#Wheat research indicates rise in mean temperature would cut yieldsany producer will tell you growing a healthy high-yielding wheat crop takes skill and hard work.
Quality drought-tolerant varieties that are resistant to pests and disease are important. And cooperation from Mother Nature in terms of temperature and precipitation doesn't hurt either.
To quantify the impact of genetic improvement in wheat disease and climate change over a 26-year period a team of researchers at Kansas State university examined wheat variety yield data from Kansas performance tests along with location-specific weather and disease data.
Their results showed that from 1985 through 2011 wheat breeding programs boosted average wheat yields by 13 bushels per acre or 0. 51 bushel each year for a total increase of 26 percent.
Simulations also found that a 1 Degree celsius increase (1. 8 degrees Fahrenheit) in projected mean temperature was found to decrease wheat yields by 10.64 bushels per acre or nearly 21 percent.
and disease said Andrew Barkley professor of agricultural economics and lead researcher of a multi-disciplinary team that included agronomists and plant pathologists.
Diseases such as fungi and viruses can attack wheat and lower yields. This research quantifies the impact of weather diseases and new wheat varieties on yields.
So far genetic improvement has allowed wheat yields to increase significantly over time but there are challenges ahead to keep up with potential increases in temperature.
The study funded by the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station is the first to quantify all of these impacts (climate change disease
and is used also in cosmetics and medical applications. Rice chemist Lon Wilson and his colleagues are inserting bismuth compounds into single-walled carbon nanotubes to make a more effective contrast agent for computed tomography (CT) scanners.
Details of the work by Wilson's Rice team and collaborators at the University of Houston st.
Luke's Episcopal Hospital and the Texas Heart Institute appear in the Journal of Materials Chemistry B. This is not the first time bismuth has been tested for CT scans
and Wilson's lab has been experimenting for years with nanotube-based contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners.
They can also be modified for use with MRI positron emission tomography and electron paramagnetic resonance imaging systems.
Benjamin Cheong a doctor in the Department of Radiology St luke's Episcopal Hospital Houston; and research scientist Maria da Graã§a Cabreira-Hansen;
James Willerson president and medical director and Emerson Perin director of clinical research for cardiovascular medicine all of the Texas Heart Institute.
The Robert A. Welch Foundation the National institutes of health and the National Science Foundation supported the research.
and is used commonly in muds for oil drilling in modern construction in medical applications and as a binder by iron and steel foundries.
they may need to tackle a host a problems ranging from climate change to disease control.
and spread of emerging diseases creating agricultural and pharmaceutical products studying climate change controlling invasive species
Findings published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B reveal that mating with different males helps females produce offspring that are more resistant to diseases.
MHC) play a key role in detecting and fighting infections. By biasing fertilisation in favour of MHC-dissimilar males females increase the diversity of MHC within their offspring providing them with better disease resistance.
The findings will be important for animal breeders as well as conservation projects because they show that allowing multiple matings will produce the most disease resistant and genetically healthy offspring.
Prof David S Richardson from UEA's school of Biological sciences said: Our research has shown that the females don't need to choose between males to produce the most healthy offspring.
and that they avoid artificial insemination which could lead to the genetic health of bred stocks being weaker.
#Whole genome sequencing provides researchers with a better understanding of bovine TB outbreaksthe use of whole bacterial genome sequencing will allow scientists to inexpensively track how bovine tuberculosis (TB) is transmitted from farm to farm according to research presented this week
Bovine TB is primarily a disease of cattle caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis. The disease is hugely expensive costing the Government over £91 million in England in 2010/11.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow working in collaboration with the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute and the Department of agriculture and Rural development Northern ireland sequenced the genomes of 147 M. bovis samples collected over a decade of outbreaks in Northern ireland.
while long distance spread via cattle movements plays a role local transmission mechanisms appear to drive the spread of the disease
and will help us to develop better control methods for the disease. The role of infected wild badgers in spreading bovine TB remains controversial.
This work will help to clarify the role that badgers may have in spreading the disease
and local persistence of the pathogen in cattle has a distinct spatial signature--we believe that explaining this signature is the key to quantifying the role that badgers play in the persistence of bovine TB in Britain and Ireland.
