#Seed-filled buoys may help restore diverse sea meadows in San francisco Baya pearl net filled with seedpods tethered by a rope anchored in the coastal mud
but swaying with the tide could be an especially effective way to restore disappearing marine meadows of eelgrass according to a new study.
The resulting crop of eelgrass grown by SF State researchers is as genetically diverse as the natural eelgrass beds from
which the seeds were harvested said Sarah Cohen an associate professor of biology at the Romberg Tiburon Center.
As eelgrass meadows are threatened by a number of human activities restoration plans that maintain diversity are more likely to succeed she noted.
The emphasis on genetic diversity is a relatively new concern in ecosystem restoration projects where there has been an understandable urgency to move plants and animals back into an area as quickly as possible.
Instead RTC researchers tested the Buoy Deployed Seeding (Buds) restoration technique. They first harvested eelgrass seedpods from several eelgrass beds in San francisco bay then suspended the pods within floating nets over experimental tanks (called mesocosms) supplied with Bay water and with or without sediment from the original eelgrass areas.
#Fruit-loving lemurs score higher on spatial memory testsfood-finding tests in five lemur species show that fruit-eaters may have better spatial memory than lemurs with a more varied diet.
The results support the idea that relying on foods that are seasonally available and far-flung gives a competitive edge to individuals with certain cognitive abilities--such as remembering where the goodies are.
and Kerri Rodriguez and Brian Hare of Duke compared spatial memory skills across five species of lemurs living in captivity at the Duke Lemur Center--fruit-eating red-ruffed
and black-and-white ruffed lemurs leaf-eating Coquerel's sifakas and ring-tailed and mongoose lemurs that eat a mix of fruit leaves seeds flowers nectar and insects.
A total of 64 animals took part in the studies which measured their ability to remember the locations of food treats in mazes and boxes.
The results are consistent with these species'foraging behavior in the wild the researchers say with fruit-eaters doing well
and omnivores lagging behind. In the first experiment the lemurs learned the location of food hidden in one of two arms of A t-shaped maze.
A week later the fruit-eating ruffed lemurs were the only species able to retain and recall the right spot.
A second experiment tested whether the lemurs were recalling the exact spot or just remembering the turns they took along the way First the lemurs learned how to find a piece of food hidden in one wing of a symmetrical cross-shaped maze.
Ten minutes later the lemurs were moved to a new starting position in the maze and released to find their way again.
Half the boxes were baited with food and half were empty. After the lemur learned which boxes contained food and
which didn't all eight boxes were baited with food and covered with lids to keep it from view.
Ten minutes later when each lemur searched the room again only the ruffed lemurs preferentially searched spots where they found food before.
In their native Madagascar ruffed lemurs'diets can exceed 90%fruit--especially figs. Remembering when and where to find food from one season to the next requires keen spatial skills and good powers of recall.
Fruit is only ripe and ready to eat on a given tree for a limited time
and the next fruit-laden tree may be far away in the forest. Coquerel's sifakas eat mostly leaves
Animals living in captivity don't have to forage for food in the same way they do in the wild so the differences the experiments found are probably innate not learned the researchers said.
because they helped the animals deal with other challenges such as foraging for food. The researchers point out that the most social species in this study--the ring-tailed lemurs--fell in the middle of the pack in terms of spatial memory skills.
and substitute cheaper foods that may not be as healthy and have more calories. These associations are driven by changes in the prices of fresh fruits
from the Early childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort a nationally representative study of children from infancy to age 5 to local food price data from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2er) Cost-of-living index.
While in general food prices have trended downward in recent decades particularly the prices of snacks and sugar-sweetened beverages the real prices of restaurant meals
and fruits and vegetables have increased. Fruit and vegetable prices increased by 17 percent between 1997 and 2003 alone.
Another surprising finding was an association between higher fast food prices and an increase in obesity.
Morrissey said local fast food outlets may have more freedom than grocery stores to increase their prices in response to higher demand for their products.
The study also identified a small association between higher-priced soft drinks and a lower likelihood of obesity among young children.
The study did not find strong associations between food prices and food insecurity meaning families forced by a lack of money to skip meals cut portions
or otherwise forgo food at some point. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by American University.
