Dr Mark Broadmeadow principal climate change adviser for Forestry Commission England commented We welcome this valuable contribution to our well-developed programme of research into and understanding of the likely effects of climate change on British forests.
because its damage can resemble other plant illnesses producing flecks on leaves and discoloration. Potential reductions in crop yields are worrisome:
Researchers valued the human health effects of the reduced air pollution at nearly $7 billion every year in a study published recently in the journal Environmental Pollution.
of air pollution with improved human health effects and associated health values. The scientists found that pollution removal is substantially higher in rural areas than urban areas
however the effects on human health are substantially greater in urban areas than rural areas. With more than 80 percent of Americans living in urban area this research underscores how truly essential urban forests are to people across the nation said Michael T. Rains Director of the Forest Service's Northern Research Station and the Forest
Health effects related to air pollution include impacts on pulmonary cardiac vascular and neurological systems. In the United states approximately 130000 PM2. 5-related deaths and 4700 ozone-related deaths in 2005 were attributed to air pollution.
In terms of impacts on human health trees in urban areas are substantially more important than rural trees due to their proximity to people Nowak said.
We found that in general the greater the tree cover the greater the pollution removal and the greater the removal and population density the greater the value of human health benefits.
Tree and Forest Effects on Air Quality and Human Health in the United states is available online at:
Dr. Creighton Miller Agrilife Research potato breeder from College Station recently conducted the Texas A&m Potato Breeding and Variety Development Program field day at the farm of cooperator Bruce
and that appeals to the health-conscious consumer Miller said. So in addition to having the unique appearance they are healthier potatoes to eat he said.
In this period scientists examined activity patterns such as singing and mating behavior growth and development of the nestlings as well as stress hormones.
and thus impose additional stress on the fledglings. Light possibly has impact on the entire ecological system of the woodsmore light may also affect other living beings in the Viennese Forests.
Powdery mildew is one of the most important diseases of barley. Senior Research Scientist Dr Alan Little and team have discovered the composition of special growths on the cell walls of barley plants that block the penetration of the fungus into the leaf.
The research by the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell walls in the University's School of Agriculture Food and Wine in collaboration with the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Germany will be presented at the upcoming
Powdery mildew is a significant problem wherever barley is grown around the world says Dr Little. Growers with infected crops can expect up to 25%reductions in yield
In recent times we've seen resistance in powdery mildew to the class of fungicide most commonly used to control the disease in Australia.
Developing barley with improved resistance to the disease is therefore even more important. The discovery means researchers have new targets for breeding powdery mildew resistant barley lines.
Powdery mildew feeds on the living plant says Dr Little. The fungus spore lands on the leaf and sends out a tubelike structure
The plant tries to stop this penetration by building a plug of cell wall material--a papillae--around the infection site.
We can now use this knowledge find ways of increasing these polysaccharides in barley plants to produce more resistant lines available for growers says Dr Little.
#Moose drool inhibits growth of toxic fungussome sticky research out of York University shows a surprisingly effective way to fight against a certain species of toxic grass fungus:
(which hosts a fungus called epichloã festucae that produces the toxin ergovaline) results in slower fungus growth and less toxicity.
and in the case of certain types of grass by harbouring toxic fungus deep within them that can be dangerous
which they then smeared onto clipped samples of red fescue grass carrying the toxic fungus simulating the effect of grazing.
which over time has resulted in fewer toxins within their preferred area. We know that animals can remember
#Pesticide linked to three generations of disease: Methoxychlor causes epigenetic changeswashington State university researchers say ancestral exposures to the pesticide methoxychlor may lead to adult onset kidney disease ovarian disease and obesity in future generations.
What your great-grandmother was exposed to during pregnancy like the pesticide methoxychlor may promote a dramatic increase in your susceptibility to develop disease
and you will pass this on to your grandchildren in the absence of any continued exposures says Michael Skinner WSU professor and founder of its Center for Reproductive Biology.
It was banned in the U s. in 2003 due to its toxicity and ability to disrupt endocrine systems.