A new study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical center shows that community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs may be a feasible approach for providing fresh fruits and vegetables to under-resourced communities.
Lead author Sara A. Quandt Ph d. a professor of epidemiology and prevention at Wake Forest Baptist said that CSAS which link consumers to a local farm's produce over a growing season have been proposed as a solution for disparities in fruit
Expanding access to healthful foods is an important step in reducing health disparities said Quandt. The objective of this study was to test the feasibility of a CSA program for low-income families in Forsyth County.
The study appears last month in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's journal Preventing Chronic Disease.
For a small randomized controlled feasibility study Quandt and fellow researchers recruited 50 low income women with children then divided them into an intervention group and a control group of 25 each.
and a grocery store tour with a dietitian that focused on healthful eating on a budget.
The above story is provided based on materials by Wake Forest Baptist Medical center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
research confirmsthe first systematic review of related research confirms a positive impact on cognitive function but an inconsistent effect on mild cognitive impairment.
Over recent years many pieces of research have identified a link between adherence to a Mediterranean diet and a lower risk of age-related disease such as dementia.
A team of researchers from the University of Exeter Medical school supported by the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research
and their findings are published in Epidemiology. The team analysed 12 eligible pieces of research 11 observational studies
In nine out of the 12 studies a higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with better cognitive function lower rates of cognitive decline and a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease.
However results for mild cognitive impairment were inconsistent. A Mediterranean diet typically consists of higher levels of olive oil vegetables fruit and fish.
and nutritious and our systematic review shows it may help to protect the ageing brain by reducing the risk of dementia.
While the link between adherence to a Mediterranean diet and dementia risk is not new ours is the first study to systematically analyse all existing evidence.
In particular research is needed to clarify the association with mild cognitive impairment and vascular dementia. It is also important to note that
whether or not adherence to a Mediterranean diet protects against dementia. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Exeter.
#Following a Mediterranean diet not associated with delay to clinical onset of Huntington diseaseadhering to a Mediterranean-type diet (Meddi) does not appear associated with the time to clinical onset of Huntington disease (phenoconversion) according to a study by Karen
Marder M d. M p h. of Columbia University college of Physicians and Surgeons New york N y. and colleagues. The Mediterranean diet a diet high in plant foods (e g. fruits nuts legumes
and dairy products is known to be beneficial for health owing to its protective effects in many chronic diseases according to the study background.
and pharmacological interventions to modify specific components of diet that may delay the onset of HD the study concludes.
The above story is provided based on materials by American Medical Association (AMA. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length e
Though seemingly disparate the twin breakthroughs have a common midwife: the UN University's Venezuela-based BIOLAC programme which in 2013 marks 25 years of advancing regional economic and health interests by building biotech science throughout Latin america and the Caribbean.
Connected at UNU-BIOLAC workshops in Montevideo Uruguayan chemistry professor Francisco Carrau and scientist Massimo Delledonne of Italy recently collaborated on sequencing the Tannat grape pressings
Discovering in more detail the health-promoting compound in the Tannat grape requires us to continue work on its genome.
and ecosystem health has moved now to wheat. Considered a new disease wheat blast is sharply reducing wheat yields in Brazil.
Dr Dan Bebber from the University of Exeter said: If crop pests continue to march polewards as Earth warms the combined effects of a growing world population
and the increased loss of crops to pests will pose a serious threat to global food security.
as a result of winter injury U s. Forest Service and University of Vermont scientists came up with a surprising result--three decades later the canary is feeling much better.
when foliage predisposed to injury by exposure to acid rain experiences freezing injury and dies. Paul Schaberg a research plant physiologist with the U s. Forest Service's Northern Research Station in Burlington Vt. and partners studied red spruce trees in Vermont New hampshire and Massachusetts.
They found that the influence of a single damaging winter injury event in 2003 continued to slow tree growth in New england for 3 years longer than had been expected
The study Quantifying the legacy of foliar winter injury on woody aboveground carbon sequestration of red spruce trees was published earlier this year in the journal Forest Ecology and Management.
and his colleagues also answered the question they set out to answer--how did the foliar damage associated with the 2003 winter injury affect carbon storage?