The original article was written by Dave Defusco. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
and are used probably for creating starch-filled turions specialized buds produced by aquatic plants for overwintering enabling them sink to the bottom of ponds
This means that on the scale of food crops adding significant levels of nitrogen to the soil through fertilizer presents a number of problems particularly river and groundwater pollution.
Public demand has led to the rapid development of organic farming in recent years to provide healthy food products that are free of chemical additives
While groundwater pollution is attributed usually to a large array of chemicals high nitrate concentration in aquifer water is the main cause for drinking-water well shutdowns.
The down leaching of nitrates under intensive organic farming is due to nutrient release from the compost to the soil during the early stages of the growing season.
#Healthy Lunchbox Challenge helps influence healthy eating habits in childrenduring the school year 21 million children receive free
or reduced-price lunches yet less than 10%of those children participate in the Department of agriculture's Summer Food Service program.
This discrepancy places responsibility for food choices during the summer on parents. Previous efforts to improve the healthfulness of foods
and beverages provided by parents have resulted in little to no improvement in the amount of fruits vegetables whole grains and/or water.
To address the issues of food selection and rapid weight gain among children observed in the summertime a group of researchers from the University of South carolina used summer day camps as a unique opportunity to influence food and beverage choices of the children attending.
By implementing the Healthy Lunchbox Challenge (HLC) an innovative theory and incentive-based program at four large-scale community-based summer day camps Michael W. Beets MED MPH Phd and colleagues noted significant increases in the amount
of healthy food brought by children as well as decreases in untargeted foods such as sugar-sweetened beverages and salty snacks.
The HLC is a low-cost program requiring minimal resources. In the current study two intervention components were developed:
and procedures as well as a guide to choosing healthy foods and beverages. Incentives identified by the summer day camps were distributed based on points accumulated by the children and staff for bringing fruits vegetables and water.
or reduced lunch researchers noted increases of 12%for fresh fruit 11%for vegetables and 14%for water brought on average from baseline to posttest.
Likewise they observed decreases of 15%and 13%in the amount of chips and non-100%juices brought respectively.
and decreases of 31%for chips and 6. 4%for soda. With over 14 million children attending summer day camps introduction of the HLC can serve as a way to influence the eating habits of children during the summer said lead author Falon Tilley MS Department of Exercise
Science Arnold School of Public health University of South carolina. These findings have important implications for summer day camps
and other child care settings where there is minimal control over the foods brought on-site. The researchers believe the HLC can be implemented easily in summer day camps
and consequently influence the eating behavior of children. However further research is needed to determine the success of HLC in other settings.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural affairs together with several commercial organisations funded the research as part of a Hort-LINK project (HL01105:
According to our simulations tropical regions like South Asia and Sub-saharan africa are hit particularly hard the very same regions that are home to many of the world's most food insecure populations.
The tree's nutrients flow at a constant speed regardless of its size. With these variables the team calculated the relationship between the mass of different tree species
the speed at which nutrients are carried throughout the animals'bodies and heat is carried away. So the team members calculated the rate at
Animals need to adjust the flow of nutrients and heat as their mass changes to maintain the greatest possible energy efficiency.
which the analyses also reveal to be the closest relative to the avian virus. Interestingly a previous research paper analyzing old newspaper records reported that in the days following the horse flu outbreak there were repeated outbreaks described at the time as influenza killing chickens
It turns out the animals we keep for food and eggs may be substantially shaping the diversity of these viruses in the wild over time spans of decades.
That is a surprise. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Arizona.
They're unfit for human food produced by the millions of tons and 20 percent silicon dioxide by weight.
Using a network of natural grassland research sites around the world called the Nutrient Network the study represents the first time such a large experiment has been conducted using naturally occurring sites.
and stability and the similarities to data collected from artificial grasslands as part of a research effort called Biodepth indicating that the results from natural grasslands of the Nutrient Network could be predicted from the results of artificial grasslands.
Fertilizers are used intentionally in grassland to increase livestock fodder. Fertilizer addition is also occurring unintentionally in many places around the world
when we have more nutrients coming into that system says Borer. This the researchers found was synchronized due to more growth of plants eliminating the portfolio effect.
This study was made possible due to the formation of the Nutrient Network also known as Nutnet. Borer and Seabloom led a small group of scientists who created Nutnet to standardize the way that ecology research is conducted.