Supports earlier epigenetic findingswhen Skinner and his colleagues exposed gestating rats to methoxychlor at a range typical of high environmental exposures they saw increases in the incidence of kidney disease ovary disease
The incidence of multiple diseases increased in the third generation or great-grandchildren. The researchers say the pesticide may be affecting how genes are turned on
Implications for obesity fertility diseasethe work is also the first to show that a majority of transgenerational disease traits can be transmitted primarily through the female line.
and may prove to be valuable biomarkers for future research on transgenerational disease. For people exposed to the pesticide Skinner says his findings have reduced implications such as fertility increased adult onset disease
and the potential to pass on those conditions to subsequent generations. He suggests that ancestral exposures to methoxychlor over the past 50 years in North america may play a part in today's increasing rates of obesity and disease.
The study was funded by the National institutes of health. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Washington state University.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
#Farmers market vouchers may boost produce consumption in low-income familiesvouchers to buy fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers markets increase the amount of produce in the diets of some families on food assistance according to research led by NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture Education and Human Development.
Co-author Dr. David Weise research forester from the U s. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station at Riverside Calif. designed
Dr. Weise said. This research provides a key piece of information for wildland managers using on site burning to dispose of accumulated forest debris in a safe manner under favorable conditions with limited impact on air quality visibility
and human health. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by USDA Forest Service-Pacific Southwest Research Station.
Neonicotinoid insecticides are receiving increased attention by scientists as we explore the possible links between pesticides nutrition infectious disease
and other stress factors in the environment possibly associated with honeybee dieoffs. said USGS scientist Kathryn Kuivila the research team leader.
One of the chemicals imidacloprid is known to be toxic to aquatic organisms at 10-100 nanograms per liter
because that is what most adults use said Erika Trapl Phd lead research investigator assistant professor of epidemiology & biostatistics and associate director of the PRCHN at Case Western Reserve.
But our data show that it's other tobacco products like flavored little cigars that are luring kids into a potential lifetime of tobacco addiction.
Administered since 2000 by the PRCHN the Cuyahoga County Youth Risk Behavior Survey based on a national survey developed by the Centers for Disease Control
and came as a surprise to the researchers and local health officials. The survey data show cigars aren't an urban problem.
From the perspective of the Cuyahoga County Board of Health steps in the right direction to address the youth access obstacle would be raising the price on non-cigarette tobacco products restricting products'common self
and renewing funding for coordinated compliance checks with both law enforcement and public health officials to send a stronger message
and result in greater compliance said Nichelle Shaw MPH chronic disease prevention supervisor at the Cuyahoga County Department of health.
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey research is supported primary by funding from the Cuyahoga County Board of Health through the Ohio Department of health's Bureau of Child
and Family Health and serves as a community health assessment tool for the county. Both groups use the de-identified data to measure health indicators across the county in a variety of areas including Health Improvement Partnership-Cuyahoga a community engagement initiative to address issues that affect
the health of those living in the northeast Ohio. This Youth Risk Behavior Survey is the only such data that exists for the county;
the state survey only samples seven high schools in the county. Youth access is one of the most significant problems identified by the Cuyahoga County Youth Risk Behavior Survey data--children are still using possessing
The Cuyahoga County Board of Health conducts tobacco vendor compliance checks of retail stores to determine
In the year following this partnership the Cuyahoga County Board of Health saw a dramatic decrease in illegal sales.
and hookah products from the Food & Drug Administration's Center for Tobacco Products added Trapl Unlike cigarettes the products don't require ingredient reporting;
In practice that means good fertility longer life udders that give good protection against infections improved claws and more efficient feed utilisation.
and good for people said Dr. Andrew Steer President & CEO WRI. Every head of government minister and climate negotiator should pay attention to this important if often overlooked strategy to address climate change.
No one has a stronger interest in the health of forests than the communities that depend on them for their livelihoods
After 15 minutes a time brief enough to prevent serious harm to the bees the theater light was turned off.
We wanted to look at the most important pest species of the most common tree species in urban areas of the southeastern United states says Dr. Steve Frank an assistant professor of entomology at NC State and senior author of the papers.
Researchers Dr John Duncan Dr Jadu Dash and Professor Pete Atkinson have shown that recent warmer temperatures in the country's major wheat belt are having a negative effect on crop yield.