They found that the winter injury event reduced the growth of red spruce trees for at least 3 years
and apples was associated significantly with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes according to a new study led by Harvard School of Public health (HSPH) researchers.
Greater consumption of fruit juices was associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. The study is the first to look at the effects of individual fruits on diabetes risk.
While fruits are recommended as a measure for diabetes prevention previous studies have mixed found results for total fruit consumption.
Our findings provide novel evidence suggesting that certain fruits may be especially beneficial for lowering diabetes risk said senior author Qi Sun assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH and assistant professor at the Channing Division of Network
Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital. The study appears online August 29 2013 in BMJ (British Medical Journal.
The researchers examined data gathered between 1984 and 2008 from 187382 participants in three long-running studies (Nurses'Health Study Nurses'Health Study II and Health professionals Follow-up Study.
Participants who reported a diagnosis of diabetes cardiovascular disease or cancer at enrollment were excluded. Results showed that 12198 participants (6. 5%)developed diabetes during the study period.
The researchers looked at overall fruit consumption as well as consumption of individual fruits: grapes or raisins;
peaches plums or apricots; prunes; bananas; cantaloupe; apples or pears; oranges; grapefruit; strawberries; and blueberries.
They also looked at consumption of apple orange grapefruit and other fruit juices. People who ate at least two servings each week of certain whole fruits--particularly blueberries grapes
and apples--reduced their risk for type 2 diabetes by as much as 23%in comparison to those who ate less than one serving per month.
Conversely those who consumed one or more servings of fruit juice each day increased their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by as much as 21%.
%The researchers found that swapping three servings of juice per week for whole fruits would result in a 7%reduction in diabetes risk.
The fruits'glycemic index (a measure of how rapidly carbohydrates in a food boost blood sugar) did not prove to be a significant factor in determining a fruit's association with type 2 diabetes risk.
However the high glycemic index of fruit juice--which passes through the digestive system more rapidly than fiber-rich fruit--may explain the positive link between juice consumption and increased diabetes risk.
The researchers theorize that the beneficial effects of certain individual fruits could be the result of a particular component.
Previous studies have linked anthocyanins found in berries and grapes to lowered heart attack risk for example.
But more research is necessary to determine which components in the more beneficial fruits influence diabetes risk.
but not fruit juice as a measure for diabetes prevention said lead author Isao Muraki research fellow in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH.
And our novel findings may help refine this recommendation to facilitate diabetes prevention. Story Source:
The above story is provided based on materials by Harvard School of Public health. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length h
and infectious disease resistance--will likely have caused many genetic adaptations of this kind. We need lactase
Dr Bryony Jones also from the UCL Department of Genetics Evolution and Environment and lead author of the paper said:
and it will be important for them to be better characterised to understand better the relationship between historic adaptation and 21st century disease susceptibility.
Dr Jones explained: Ethiopia has been a crossroads of human migrations in the last five thousand years
As we know genetic diversity allows species to survive disease and habitat stress and encourages long-term survival.
According to new research published in the September 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal not only is dieting before getting pregnant not enough to prevent diabetes risks
Knowing how maternal health and behavior affect how genes express themselves in offspring should help health care providers
and public health officials develop more precise prenatal strategies to maximize the health of newborn children.
The findings of our study highlight that the nutritional health of the mother in the lead-up to
and around conception can result in poor metabolic consequences for the offspring that will persist into later life said Caroline Mcmillen M d. Ph d. a researcher involved in the work from the Sansom Institute for Health Research at the University of South australia.
We hope that the findings of the present study will lead to a focus on how to help obese women lose weight
which does not impact negatively on the health outcomes of their offspring. To make this discovery Mcmillen
This discovery helps us to understand how body weight affects our health and the health of our children--right down to the genetic level said Gerald Weissmann M d. Editor-In-chief of The FASEB Journal.
Clearly this effect in must be confirmed in humans but the study should help us to optimize a hopeful mom's management of how
#Targeting mosquito breeding sites could boost malaria control efforts in Africa and Asiaa malaria control method that targets mosquito larvae and pupae as they mature in standing water could be an important supplementary measure in the fight against the disease according to a new report.