#Making biodiverse agriculture part of a food-secure futureis biodiverse agriculture an anachronism? Or is it a vital part of a food-secure future?
Given the need to feed an estimated 2. 4 billion more people by the year 2050 the drive toward large-scale single-crop farming around the world may seem inexorable.
But there's an important downside to this trend argues Timothy Johns Professor of Human Nutrition at Mcgill University in Montreal in a paper to be presented Feb 15 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago.
Diets for most people around the world are becoming increasingly limited in biological and nutritional diversity.
Small farmers by contrast in many places continue to grow a range of species and multiple varieties that form the basis of their diet and nutrition.
Use of a range of wild species of fruit vegetables condiments and medicines as well as wild animal-sourced foods increase the likelihood that subsistence farmers with access to natural ecosystems meet their nutrition and health needs.
The problem is that smallholder farmers in developing countries often have low productivity and little likelihood of generating the profits needed to rise above poverty level says Prof.
Products of biodiversity within culturally-based diets provide essential micronutrients and lower prevalence of diet-related chronic disease.
Carbohydrates--mainly cereals sugars potatoes and other tubers--and vegetable oils produced efficiently by large-scale agriculture
and distributed through global trade are more affordable for many people than lower-calorie more nutritious foods.
This typically results from not eating enough foods rich in essential vitamins and minerals such as animal-source foods fruits vegetables and legumes.
Socially guided food-policy decisions should value the environmental health social and cultural benefits offered by agrobiodiversity Prof.
Brazil's National School Feeding Law and program since 2009 requires that at least 30 percent of food in the program must come from family agriculture.
It also has explicit guidelines for the use of healthy food in school menus including foods that respect the culture and traditions;
and it provides incentives for the purchase of diversified foods preferably from local family agriculture.
Food-policy makers around the world should seek to develop novel compensation mechanisms that reflect the benefits of small-scale biodiverse agriculture Prof.
A Penn State geographer is gathering all the information he can about the agrobiodiversity of these uniquely adapted tubers with an eye toward sustainability of this fourth largest food crop worldwide.
but environmentally and socioeconomically threatened areas--and creating ways to protect these areas and conserve these crops.
and uses--floury soup making or freeze drying said Zimmerer. Interestingly the culinary uses correspond to the elevations where the potatoes grow--soup potatoes have the lowest elevation floury potatoes in mid elevation
Eating foods that contain Vitamin c may reduce your risk of the most common type of hemorrhagic stroke according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 66th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia April 26 to May 3 2014.
Vitamin c is found in fruits and vegetables such as oranges papaya peppers broccoli and strawberries. Hemorrhagic stroke is less common than ischemic stroke
Our results show that Vitamin c deficiency should be considered a risk factor for this severe type of stroke as were high blood pressure drinking alcohol
This is the first study showing that grape seed can enhance the potency of one of the major chemotherapy drugs in its action against colon cancer cells says Dr Cheah researcher in the School of Agriculture Food and Wine.
Fellow co-author and joint lead researcher Dr Sue Bastian Senior Lecturer in Oenology says: These findings could be a boost to the wine grape industry as it value adds to
what is essentially a by-product of the winemaking process. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Adelaide.
The study reports estimated county-level energy and GHG intensity of grain corn stover and cob production in Ontario from 2006-2011.
and experimental data considering that even a simple lattice made of north-south bar magnets can become a multidimensional dance of attraction and repulsion.
and below the iron in a sandwich-like shape (see image)--exhibited little shift or polarization of valence electrons.
Cobalt doping pushed the orbital electrons in the arsenic outward concentrating the negative charge on the outside of the'sandwich
study showsepidemiological data integrated with climate data taken from tree-ring estimates of soil moisture levels demonstrate that drought contributed to the spread of typhus in Mexico from 1655 to 1918 according to a new study by researchers
and leaves before they develop eggs they can lay. The researchers found that when the proper ratio and amount of pheromone is produced by females
because these behaviors increase the likelihood that her eggs will be said fertile Melody Keena research entomologist U s. Department of agriculture Forest Service Northern Research Station.
In contrast a male benefit from ensuring that only his sperm is used to fertilize the female's eggs thereby passing only his genes on to the next generation.
and search for food but the influence of anthropogenic disturbances in driving this behaviour has been unclear.
