forced to grab their meals on the job.
But doctors must have strong stomachs she says. It is a wonder that in the midst of the smells
and sights of human affliction a physician has the stomach to think of food at all she suggests.
Several years ago they had evidenced already the interactive effects of different insecticides (the cocktail effect)
Benefits of carotenoidswhatâ's more according to the researchers the inclusion of carotenoids in a diet can help to reduce risk of developing diseases such as certain types of cancer heart disease or damage to vision especially those related to an aging population.
A research team led by Michael Jenkins associate professor of forest ecology found that a 17-yearlong Indiana Department of Natural resources policy of organizing hunts in state parks has spurred successfully the regrowth of native tree seedlings herbs
Herbs such as asters violets and goldenrods increased from about 20 percent to 32 percent cover
and discouraged the spread of invasive and exotic species said Lindsay Jenkins. We saw a striking improvement in the quality
#New recreational travel model to help states stop firewood assisted insect travelthe spread of damaging invasive forest pests is powered only partially by the insects'own wings.
The study Using a Network Model to Assess Risk of Forest Pest Spread via Recreational Travel was published July 9 in the journal PLOS ONE
 The role of humans in the spread of invasive insects such as the emerald ash borer and Asian longhorned beetle is established well according to the study's lead author Frank Koch a research ecologist with the Forest Service
and slowing the spread of invasive insects. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by USDA Forest Service â#Southern Research Station.
Plants grown from neonicotinoid-treated seed have the pesticide in all their tissues including the nectar and pollen.
The fungus causes charcoal rot in about 500 other host plants including corn sorghum sunflower and other important crops.
This fungus also grows in high concentrations of salt which isn't much of a problem to growers in the United states
Prickles are all over this sucker Bohs says. The first specimen of S. cordicitum was collected in October 1974 on U s. 166 about 30 miles west of Fort Davis Texas. Then in September 1990 a Valentine resident named Howard
#Cinnamon may be used to halt progression of Parkinsons disease, study suggestsneurological scientists at Rush University Medical center have found that using cinnamon a common food spice
and flavoring material can reverse the biomechanical cellular and anatomical changes that occur in the brains of mice with Parkinsonâ##s disease (PD).
The results of the study were published recently in the June 20 issue of the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology. â#oecinnamon has been used widely as a spice throughout the world for centuriesâ#said Kalipada Pahan Phd study lead researcher
and the Floyd A. Davis professor of neurology at Rush. â#oethis could potentially be one of the safest approaches to halt disease progression in Parkinsonâ##s patients. â#â#oecinnamon is metabolized in the liver to sodium benzoate
Chinese cinnamon (Cinnamonum cassia) and original Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamonum verum) are two major types of cinnamon that are available in the US. â#oealthough both types of cinnamon are metabolized into sodium benzoate by mass
and DJ-1 decrease in the brain of PD patients. â#The study found that after oral feeding ground cinnamon is metabolized into sodium benzoate
This research was supported by grants from National institutes of health. â#oenow we need to translate this finding to the clinic and test ground cinnamon in patients with PD.
and fragmentation resulting from the development of pastures and plantations have had on the Amazon rainforest.
and colleagues of the Institute of Transformative Biomolecules (WPI-ITBM) of Nagoya University have finally found the missing piece in how birds sense light by identifying a deep brain photoreceptor in Japanese quails in
This study led by Professor Yoshimura has revealed that nerve cells existing deep inside the brains of quails called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)- contacting neurons respond directly to light.
We have chosen quails as our targets as they show rapid and robust photoperiodic responses. They are in the same pheasant family as the roosters and exhibit similar characteristics.
It is also worth noting that Toyohashi near Nagoya is the number one producer of quails in Japan explains Professor Yoshimura.
The reproductive organs of quails remain small in size throughout the year and only develop during the short breeding season becoming more than 100 times its usual size in just two weeks.