Dr Jadu Dash comments: Our findings highlight the vulnerability of India's wheat production system to temperature rise
Dr Dash comments: Our study shows that over the longer period farmers are going to have to think seriously about changing their wheat to more heat tolerant varieties
and lipids resulting in cellular changes that lead to development of diseases such as cancer. They have a domino effect Dalaly said.
of which have the potential to boost the immune system and impact diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
Those are the findings of a study conducted by researchers at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and in the Department of public health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of medicine.
or three sugary drinks in their lunchboxesâ#said Hubbard. â#oereplacing sugary drinks with water â#the drink recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics-keeps children hydrated without adding extra sugar to
To address this technological challenge Prof Sow Dr Lu Junpeng a postdoctoral candidate from the Department of physics at the NUS Faculty of science
Dr. Ron Milo of the Institute's Plant sciences Department together with his research student Alon Shepon in collaboration with Tamar Makov of Yale university and Dr. Gidon Eshel in New york asked which types of animal
and now widely banned pesticides and other toxic chemicals--called legacy contaminants--can become magnified in an animal that eats contaminated food.
'The study appears in the journal Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry. Researchers who studied the vegetation-caribou-wolf food chain in the Bathurst region of Canada say that currently use pesticides enter the food chain
Since these pesticides replaced some legacy contaminants that do biomagnify in similar food chains this is good news for the wildlife
. But this is still only a small part of a much larger picture regarding replacement contaminants and how they're behaving compared with their legacy counterparts.
A cross-disciplinary research team studied the impacts of groundcover management systems and nutrient source on soil characteristics tree health and productivity and insect disease and weed management.
and water resources and maintaining the health of the orchard ecosystem. According to Rom the study has implications for sustainably
The nightjar--Caprimulgus europaeus--is a migratory species protected under the Birds Directive (Directive 2009/147/EC) and in the UK by the classification of Special Protection Areas (SPAS.
#Fecal transplants let packrats eat poisonwoodrats lost their ability to eat toxic creosote bushes after antibiotics killed their gut microbes.
bacteria in the gut--and not just liver enzymes--are crucial in allowing herbivores to feed on toxic plants says biologist Kevin Kohl a postdoctoral researcher
The study of woodrats someday might impact farming practices in arid regions where toxic plants like creosote
or goats to find out if that increases their tolerance to toxic foods. Juniper is expanding its range
Evolving a Taste for Toxinsmany plants produce toxic chemicals which they use as a defense against herbivores or plant-eating animals.
A toxic resin coats the leaves of the creosote bush; juniper toxins are found inside juniper needles.
Most mammals are herbivores. Some face serious challenges: their bodies must handle up to hundreds of toxic chemicals from the plants they consume each day.
Plant toxins determine which plants a herbivore can eat says Kohl. Liver enzymes help animals detoxify such poisons.
Researchers previously isolated toxin-degrading microbes from herbivores but Kohl and Dearing say that until now scientists have lacked strong evidence for
what has been conventional wisdom: Gut microbes also help some herbivores eat toxic plants. The study involved desert woodrats (Neotoma lepida)--grayish rodents native to western North american deserts.
Woodrats somehow acquired novel toxin-degrading gut microbes to adapt to climate and vegetation changes that began 17000 years ago.
In a natural climatic event at the end of the last glacial period the Southwest dried out and our major deserts were formed Dearing says.
Creosote which was native to Mexico moved north into the Mojave desert and replaced juniper there
Desert woodrats in the Mojave started eating creosote bushes while desert woodrats in the Great Basin kept eating toxic juniper to
Transfer of toxin-degrading microbes from one organism to the other is much more rapid Dearing says.
DNA was isolated from the microbes to identify genes involved in detoxification. The scientists found that a woodrat's diet determines the composition of its gut microbes.
Mammals are adapted to the plant toxins they eat Kohl says. The guts of creosote-fed woodrats were teeming with microbes that may degrade creosote
Antibiotics kill about 90 percent of the gut microbes in animals severely impairing their ability to consume toxic foods.
Two groups of woodrats were pretreated with the antibiotic neomycin in their drinking water. One group was placed on a diet of rabbit chow and creosote resin.
