The silicon-palladium sandwiches rest upon a thin layer of aluminum that combines with a base layer of p-doped silicon to act as a diode.
Food and nutrition researchers have found that by offering a dip flavored with spices children were more likely to try vegetables--including those they had rejected previously.
According to Choosemyplate a USDA initiative children between the ages of three and five should be eating one and a half to two cups of vegetables every day.
Vegetables provide fiber and necessary nutrients. They can also replace less healthy food choices and combat obesity because they are less calorie-dense.
Savage and colleagues found that children were three times more likely to refuse eating a vegetable alone than they were to eat the same vegetable when paired with a reduced-fat flavored dip.
And the children were twice as likely to reject a vegetable with no dip than they were given
if the same vegetable with plain dip. The researchers report in a recent issue of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition
and Dietetics that they worked with 34 children between the ages of 3 and 5 to determine each child's familiarity with vegetables
and which were liked or disliked. The children were reintroduced then to the same vegetables this time with a dip
and each child's likes and dislikes were reevaluated. Repeated exposure is a way to get kids to like new foods said Savage.
This has been demonstrated in previous studies. But first you have to get them to taste the vegetable.
when it was paired with a dip flavored with spices than when it was eaten alone. The children tasted
carrots cucumbers celery green beans red peppers and yellow squash. After tasting each vegetable the children were shown three cartoon faces
In the next session the children were introduced to five different Miracle Whip-based reduced-fat dips one plain and the other four flavored with different combinations of spices.
The most well-liked dips were flavored pizza and ranch; the least-liked dips were herb and garlic.
After the initial tastings and ratings the preschoolers were given veggies and dip together. Thirty-one percent of them deemed a vegetable alone to be yummy
but when paired with a flavored dip 64 percent of the children found the vegetable yummy.
On the other end of the spectrum 18 percent of children refused to eat a vegetable by itself
while only six percent would refuse to eat a vegetable when paired with a flavored dip.
and yellow squash paired with a preferred flavored dip. These vegetables were chosen because they were liked the least of the six tested.
when paired with a dip than when it was served alone. The amount of squash eaten by the preschoolers more than doubled
when paired with a flavored dip. The quantity of celery eaten increased 62 percent when paired with a flavored dip.
Just because a child refuses to taste a vegetable doesn't mean they don't like it Savage said.
Working with Savage were Julie Peterson instructor food science and nutritionuniversity of Minnesota St paul; Michele Marini statistician Center for Childhood Obesity Research Penn State;
and Peter Bordi Jr. director Center for Food Innovation and associate professor of hospitality management Penn State.
Scientists at the Biomedizinische NMR Forschungs Gmbh have managed now to film the natural embryonic development and hatching of a chicken in real time through MRI.
To accomplish this the researchers scanned fertilized eggs in a clinical MRI system with a unique imaging technique at an acquisition speed of 12 frames per second.
Siegfried Machemehl chairman of the Poultry Breeding Club GÃ ttingen-Grone provided fertilized eggs of the Marans breed.
The rather large Marans eggs weighing about 65 grams each were a real stroke of luck for us.
The larger the egg the more detailed the features we can observe project leader Roland Tammer reveals.
At the beginning of the research project chicken eggs incubated for ten days were transferred to a regular incubator at the institute at 37.5 degrees Celsius and 70 to 90 percent humidity.
Each day at exactly the same time researchers Shuo Zhang and Arun Joseph withdrew one of the eggs
Crucial for us was to observe the natural dynamics of the chicken embryo Tammer emphasizes.
The unpredictable movements inside the egg during image acquisition however were a true challenge for the scientists.
In order to obtain comparable cross-sectional images the egg was aligned always in the same way. The head of the spirally-rolled bird was the main reference point.
The outbreak of H7n9 earlier this year led China to temporarily close scores of live poultry markets in an effort to limit the spread of the virus
#Early, late first exposure to solid food appears associated with development of Type 1 diabetesboth an early
and late first exposure to solid food for infants appears to be associated with the development of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1dm) according to a study published by JAMA Pediatrics a JAMA Network publication.
The infant diet has been of particular interest in the origin of the disease according to the study background.
