#oeshortages in availability of water suitable for drinking agriculture and industry are the common denominator in some of the great global challenges facing society in the 21st century#Shakhashiri said.#
alvarez@rice. eduthe extraordinary properties of some nanomaterials offer leapfrogging opportunities to develop next-generation applications for drinking water disinfection
Dissolved salt levels in the groundwater of the three southernmost farm oases are now so high they endanger the long-term sustainability of date palm farming there.
Over time the buildup of dissolved salt levels has become irreversible. The team of Duke and Ibn Zohr scientists was able to know this by identifying the distinctive geochemical and isotopic signatures of different elements in the water such as oxygen strontium and boron.
Dissolved salt levels in these oases'groundwater are between 450 and 4225 milligrams per liter--a more sustainable level especially for growing date palms
which are the primary commercial crop in the basin and relatively salt-tolerant. Prior to our study people didn't think this was a major water input into the Draa system Vengosh said.
Catalyzing more sugars from biomasscatalysis may initiate almost all modern industrial manufacturing processes but catalytic activity on solid surfaces is understood poorly.
This is especially true for the cellulase enzymes used to release fermentable sugars from cellulosic biomass for the production of advanced biofuels.
technique called PALM--for Photo-Activated Localization Microscopy--the researchers have found a way to improve the collective catalytic activity of enzyme cocktails that can boost the yields of sugars for making fuels.
Increasing the sugar yields from cellulosic biomass to help bring down biofuel production costs is essential for the widespread commercial adoption of these fuels.
The enzymatic breakdown of cellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars has been the Achilles heel of biofuels a key economic bottleneck says chemical engineer Harvey Blanch one of the leaders of this research.
Synthesized from the sugars in the cellulosic biomass of grasses other non-food crops and agricultural waste advanced biofuels represent a sustainable nonpolluting source of transportation fuel that would also generate domestic jobs and revenue.
Unlike the simple starch-based glucose sugars in corn and other grains the sugars in cellulosic biomass are complex polysaccharides that must be extricated from a tough polymer called lignin
Because individual cellulases interact preferentially with cellulose structures based on distinct structural motifs saccharification is carried out with mixtures of cellulase enzymes--called enzyme cocktails.
#Giving plants the right amount of lightenormous amounts of energy are wasted in greenhouses where our food is grown
and nutrition are controlled meticulously. Lighting regulation however lags far behind. The light spectrum provided by high pressure sodium lamps corresponds very poorly to the spectrum plants use during photosynthesis (see image.
#Microalgae produce more oil faster for energy, food or productsscientists have described technology that accelerates microalgae's ability to produce many different types of renewable oils for fuels chemicals foods
Solazyme's patented microalgae strains have become the workhorses of a growing industry focused on producing commercial quantities of microalgal oil for energy and food applications.
In a keynote talk at the ACS meeting Rakitsky described Solazyme's technology platform that enables the company to produce multiple oils from heart-healthy high-oleic oils for food to oils that are tailored to have specific performance
This breakthrough allows us to create oils optimized for everything from high-performance jet and diesel fuel to renewable chemicals to skin-care products and heart-healthy food oils.
which algae grow in open ponds Solazyme grows microalgae in total darkness in the same kind of fermentation vats used to produce vinegar medicines and scores of other products.
Instead of sunlight energy for the microalgae's growth comes from low-cost plant-based sugars. This gives the company a completely consistent repeatable industrial process to produce tailored oil at scale Sugar from traditional sources such as sugarcane
and corn has advantages for growing microalgae especially their abundance and relatively low cost Rakitsky said.
Ultimately cellulosic sources of sugars from non-food plants or plant waste materials like grasses or corn stover may take over as those technologies reach the right scale
and cost structures. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by American Chemical Society (ACS.
#Reducing waste of food: A key element in feeding billions more peoplefamilies can be key players in a revolution needed to feed the world
and could save money by helping to cut food losses now occurring from field to fork to trash bin an expert said in New orleans on April 7.
He described that often-invisible waste in food--4 out of every 10 pounds produced in the United states alone
It also will require action to reduce a terrible waste of food that gets too little attention.
Floros cited estimates that in many developing countries up to half of the food harvested from farmers'fields is lost before reaching consumers.
or spoil 20 percent of the world's food supply due to contamination with their urine and feces.
Developed countries have much more efficient systems for preserving storing transporting and protecting food from spoilage and pests.
But as a nation--households supermarkets restaurants other food-service providers--we throw away about 4 out of every 10 pounds of food produced each year.
Government studies show for instance that the average family in the United states throws away 20 pounds of food a month more than $2000 worth every year for a family of four.
It includes food that has gone uneaten and spoiled in refrigerators and on pantry shelves as well as food that people throw away after cooking.
Uneaten food actually rivals paper plastic and other refuse as the No. 1 material in some municipal landfills.
Scientists know that food waste in landfills for instance releases methane gas as it decomposes. Methane is about 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas that fosters global warming.
Floros pointed out that reducing food waste would contribute to solving other great global challenges that society faces in the 21st century beyond feeding a booming population.
Wasting food wastes the freshwater needed to grow it at a time when 1. 2 billion people lack access to clean water.
It also wastes energy fertilizers pesticides and other resources used in the food supply. Supplying more food however is only part of the challenge Floros emphasized.
Millions of people in some developing countries are becoming more affluent. In the past people were satisfied with food that filled them up and sustained life.