With their gut microbes killed by the antibiotic they were unable to feed on creosote and lost 10 percent of their body weight within 13 days.
because they weren't eating toxic creosote. In the third experiment the biologists essentially sped up evolution by using fecal transplants to quickly change populations of microbes living in the woodrats'guts.
when woodrats didn't get transplants of creosote-detoxifying microbes their urine was more acidic suggesting their livers expended a lot of energy to degrade creosote toxins.
None of the children had disabilities affecting language acquisition. The results of the study were published in the June 2014 Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research.
The measure was inspired by the Rice/Wexler Test of Early Grammar Impairment developed by Rice and Massachusetts institute of technology Professor Kenneth Wexler in 2001.
It was the first test to detect the subtle but common language disorder Specific Language Impairment.
and Stephen Zubrick from the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth Western australia and Professor Shelley Smith at the University of Nebraska Medical center The study population is located in the vicinity of Perth Western australia
But in Australia health records are available and the Western australia Twin Registry is a unique resource for researchers
In 2012 the group was granted $2. 8 million by the National Institute for Deafness and Other Communication Disorders for a fourth five-year-cycle that will enable researchers to continue to monitor the twins as they develop through adolescence.
In addition to formal language tests researchers have collected genetic and environmental data as well as assessments with the twins'siblings.
and grains in pet food. 8. 53 percent of dogs and 58 percent of cats are overweight causing the need for functional and therapeutic pet food (APOP 2013). 9. 51 percent
and 44 percent of cat owners believe that made in the U s. is a very important package claim as fear of contamination
the nurseries and the nursing homes said Mishler director of the University and Jepson Herbaria at UC Berkeley and senior fellow at the new Berkeley Institute for Data sciences (BIDS.
study suggestscontrary to conventional wisdom a growing body of evidence shows that eating lean beef can reduce risk factors for heart disease according to recent research by nutritional scientists.
which can help lower the risk for cardiovascular disease. The DASH eating plan--Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension--is recommended currently by the American Heart Association to lower blood pressure
and reduce risk of heart disease. People following the DASH diet are encouraged to eat fruits vegetables low-fat dairy and protein predominantly from plant sources.
The Beef Checkoff Program and the National institutes of health-supported Penn State General Clinical Research center funded this research.
Lean beef can be enjoyed as the predominant protein source in a DASH-like diet along with fruits vegetables and low-fat dairy to effectively help lower blood pressure in healthy individuals the researchers report in the Journal of Human Hypertension.
This DASH-like diet is called also the BOLD+diet--Beef in an Optimal Lean Diet plus additional protein.
Kris-Etherton and colleagues tested four diets to find the effects on vascular health. The diets tested included the Healthy American Diet
Sheila G. West associate professor of biobehavioral health; Jan S. Ulbrecht professor of biobehavioral health; John P. Vanden Heuvel professor of veterinary science all at Penn State;
Alison M. Hill lecturer in nutrition University of South australia; Trent L. Gaugler visiting assistant professor of statistics Carnegie mellon University;
and Peter J. Gillies professor and director of the Institute for Food Nutrition and Health at Rutgers The State university of New jersey.
#How existing cropland could feed billions morefeeding a growing human population without increasing stresses On earth's strained land
This resource is invaluable for identifying those genes that control complex traits such as yield grain quality disease pest resistance and abiotic stress tolerance.
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.
however in response to colony collapse disorder the massive--and as yet not fully explained--annual die off of honey bees in the U s. and Europe.
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.
I. entomology professor and department head May Berenbaum who reported that some substances in honey increase the activity of genes that help the bees break down potentially toxic substances such as pesticides.
whether these changes can affect bee health Robinson said. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
and in today's print edition of the peer-reviewed journal Science Translational Medicine is the result of a dozen years of research with the goal of developing biological treatments for patients with heart rhythm disorders who currently are treated with surgically implanted
In the United states an estimated 300000 patients receive pacemakers every year. We have been able for the first time to create a biological pacemaker using minimally invasive methods
in order to effectively cure a disease. These laboratory findings could lead to clinical trials for humans who have heart rhythm disorders
but who suffer side effects such as infection of the leads that connect the device to the heart from implanted mechanical pacemakers.
Eugenio Cingolani MD the director of the Heart Institute's Cardiogenetics-Familial Arrhythmia Clinic who worked with Marbã¡
n on biological pacemaker research team said that in the future pacemaker cells also could help infants born with congenital heart block.