This could also create new opportunities to access different food sources. Dr Harrison concludes: Ultimately a better understanding of what drives Orangutan terrestriality how this influences their dispersal movement and survival in a human-modified landscapes is important for designing effective management strategies for conservation of this endangered species in Borneo.
Chocolate 101here's a brief look at where chocolate comes from nutritional information how it's made
After roasting cocoa seeds are ground into a paste called chocolate liquor. The liquor separates into dry cocoa and cocoa butter or fat.
Chocolate Ingredientscocoa is heated and combined with other ingredients such as sugar and milk to create chocolate bars and candy.
Dark chocolate is at least 35 percent cocoa liquor; and milk chocolate 10 percent. White chocolate has cocoa butter but no chocolate liquor.
Chocolate contains protein magnesium and flavanols (antioxidants. Dark chocolate has caffeine; white chocolate does not.
Dairy-based chocolate provides calcium. Chocolate Safetythe roasting process kills bacteria on the cocoa seeds.
Because of the high fat low moisture content chocolate generally does not spoil. A white coating called chocolate bloom may appear on the surface of a chocolate bar.
This is either the cocoa butter or sugar rising to the top of the chocolate often due to high temperatures
or sun. The presence of chocolate bloom does not mean that the chocolate is unsafe to eat.
Chocolate for Heathantioxidants like the flavonols found in chocolate may boost the body's immune system.
There is still a lot more research that needs to be done but exciting emerging research shows that chocolate may be good for both cardiovascular health and even memory.
The sweetness in chocolate certainly makes it taste good but chocolate should always be consumed in moderation due to sugar and fat content.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Institute of Food Technologists (IFT. Note:
Materials may be edited for content and length h
#Foods and moods: Considering the future may help people make better food choicesemotional eating is something we're all familiar with.
Maybe you had had a rough week at work and all you want on Friday night is to plop down
and watch a movie with a giant bowl of buttery popcorn. Maybe you're a student stressed about a big exam
and you're munching on candy as you study. Or maybe your child's birthday party is coming up
and you've bought an ice cream cake to serve a small army to celebrate. Happy or sad up or down there's a plethora of media in the world that tells us our moods often dictate the foods we choose to eat.
More recent studies though have shown that negative moods and positive moods may actually lead to preferences for different kinds of foods.
For example if given the choice between grapes or chocolate candies someone in a good mood may be inclined more to choose the former
while someone in a bad mood may be more likely to choose the latter. But what if we could make better choices in any emotional state?
A forthcoming article by University of Delaware associate professor Meryl Gardner finds that there's more to stress eating than simply emotion
and in fact thinking about the future may help people make better food choices. We were interested in the'why'said Gardner.
Why when someone is in a bad mood will they choose to eat junk food
and why when someone is in a good mood will they make healthier food choices?
Gardner a faculty member in UD's Lerner College of Business and Economics with co-authors Brian Wansink of Cornell University Junyong Kim of Hanyang University ERICA
and Sebum Park of Yonsei University found that a lot depends on our perspective of time. In an evolutionary sense it makes sense that
when we feel uncomfortable or are in a bad mood we know something is wrong
and focus on what is close to us physically and what is close in time in the here and now said Gardner.
We're seeing the trees and not the forest or how to do things and not why to do things.
and emotions) and temporal construal (the perspective of time) to explain food choice. They conducted four laboratory experiments to examine
whether people in a positive mood would prefer healthy food to indulgent food for long-term health
and those in a negative mood would prefer indulgent foods to healthy foods for immediate hedonistic mood management benefits.
and health foods by examining 211 individuals from local parent-teacher associations (PTAS). The findings indicated individuals in a positive mood compared to control group participants in a relatively neutral mood evaluated healthy foods more favorably than indulgent foods.
We expect this is possibly because they put more weight on abstract higher-level benefits like health
Testing that question in a second study using 315 undergraduate students recruited from a large Midwestern university the researchers found further support for their hypothesis that individuals in a negative mood liked indulgent foods more than healthy foods.
versus indulgent foods but also affects actual consumption. Using raisins as health food and M&m's as indulgent food Gardner said they altered participants'focus on the present versus the future along with their mood and measured how much of each food they consumed.