The Cochrane review--led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in collaboration with Durham University and other researchers in the UK and US--is the first systematic review looking at using larval source management (LSM) to control malaria
which causes an estimated 660000 deaths worldwide every year. It found evidence that the method may significantly reduce both the number of cases of malaria by up to 75%and the proportion of people infected with the malaria parasite by up to 90%when used in appropriate settings.
LSM is a method that targets immature mosquitoes found in standing water before the females develop into flying adults that are capable of transmitting malaria.
This is done by permanently removing standing water for example by draining or filling land; making temporary changes to mosquito habitats to disrupt breeding for example by clearing drains to make the water flow;
Currently the use of long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets and indoor residual spraying of homes are used widely for malaria transmission control
and are having a major impact on the burden of the disease. However this success is threatened now by factors such as a growing resistance to insecticides among mosquitoes.
Complementary methods of mosquito control such as LSM may become increasingly necessary in helping tackle the disease
and some malaria-endemic countries in Sub-saharan africa are already implementing LSM programmes but there is a lack of consensus on how effective the method can be and in
and a sufficient proportion of these habitats can be targeted LSM may reduce the number of cases of malaria and the proportion of people infected with the malaria parasite at any one time.
The findings also suggest LSM could contribute to a reduction in the prevalence of splenomegaly in children (an enlargement of the spleen caused by repeated malaria infections.
Lead author Lucy Tusting from the Department of Disease Control at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said:
This is the first time the evidence on larval source management for malaria control has been reviewed systematically and our research shows that the method can be an effective supplementary measure against malaria in both urban
and rural areas of Africa and Asia--wherever it is possible to target a sufficient proportion of mosquito breeding sites.
These findings have important implications for malaria control policy. The tremendous progress made in malaria control in the last decade is threatened now by mosquito resistance to the insecticides available for long-lasting insecticide treated nets and indoor residual spraying.
Thus additional methods are needed to target malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. Our research shows that larval source management could be an effective supplementary intervention in some places.
The authors note that further research is needed to assess how effective LSM is in rural Africa where breeding sites are harder to target such as large flood plains or rice paddies.
But the review authors say LSM could be an important strategy in the control of malaria
This paper is a landmark publication demonstrating that in many places larval source management should be used as a supplementary weapon against malaria.
or indoor residual spraying to hammer down malaria across the tropics. The authors note that there are limitations in the available data for analysis with a small number of eligible studies and a lack of data in many settings.
The review was carried out by researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Princeton university and Durham University.
The above story is provided based on materials by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Note:
PSW Research Wildlife Biologist Dr. Hartwell Welsh and Garth Hodgson examined two species of woodland salamanders across four stages of tree development at Mill Creek--a disturbed
#Parasitic worm genome uncovers potential drug targetsresearchers have identified five enzymes that are essential to the survival of a parasitic worm that infects livestock worldwide
Two of these proteins are already being studied as potential drug targets against other pathogens. The team sequenced the genome of Haemonchus contortus
and point to further new treatments and vaccines. The Barber pole worm or H. contortus is part of a family of gastrointestinal worms that are endemic on 100%of farms
and will also reveal further potential drug and vaccine targets.##oeour reference genome allows researchers to understand how H. contortus
and other worms of this type acquire resistance to a wide range of anthelmintics#the drugs used to treat worm infections#says Dr James Cotton senior author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.#
#oeseeing a common theme of drug resistance in this well-characterised worm is extremely important because both people and animals are reliant on so few treatments against parasitic worms.#
#The team sequenced the genome of a strain of H contortus that was susceptible to all major classes of drugs against parasitic worms.
By comparing this sequence with that of worms that have acquired drug resistance the researchers expect to reveal a wealth of information about how
Getting to grips with genomes such as that of H. contortus is our best option to tackle the issue of drug resistance
and develop new drugs against parasitic worms to address this issue.##To generate a rich source of potential vaccine
and drug target candidates the team identified a set of genes that are more active in certain stages of the parasite life cycle and within the parasite s gut.