Both early (less than 4 months of age) and late (greater than or equal to 6 months of age) first exposure to any solid food was associated with development of T1dm (hazard ratio HR
Our data suggest multiple foods/antigens play a role and that there is a complex relationship between the timing and type of infant food exposures and T1dm risk.
In summary there appears to be a safe window in which to introduce solid foods between 4 and 5 months of age;
solid foods should be introduced while continuing to breastfeed to minimize T1dm risk in genetically susceptible children.
These findings should be replicated in a larger cohort for confirmation the authors conclude. Story Source:
Benjamin I. Cook of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory;
because insulin is needed not for these cells to take in sugars such as glucose. Scientists now however appreciate that insulin does more than facilitate uptake of sugars.
This new study shows a dramatic switching on of the insulin receptor and its downstream signals during the breast's transition to a biofactory that manufactures massive amounts of proteins fats
because insulin is needed not for these cells to take in sugars such as glucose. Scientists now however appreciate that insulin does more than facilitate uptake of sugars.
This new study shows a dramatic switching on of the insulin receptor and its downstream signals during the breast's transition to a biofactory that manufactures massive amounts of proteins fats
which can live out of water for extended periods has a strong jumping technique on land to locate new food resources avoid predators escape poor water conditions
New research to be presented at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting on July 5 shows that maize roots which have fewer cortical cells in the outer layer of their roots are more efficient at accessing water and nutrients.
A lower number of cortical cells means that the plants spend less nutrients produced by the shoots to maintain the root cells.
In drought-stressed maize this trait increases rooting depth as the plants can spend more nutrients growing deeper
#The balancing act of producing more food sustainablya policy known as sustainable intensification could help meet the challenges of increasing demands for food from a growing global population argues a team of scientists in an article in the journal Science.
The goal of sustainable intensification is to increase food production from existing farmland says the article in the journal's Policy Forum by lead authors Dr Tara Garnett and Professor Charles Godfray from the University
They recognise that this policy has attracted criticism in some quarters as being either too narrowly focused on food production
while farmers in many regions of the world need to produce more food it is equally urgent that policy makers act on diets waste
and how the food system is governed. The authors emphasise that there is a need to produce more food on existing rather than new farmland
because converting uncultivated land would lead to major emissions of greenhouse gases and cause significant losses of biodiversity.
Sustainable intensification is the only policy on the table that could create a sustainable way of producing enough food globally argues the paper;
but not sufficient'said Professor Charles Godfray of the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food.'
'Achieving a sustainable food system will require changes in agricultural production changes in diet so people eat less meat
and waste less food and regulatory changes to improve the efficiency and resilience of the food system.
Producing more food is important but it is only one of a number of policies that we must pursue together.'
'Increasing productivity does not always mean using more fertilisers and agrochemicals as these technologies frequently carry unacceptable environmental costs argue the authors.
The authors of the paper accept that the intensification of agriculture will have some implications for other important policy goals such as preserving biodiversity animal welfare human nutrition protecting rural economies and sustainable development.
Lead author Dr Tara Garnett from the Food Climate Research Network at the Oxford Martin School said:'
'Improving nutrition is a key part of food security as food security is about more than just calories. Around two billion people worldwide are thought to be deficient in micronutrients.
We need to intensify the quality of the food we produce in ways that improve the nutritional value of people's diets preferably through diversifying the range of foods produced and available
and Food security (CCAFS) said:''It is sustainable intensification that can provide the best rewards for small-scale farmers and their heritage of natural resources.
The Framework Convention also calls for the sustainability of ecosystems and food production. All of this can scarcely be realised by the two-degree target alone.
The discrepancy is due to the absence of mineral substances in the diets of the cows reared.
According to researchers animals on organic farms should have supplemented their diets with natural sources of iodine such as seaweed
The concentration of nutrients in animal food products is linked to the diets of the animals reared.
Levels of the elements that are supplemented typically in the diets of livestock in conventional systems--particularly iodine copper selenium
because milk is not the primary source of these elements in our diets. Iodine is another matter LÃ pez goes on to clarify.
The contribution of iodine to our diets in countries like Spain is covered by iodised salt;
but also to people with diets low in salt. Iodine is necessary for the metabolism especially during pregnancy and infancy.