Babies still in the womb cannot have a pacemaker but we hope to work with fetal medicine specialists to create a lifesaving catheter-based treatment for infants diagnosed with congenital heart block Cingolani said.
It is possible that one day we might be able to save lives by replacing hardware with an injection of genes.
This work by Dr. Marbã¡n and his team heralds a new era of gene therapy in which genes are used not only to correct a deficiency disorder
but to actually turn one kind of cell into another type said Shlomo Melmed dean of the Cedars-Sinai faculty and the Helene A. and Philip E. Hixson Distinguished Chair in Investigative Medicine.
In the study laboratory pigs with complete heart block were injected with the gene called TBX18 during a minimally invasive catheter procedure.
On the second day after the gene was delivered to the animals'hearts pigs who received the gene had significantly faster heartbeats than pigs who did not receive the gene.
The stronger heartbeat persisted for the duration of the 14-day study. Originally we thought that biological pacemaker cells could be a temporary bridge therapy for patients who had an infection in the implanted pacemaker area Marbã¡
n said. These results show us that with more research we might be able to develop a long-lasting biological treatment for patients.
If future research is successful Marbã¡n said the procedure could be ready for human clinical studies in about three years.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
#Preventing foodborne illness naturally: 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 study results add to a body of knowledge that will help improve food safety and reduce or eliminate cases of food poisoning and related deaths.
In the study the essential oil killed several strains of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (E coli) known to the U s. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as non-O157 STEC.
The study looked at the top six strains of non-O157 STEC said co-author Lina Sheng a graduate student in the School of Food Science.
Demand for natural food additivesrising health concerns about chemical additives have strengthened demand for natural food additives said co-author Meijun Zhu an assistant professor in the School of Food Science.
Our focus is on exploring plant-derived natural food bioactive compounds as antimicrobials to control foodborne pathogens
Sheng said about 110000 cases of illness are caused annually by non-O157 STEC. 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
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.
and are presented In public Health Nutrition today. It is time to act says Agneta Yngve professor of culinary arts
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.
Not even half of the children in this study eat fruit every day. The picture is a little bit brighter
and the project manager is nutritionist Christel Lynch. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Ãebro Universitet.
and in today's print edition of the peer-reviewed journal Science Translational Medicine is the result of a dozen years of research with the goal of developing biological treatments for patients with heart rhythm disorders who currently are treated with surgically implanted
In the United states an estimated 300000 patients receive pacemakers every year. We have been able for the first time to create a biological pacemaker using minimally invasive methods
in order to effectively cure a disease. These laboratory findings could lead to clinical trials for humans who have heart rhythm disorders
but who suffer side effects such as infection of the leads that connect the device to the heart from implanted mechanical pacemakers.
Eugenio Cingolani MD the director of the Heart Institute's Cardiogenetics-Familial Arrhythmia Clinic who worked with Marbã¡
n on biological pacemaker research team said that in the future pacemaker cells also could help infants born with congenital heart block.
Babies still in the womb cannot have a pacemaker but we hope to work with fetal medicine specialists to create a lifesaving catheter-based treatment for infants diagnosed with congenital heart block Cingolani said.
It is possible that one day we might be able to save lives by replacing hardware with an injection of genes.
This work by Dr. Marbã¡n and his team heralds a new era of gene therapy in which genes are used not only to correct a deficiency disorder
but to actually turn one kind of cell into another type said Shlomo Melmed dean of the Cedars-Sinai faculty and the Helene A. and Philip E. Hixson Distinguished Chair in Investigative Medicine.
In the study laboratory pigs with complete heart block were injected with the gene called TBX18 during a minimally invasive catheter procedure.
On the second day after the gene was delivered to the animals'hearts pigs who received the gene had significantly faster heartbeats than pigs who did not receive the gene.
The stronger heartbeat persisted for the duration of the 14-day study. Originally we thought that biological pacemaker cells could be a temporary bridge therapy for patients who had an infection in the implanted pacemaker area Marbã¡
n said. These results show us that with more research we might be able to develop a long-lasting biological treatment for patients.
If future research is successful Marbã¡n said the procedure could be ready for human clinical studies in about three years.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Cedars-Sinai Medical center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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