In most mammals including humans eyes are the exclusive photoreceptor organs. Rhodopsin and rhodopsin family proteins in our eyes detect light
We had revealed already in previous studies reported in 2010 (PNAS) that a photoreceptive protein Opsin-5 exists in the quail's hypothalamus in the brain says Professor Yoshimura.
and sulphur stable isotopes analysis is an effective technique to reconstruct nestling Bonelli's Eagle diet according to a paper published in the journal The Ibis. The article is signed by experts Jaime Resano Mayor Antoni Hernã¡
Besides this conventional technique the stable isotope analysis (SIA) has been used successfully in recent years to study animals'diet
which can indicate diet compositionin order to reconstruct eagles'diet by analysing the isotopic composition of their feathers first authors had to characterise the isotopic composition of Bonelli's Eagle main preys in Catalonia.
and stable isotope analysis. The study showed that the isotopic analysis of feathers allows inferring individual species'diet during the breeding period something that is not possible by using pellet.
However similarity varied among preys in rabbits pigeons and gulls it was moderate; in squirrels and passerines it was lower
and in partridges it was low. Authors highlight that carbon and nitrogen analysis are essential in all cases
and Catalan populations--explains Jaime Resano Mayor--as high consumption of rabbits and partridges in Andalusia reduces trophic diversity.
Differences in prey consumption among territories could primarily be a consequence of variation in prey availability among territories
At a territory level productivity increases in those pairs with low trophic diversity (due to the high consumption of rabbit and partridge) and in those that show medium values of trophic diversity (moderate consumption of rabbit
partridge and pigeons. On the contrary pairs with high trophic diversity show less productivity. Authors point out that these results suggest that individual diet variation within populations is likely to have important ecological and evolutionary implications.
To know diet in order to improve the conservation of a threatened speciesto know diet effects on vital parameters in threatened species like the Bonelli's Eagle is crucial to plan
are detected for eagles conservation actions must be addressed towards the improvement of trophic resources (rabbits partridges pigeons etc.
and you've spotted a new and particularly lucrative source of nectar and pollen. What's the best way to communicate the location of this prize cache of food to the rest of your nestmates without revealing it to competitors
and a fluid delivery system that can provide fresh water or water with nutrients. Larsen explains that the system could be operated remotely
If an astronaut requests tomatoes for a salad the system decides which specific plants have the ripest tomatoes
and Math High school in New york. Their investigation of the effect of microgravity on the growth of mold on white bread will show the amount of mold present in dust on the station and the ground.
Working in a tiny mustard plant called Arabidopsis which is used as a genetic model and shares many of the same genes as other plants and crops he and his team of biologists discovered that the proteins encoded by the four genes they discovered repress the development of stomata at elevated CO2 levels.
After introducing a gene from oregano the transformed maize plants released E-Î-caryophyllene constantly.
#Payback time for soil carbon from pasture conversion to sugarcane productionthe reduction of soil carbon stock caused by the conversion of pasture areas into sugarcane plantations--a very common change in Brazil in recent
The study indicates that the soil carbon balance of pasture areas converted for the cultivation of sugarcane designed for ethanol production is not as negative as originally estimated said Carlos Clemente Cerri project coordinator and researcher at CENA.
According to Cerri soil from pasture areas has a carbon stock whose volume varies only slightly over the years.
These reference areas included pastures annual cropland (soybean sorghum and corn) and Cerrado native vegetation.
More than 70%of this land consisted of pastures and 25%had been used for growing grains said the study's researchers.
and control in Great britain demonstrated that the majority of herd outbreaks are caused by multiple transmissions routes--including failed cattle infection tests cattle movement and reinfection from environmental reservoirs (infected pastures and wildlife).
Our model offers a dispassionate unbiased view of the spread of btb through the cattle industry of Great Britain says model co-author Professor Matthew Keeling from Warwick's School of Life sciences and Department of mathematics.
Imperfect cattle skin tests contribute to the spread by delaying the time until infected herds are detected for the first time
The period following birth can be a challenging time for young lambs. They are docked usually tail without analgesia as a preventative measure to reduce the chances of flies laying eggs on dirty tails
and they may also experience bacterial infections such as'joint ill'or'navel ill'.'However the long-term consequences of these early life challenges are understood not well.
when giving birth to their own first lambs than did had females who not had these early-life experiences.