They also identified five metabolic chokepoints#enzymes that are essential for a parasite s survival.
Two of these enzymes are already being studies as potential drug targets; one against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and another against another type of worm.
The researchers also described the full gene repertoires for known drug target families. This gives a comprehensive understanding of how several important treatments work against worms
#oerevealing new drug targets against H. contortus could provide much-needed new treatment opportunities against parasitic worms in both animals and humans.
These estimates rest on the recognition that all plants rely on microbial partners to secure nutrients deter pathogens
and resist environmental stress. The report looks in depth at the intimate relationship between microbes and agriculture including why plants need microbes
or slowing the progress of the most common form of arthritis according to new research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA).
and often debilitating osteoarthritis. The researchers found that mice fed a diet rich in the compound had significantly less cartilage damage
and osteoarthritis than those that were not. The study which also examined human cartilage cells
and cow cartilage tissue was funded by medical research charity Arthritis Research UK the Biotechnology and Biological sciences Research Council's (BBSRC) Diet and Health Research Industry Club (DRINC
) and The Dunhill Medical Trust. Sulforaphane is released when eating cruciferous vegetables such as Brussels sprouts and cabbage but particularly broccoli.
and anti-inflammatory properties but this is the first major study into its effects on joint health.
and their findings are published today in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism. More than 8. 5 million people in the UK have osteoarthritis a degenerative disease affecting the hands feet spine hips and knees in particular.
According to Arthritis Research UK the annual cost of the condition to the NHS is £5. 2 billion.
In 2011 more than 77000 knee and 66000 hip replacements were carried out due to osteoarthritis--approximately one every four minutes.
Aging and obesity are the most common contributors to the condition and due to their effects the number of people in the UK consulting a GP about knee osteoarthritis alone could rise from 4. 7 million in 2010 to 8. 3 million by 2035.
Currently one in five people over the age of 45 has osteoarthritis in their knee.
There is no cure or effective treatment for the disease other than pain relief which is often inadequate or joint replacement.
The study involved researchers from UEA's schools of Biological sciences Pharmacy and Norwich Medical school along with the University of Oxford and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
Researchers from the School of Biological sciences and Norwich Medical school are now embarking on a small scale trial in osteoarthritis patients due to have knee replacement surgery to see
if eating broccoli has similar effects on the human joint. If successful they hope it will lead to funding for a large scale clinical trial to show the effect of broccoli on osteoarthritis joint function and pain itself.
Ian Clark professor of musculoskeletal biology at UEA and the lead researcher said: The results from this study are very promising.
There is currently no way in to the disease pharmaceutically and you cannot give healthy people drugs unnecessarily so this is where diet could be a safe alternative.
Although surgery is very successful it is not really an answer. Once you have osteoarthritis being able to slow its progress
and the progression to surgery is really important. Prevention would be preferable and changes to lifestyle like diet may be the only way to do that.
Prof Clark added: Osteoarthritis is a major cause of disability. It is a huge health burden
but a huge financial burden too which will get worse in an increasingly aging and obese population such as ours.
This study is important because it is about how diet might work in osteoarthritis. Once you know that you can look at other dietary compounds which could protect the joint
and ultimately you can advise people what they should be eating for joint health. Developing new strategies for combating age-related diseases such as osteoarthritis is vital both to improve the quality of life for sufferers
and to reduce the economic burden on society. Arthritis Research UK's medical director Prof Alan Silman said:
This is an interesting study with promising results as it suggests that a common vegetable broccoli might have health benefits for people with osteoarthritis
and even possibly protect people from developing the disease in the first place. Until now research has failed to show that food
or diet can play any part in reducing the progression of osteoarthritis so if these findings can be replicated in humans it would be quite a breakthrough.
We know that exercise and keeping to a healthy weight can improve people's symptoms
and reduce the chances of the disease progressing but this adds another layer in our understanding of how diet could play its part.
For the small scale trial funded by DRINC half the 40 patients will be given'super broccoli'--bred to be high in sulforaphane--to eat for two weeks before their operation.
Once the surgery has taken place the researchers will look at whether the compound has altered joint metabolism
and if it can be detected in the replaced joints. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of East Anglia.
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