There are natural sources of iodine that can be incorporated into the diet. We are trialling the use of seaweed as a source of iodine
#Surviving fasting in the coldking penguin chicks survive harsh winters with almost no food by minimising the cost of energy production.
when food is not readily available. Research headed by Pierre-Axel Monternier and Prof Damien Roussel at the Ecology of Natural and Man-impacted Hydrosystems laboratory in France looked for the first time at how the king penguin chicks'mitochondria in skeletal muscle the main heat producing tissue in birds function during fasting in the winter.
when food is scarce. Their biological adjustments increase survival of chicks which among birds have unrivalled an fasting endurance (up to 5 months).
and use antibiotics including non-therapeutically in animals'feed and water to promote their growth.
At antibiotic-free livestock operations animals are grown without the use of antibiotics typically outdoors on pasture.
There is growing evidence connecting the decline in the honeybee population that pollinates one-third of the food that we eat
According to a new article in Animal Frontiers biotechnologies increase food production and reduce harmful gas output from cattle.
Dr. Kim Stackhouse National Cattleman's Beef Association Director of Sustainability said animal agriculture has reduced emissions through the use of technologies.
and manure management and the installation of biogas recovery systems have contributed all to reducing the environmental impact of beef.
Some consumers do not like the use of biotechnology in food production. Neumeier thinks these consumers are unaware of the benefits of biotechnology.
His research shows that biotechnology can produce more food and lower gas emissions. We need to inform them that these are valuable tools for those two reasons
#Mapping the benefits of our ecosystemswe rely on our physical environment for many things--clean water land for crops or pastures storm water absorption and recreation among others.
provisioning (providing resources like food fiber or fresh water) cultural (such as aesthetics and hunting) and regulating (including improving ground
flood regulation pasture and freshwater supply all went together as did forest recreation soil retention carbon storage and surface water quality.
--and thus absorbed by plants and animals in the food chain. The carbon-14 was formed in the atmosphere by U s. and Soviet atmospheric nuclear weapons tests in Nevada and Siberia from 1952 through 1962.
and that grasses and the animals eating them had the same levels. By determining carbon-14 in these samples of known dates the researchers now can measure carbon-14 levels in other ivory to determine its age within about a year.
and how diet and physiology is recorded in those tissues over time as they grow Cerling says.
which prey on herbivorous insects but also caterpillars of the Egyptian cotton leafworm moth Spodoptera littoralis a species that feeds on maize leaves.
These volatile organic compounds are known to be attractive to parasitoid wasps that lay their eggs inside other insects killing them Plants appear to use this strategy to fight back against herbivorous insects by calling for their enemies'enemies.
Adult moths and butterflies avoid food plants that are under attack by conspecifics. This seems adaptive
The caterpillars feed less and move more when exposed to high concentrations of the volatiles.
and take little risk exploring the environment to discover the best food source --so they avoid maize that is already under attack.
New research suggests that teaching young children an overarching conceptual framework for nutrition may do the trick.
The new findings published in Psychological science a journal of the Association for Psychological science show that a conceptual framework encourages children to understand why eating a variety of foods is ideal
Psychological scientists Sarah Gripshover and Ellen Markman of Stanford university hypothesized that preschoolers would be capable of understanding a more conceptual approach to nutrition despite their young age.
and elaborating on what children already know about different nutrition-related themes including dietary variety digestion food categories microscopic nutrients and nutrients as fuel for biological functions.
The researchers assigned some preschool classrooms to read nutrition books during snack time for about 3 months
Later the preschoolers were asked questions about nutrition. The children who had been read the nutrition books were more likely to understand that food had nutrients
and that different kinds of nutrients were important for various bodily functions (even functions that weren't mentioned in the books).
They were also more knowledgeable about digestive processes understanding for example that the stomach breaks down food
and blood carries nutrients. These children also more than doubled their voluntary intake of vegetables during snack time after the three-month intervention
whereas the amount that the control group ate stayed about the same. When the conceptual program was pitted against a more conventional teaching strategy focused on the enjoyment of healthy eating
and trying new foods the results showed that both interventions led to increased vegetable consumption.
Yet the children in the conceptual program showed more knowledge about nutrition and a greater overall increase in vegetable consumption.