Furthermore the lambs of those mothers who had experienced a mild infection in early life were less sensitive to pain during the first few days of their lives than were other lambs.
Dr Fiona Clissold who led the study explains why temperature has such a large influence on insect diets.
As a result nutrient availability at a given temperature varies between different plant species. A plant can be a poor quality diet at one temperature and a good quality diet at another.
The first Kangaroo grass gives a high protein diet at high temperatures and a high carbohydrate diet at low temperatures.
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
Intriguingly when both plants are available the locusts modify their behaviour to get the maximum benefit from the nutrients on offer.
After eating locusts sit for 30-40 minutes to digest their meal before feeding again.
Following a meal of Kangaroo grass the locusts seek shady places such as behind grass stalks
however the locusts sit in warmer areas to ensure a protein-rich meal. Dr Clissold adds Being small insects can take advantage of the multitude of microclimates available.
As mammals are warm-blooded animals that maintain a constant body temperature it is unlikely that temperature overtly affects the nutrient quality of their diets.
Our study indicates that incorporating legumes such as beans peas soybeans peanuts and lentils that have a higher proportion of nitrogen in its biomass can accelerate the storage of carbon in soils Tharayil said.
and were offered a large tub of salted or toffee popcorn. Participants received their selected flavour with one of three labels:
#Foodborne bacteria can cause disease in some breeds of chickens after allcontrary to popular belief the foodborne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni is not a harmless commensal in chickens
The main implication is that Campylobacter is not always harmless to chickens. This rather changes our view of the biology of this nasty little bug says Paul Wigley of Institute for Infection and Global Health at the University of Liverpool an author on the study.
and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate it affects approximately 1 3 million people per year in the United states. Chicken is the most common source of infections.
Infection of chickens had previously not been considered to cause disease and the bacteria were thought to be part of the normal microbiota of the birds.
In the study Wigley and his colleagues experimentally infected birds from four commercial breeds of broiler chickens.
The most important finding says Wigley is that Campylobacter infection directly impacts broiler chicken health and welfare.
The United states produces over 8 billion broiler chickens per year and the United kingdom produces nearly a billion.
On the positive side we now know that chickens produce a robust immune response to infection
and agricultural crops plants are being subjected to higher levels of soluble salts which can ultimately cause salt stress in plants.
and high evapotranspiration while in northern regions it is caused by deicing salts. Increasing soil salinity negatively affects plant growth
'Cecile Brunner''Else Poulsen''Madame Antoine Mari''Perle d'Or''Spice'and'Souvenir de St anne's'were the least salt-tolerant among the 18 cultivars analyzed in the study.
scientists sayif you've gone grocery shopping lately you've probably bought palm oil. Found in thousands of products from peanut butter
and packaged bread to shampoo and shaving cream palm oil is a booming multibillion-dollar industry. While it isn't always clearly labeled in supermarket staples the unintended consequences of producing this ubiquitous ingredient have been publicized widely.
and pesticide application) and processing of oil palm fruits to make crude palm oil can all send sediment nutrients
Vegetation removal along stream banks destroys plant life that stream organisms depend on for sustenance and shade.
which stone tools reflect an agricultural transition from cutting meat to pounding grain. It's the first step towards all the trappings of civilization that we currently see said Kohler.
research showsscientists have found that eating almonds in your diet can reduce the risk of heart disease by keeping blood vessels healthy.
Researchers tested the effects of a short-term almond-enriched diet on healthy young and middle-aged men as well as on a group of young men with cardiovascular risk factors including having high blood pressure
At the end of the study period the group eating an almond-enriched diet had higher levels of antioxidants (alpha-tocopherol) in their blood stream improved blood flow
The team believes it is likely to be the combination of all these nutrients working together to create the overall health benefits rather than just one particular nutrient in isolation.
but our research proves that it isn't too late to introduce them into your diet--adding even a handful (around 50g) every day for a short period can help.
or add them to your regular meals like porridge or muesli to help reduce your risk of heart problems.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Aston University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Overtext Web Module V3.0 Alpha
Copyright Semantic-Knowledge, 1994-2011