To get more insight into the underlying process the fourth study focused specifically on the thoughts related to food choice and differentiated concrete (taste/enjoyment-oriented) versus abstract (nutrition/health-oriented) benefits.
Ultimately the findings of all the studies combined contribute to current research by demonstrating that individuals can select healthy
or indulgent foods depending on their moods an area previously under-represented in past clinical research on the role of healthy foods.
The findings also indicate the integral aspect of the time horizon showing that individuals in positive moods who make healthier food choices are often thinking more about future health benefits than those in negative moods who focus more on the immediate taste and sensory experience.
Finally--and this is where it gets even more interesting--Gardner and her partners found that individuals in negative moods will still make food choices influenced by temporal construal
which supports the idea that trying to focus on something other than the present can reduce the consumption of indulgent foods.
If people in a bad mood typically choose to eat foods that have an immediate indulgent reward it might be more effective to encourage what we call mood repair motivation
or calling their attention to more innocuous ways to enhance their mood said Gardner. Instead of looking at nutrition
and warning labels try talking to friends or listening to music. So the next time you go to grab a snack think about the future
and you just might make a better food choice. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Delaware.
The research team has uncovered how one group of gut bacteria known as Bacteroidetes digest complex sugars known as xyloglucans.
These include probiotics (the consumption of'beneficial'microorganisms as a food supplement) and prebiotics (the consumption of foods or supplements intended to stimulate the production of healthy bacteria in the gut).
Its been appreciated for a long time that our symbiotic gut bacteria provide us with greatly expanded abilities to digest dietary fiber.
In this study we took an empirical approach to decipher how one model gut bacterium digests one type of fiber that is abundant in the foods we eat.
Despite our omnivorous diet humans aren't well equipped to eat complex plant matter; for this we rely on our gut bacteria.
The possible implications for commerce and industry extend beyond the realm of human nutrition however.
A look around the local grocery store might show images of consumers reading meat labels or checking the expiration date on a gallon of milk.
when making food purchases and the level of importance placed on each value by consumers allow for food producers
and safety were the most important values consumers placed on buying popular livestock products--milk ground beef beef steak and chicken breast.
The findings for livestock-specific products were consistent with prior research examining consumers'general food values.
Schroeder said as consumers make decisions to purchase food products they might think about taste underlying production practices concerns they have about production safeness freshness quality
Details of the studythe prior research by Lusk and Briggeman in 2009 found that safety nutrition taste price and natural were the top five values consumers desired out of the 11 total
values assessed for general food products. Schroeder and his graduate students wanted to see if similar results could be found when consumers considered buying specific livestock products.
The popular products they chose to examine included milk ground beef beef steak and chicken breast. The 11 food values they chose to examine included freshness health hormone-free/antibiotic-free animal welfare taste price safety convenience nutrition origin and environmental impact.
These are similar to the general food product study aside from a few modifications that apply to livestock products.
Adding freshness was one of those modifications. There's more issues with spoilage in some of these livestock products than food in general Lister said.
A total of 1950 people responded to the livestock products survey which was a big jump from the 176 respondents included in the prior general food product survey.
This was mainly due to the online nature of the livestock products survey versus the mailed method of the general food products survey said Marcus Brix another K-State graduate student who worked on the study.
Safety was the most important value in the general food products study and it was either first or second most important for milk ground beef beef steak and chicken breast.
Freshness was the other top value for livestock products. In contrast the values of environmental impact animal welfare origin
and convenience were less important for the livestock products and this was also comparable to the prior research.
what foods to buy while others felt it was less important. Brix said economists often presume that price is the most important factor in choice
Researchers tend to assume food is going to be purchased safe when at a retail outlet. However consumers in general don't necessarily have presumed that trust in food safety.
A majority of consumers still question some things about their food Brix said. If they think that one product is more safe than another at a different price point they are going to be less responsive to the price
and more responsive to the product freshness or safety of said product. Needs in the industryconsumers want products that deliver a high-quality eating experience Schroeder said
and this study as well as prior research reflects that. Freshness nutritional components and health attributes are desirable
Understanding some of these consumer food value preferences helps the food industry know where to focus its marketing
and production energy to ensure that high-quality eating experience. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Kansas State university Research and Extension.
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