Further research is needed to determine whether the conceptual intervention encourages healthy eating habits outside of snack time
and whether it's effective over the long-term but Gripshover and Markman believe that the intervention shows promise.
In the future our conceptually-based educational materials could be combined with behaviorally-focused nutrition interventions with the hope of boosting healthy eating more than either technique alone they conclude.
The climate will change considerably in the course of a single tree generation so we should not assume that the forest we're looking at in a given place is suitable for the climate.
but with a mechanism they had never been able to observe according to Dr. Hays Rye Texas A&m Agrilife Research biochemist.
because it can't convert food into power needed to build the other structures in the cell that are needed.
or folds incorrectly it turns into an aggregate which Rye described as white goo that looks kind of like a mayonnaise like crud in the test tube.
but with a mechanism they had never been able to observe according to Dr. Hays Rye Texas A&m Agrilife Research biochemist.
because it can't convert food into power needed to build the other structures in the cell that are needed.
or folds incorrectly it turns into an aggregate which Rye described as white goo that looks kind of like a mayonnaise like crud in the test tube.
BRD is one of the most important diseases of feedlot cattle particularly said Lubbers adding that the economic toll from the disease has been estimated to approach $1 billion annually in the United states alone
While mature trees can use their roots to tap water deeper in the soil competition with dense understory vegetation can make it difficult for seedlings to survive.
and the killing of larval and adult mosquitoes#are used all in California to control the spread of mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus
#Potential boost for worlds food supply: Resistance gene found against Ug99 wheat stem rust pathogenthe world's food supply got a little more plentiful thanks to a scientific breakthrough.
Eduard Akhunov associate professor of plant pathology at Kansas State university and his colleague Jorge Dubcovsky from the University of California-Davis led a research project that identified a gene that gives wheat plants resistance to one of the most deadly races of the wheat
and strategies that protect the world's food crops against the wheat stem rust pathogen that is spreading from Africa to the breadbaskets of Asia
However the emergence of strain Ug99 in Uganda in 1999 devastated crops and has spread to Kenya Ethiopia Sudan
It has been replaced by higher yielding pasta and bread wheat varieties. Researchers spent nearly four years trying to identify the location of the Sr35 gene in the wheat genome which contains nearly two times more genetic information than the human genome Once the researchers narrowed the list of candidate genes they used two complementary approaches to find the Sr35 gene.
because unlike their larger bodied relatives in other parts of the country that eat larger prey their diet consists of small mammals birds carrion insects fungi and other plant material.
The full report can be found at http://treesearch. fs. fed. us/pubs/43761headquartered in Albany Calif. the Pacific Southwest Research Station develops
because unlike their larger bodied relatives in other parts of the country that eat larger prey their diet consists of small mammals birds carrion insects fungi and other plant material.
The full report can be found at http://treesearch. fs. fed. us/pubs/43761headquartered in Albany Calif. the Pacific Southwest Research Station develops
A new study in ACS'Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry has found that the much-despised weed actually produces its own herbicides that kill nearby plants.
A good meal can affect more than our mood it can also influence our willingness to take risks.
Animal behaviour is affected radically by the availability and amount of food. Studies prove that the willingness of many animals to take risks increases
However rotting fruit and plants--the flies'main sources of food--also release carbon dioxide. Neurobiologists in Martinsried have discovered now how the brain deals with this constant conflict in deciding between a hazardous substance and a potential food source taking advantage of the fly as a great genetic model organism for circuit neuroscience.
In various experiments the scientists presented the flies with environments containing carbon dioxide or a mix of carbon dioxide and the smell of food.
It emerged that hungry flies overcame their aversion to carbon dioxide significantly faster than fed flies
--if there was a smell of food in the environment at the same time. Facing the prospect of food hungry animals are
therefore significantly more willing to take risks than sated flies. But how does the brain manage to decide between these options?
This boost in digestive finesse allows rotation-resistant beetles to survive long enough to lay their eggs in soybean fields.
The spread of ailanthus in Pennsylvania occurred in spurts that seem to be connected with stages of human development particularly during cross-state transportation projects Kasson said.
and wealthy plant collectors commercialization of ailanthus after 1820 coupled with railroad construction projects that connected the eastern and western parts of the state in the mid-1800s intensified its spread according to Kasson who worked with Matthew Davis lab
Crews that cut down the trees built roads to reach the sites which became avenues for the spread of ailanthus.
These drilling operations could lead to future spread. Previous research may have underestimated also how long ailanthus can live according to Kasson.
#Uncertainty over the benefits of feeding birds in winterwild bird populations are thought generally to benefit from being given additional food in winter
but our understanding of the effects of such food provision is incomplete. The results of a new study carried out by researchers at the University of Exeter
The research published in Scientific Reports revealed that woodland blue tits that were provided with fat balls as a supplementary food during the winter months went on to produce chicks that were smaller of lower body weight and
which had lower survival than the chicks of birds that did not receive any additional food.
More research is needed to determine exactly what level of additional food provisioning and at what times of year would truly benefit wild bird populations.
It is estimated that around half of UK householders feed birds in their gardens. This equates to around 50-60 thousand tonnes of bird food provisioned each year
and contributes to a thriving bird food industry. Jane Lawler Marketing Director at Gardman commented: As the wider scientific evidence shows feeding wild birds with appropriate foods delivers a range of positive benefits.
A number of unanswered questions remain however and this is why we have been supporting this and other research using the information gained to inform our products
and the advice that we provide to our customers. The three year study was conducted across nine woodland sites in Cornwall.
or given fat balls enriched with Vitamin e--a vitamin commonly present in bird food such as nuts and seeds.
Nest boxes and bird feeders were distributed around the woodland study sites and reproductive success was investigated by checking the nest boxes in the spring to determine the number of eggs laid and the growth and survival of chicks.
Studies elsewhere have shown that feeding wild birds in winter can have almost immediate benefits for survival
Whether providing food is detrimental or beneficial to wild bird populations it is clear that more research is needed to better understand its effects.
As E coli is used commonly as an indicator of fecal contamination with food-borne pathogens the practice of hygiene--availability of portable toilets
--and the absence of grazing or hay production on the fields prior to planting spinach reduced the risk sevenfold.
The assessment of the predictive performance of a developed statistical model is omitted largely from food safety studies says Park.
Because produce is consumed commonly raw it would be best to prevent pre-harvest contamination by food-borne pathogens all together
#Does your salad know what time it is? Managing vegetables internal clocks postharvest could have health benefitsdoes your salad know what time it is?
It may be healthier for you if it does according to new research from Rice university and the University of California at Davis. Vegetables and fruits don't die the moment they are harvested said Rice biologist Janet Braam the lead researcher on a new study this week in Current Biology.
That study found that Arabidopsis thaliana--a widely used model organism for plant studies--begins ramping up production of insect-fighting chemicals a few hours before sunrise the time that hungry insects begin to feed.
and Melinda Gates Foundation into whether light and other stimuli like touch may be used to enhance pest resistance of food crops in developing countries.
Among crop plants pollination means food. Understanding this molecular back-and-forth at all the different levels and stages will be useful to either engineer the process
For more than a decade for example scientists have been studying the potential of no-tillage planting of pastures and other farm practices to store carbon in agricultural lands
#Making a beeline for the nectar: How patterns on flowers help bees spot their first nectar-rich flowerbumblebees searching for nectar go for signposts on flowers rather than the bull's eye.
A new study by Levente Orbã¡n and Catherine Plowright from the University of Ottawa in Canada shows that the markings at the center of a flower are not as important as the markings that will direct the bees to the center.
The first time bees go out looking for nectar which visual stimuli do they use to identify that first flower that will provide them with the reward they are looking for?
versus pattern position in a group of bumblebees that have searched never for nectar before i e. flower-naive bees.
Radial patterns are composed of distinctly colored lines extending from the outside of the flower converging at the center where nectar
Once there they will find the rewarding nectar in the center of the flower. The researchers conclude:
the chicken or the egg? The behavior of bees has been shaped over the course of evolution as adaptations to flower appearance.
Equally floral appearance has evolved in ways that cater towards bees'visual and olfactory abilities. Flowers may be taking advantage of a principle that will be familiar to students and teachers alike:
the bees need not be shown the food itself but rather how to find it. Story Source:
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