Increasingly they will demand food that is convenient to prepare certified as safe and highly nutritious and tastes good.
He cited the People's republic of china as an example. The middle class in China is now larger than the U s. population
and is increasing in size year by year. And people in China are now consuming almost 3 times as much meat compared to a few decades ago.
Demand for convenience foods also is rising with the growth of the urban population. Several other food-related challenges lie ahead Floros pointed out.
Water for instance is becoming scarcer as is fertile farmland. Global climate change may stress those resources even further.
The demand for sustainable energy may divert more cropland to production of crops for biofuel production.
Drought and other extreme weather could impact food production. And consumption of too much food and less nutritious foods underpins epidemics in obesity and type 2 diabetes.
We're not doing enough to resolve these complex issues that are critical for providing 9-10 billion people with a nutritious diet said Floros.
Consumers industry universities and governments all need to pitch in. The first step is more awareness of these issues and the need for action on multiple levels of society.
and moregenes from the family of bacteria that produce vinegar Kombucha tea and nata de coco have become stars in a project
People eat cellulose in dietary fiber the indigestible material in fruits and vegetables. Cows horses and termites can digest the cellulose in grass hay and wood.
Most cellulose consists of wood fibers and cell wall remains. Very few living organisms can actually synthesize
and look like jelly. A nanometer is one-millionth the thickness of a U s. dime. Nevertheless cellulose shares the unique properties of other nanometer-sized materials--properties much different from large quantities of the same material.
and other advantages has fostered interest in using it in everything from lightweight armor and ballistic glass to wound dressings and scaffolds for growing replacement organs for transplantation.
In the 1800s French scientist Louis Pasteur first discovered that vinegar-making bacteria make a sort of moist skin swollen gelatinous and slippery--a skin now known as bacterial nanocellulose.
which are mainly photosynthetic bacteria much like the vinegar-making bacteria in basic structure; however these blue-green algae or cyanobacteria as they are called can produce nanocellulose.
Other members of the Acetobacter family find commercial uses in producing vinegar and other products.
Bacteria for instance would need a high-purity broth of food and other nutrients to grow in the huge industrial fermentation tanks that make everything from vinegar and yogurt to insulin and other medicines.
Those drawbacks shifted their focus on engineering the A. xylinum nanocellulose genes into Nobles'blue-green algae. Brown explained that algae have multiple advantages for producing nanocellulose.
Cyanobacteria for instance make their own nutrients from sunlight and water and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while doing so.
This gene codes for an enzyme that digests sugar. It might be used to digest woody tissue
Audiences influence future status of quails following fights between rivalsfor animals prevailing in a fight affects their likelihood of winning future conflicts.
whether the presence of an audience influences the behaviour and the testosterone changes of Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica) after a fight.
They kept quails in social groups each consisting of two males (one dominant and one subordinate) and three females.
The scientists observed fights between two dominant male quails in a central arena. The members of the respective social group either were allowed to watch the fight or not.
whether the quails had won or lost. After a fight in front of an audience though the losers had lower testosterone levels.
The winners on the other hand showed a similar increase to quails that had fought without an audience. In order to determine whether a change in status after losing a fight in front of an audience could be prevented physiologically the scientists treated the losers immediately after the fight with a testosterone cream on the skin.
Through these activities the BRC supports studies in a broad range of fields from basic research to the treatment of disease health promotion food production and environmental conservation.
In the summer of 2012 the sea potato had spread as far south as Sandwich Mass. on the north shore of Cape cod.
and it's competing with them for space nutrients and light says Green. In the summer it's becoming a bit of a nuisance.
#Trade emerging as a key driver of Brazilian deforestationa new study published online April 4th in the journal Environmental Research Letters finds that trade and global consumption of Brazilian beef
i e. cultivation of soybeans and grazing of cattle the study allocates the emissions to countries based on domestic consumption and international trade of Brazilian soybeans and beef.
on average over the two decades 85%of the emissions embodied in Brazilian beef products and 50%of those in Brazilian soybean products have been driven by Brazilian consumption.
Russia has increased recently its share from very low levels to becoming the world's largest importer of emissions embodied in Brazilian beef in 2010 with 15%of total exported beef.
and beef than the European market said co-author Glen Peters of CICERO. Consumption of Brazilian soybeans and beef by countries who are already seeking to protect Brazilian forests (e g. via REDD) is driving demand
and therefore indirectly increasing the deforestation they are seeking to prevent. Countries are putting more and more pressure on the Brazilian Amazon by consuming agricultural products
when looking for nectar --and the answer is remarkably simple. Despite their tiny brains bees are smart enough to pick out the most attractive flowers by watching other bees and learning from their behaviour.
and conclude that those of the same colour must also contain lots of energy-rich nectar.
Learning where to find nectar by watching others seems fantastically complex for a tiny bee
Most worker bees visit thousands of flowers every day in their search for nectar to feed their queen's brood.
Bees were trained to know that sugar could be found on flowers where other foragers were present.
Naive foragers who had learnt never to equate other bees with nectar did not copy other bees'behaviour.
For example we might associate Easter with chocolate or injections with fear. This suggests that other species not just bees may also use this logical process when learning from others.
The flowers were made bitter using quinine--a flavour used in tonic water which bees typically dislike.
when found in the environment but acquires one from the cells that it grows in within the liver.
being enveloped in host membranes helps the virus to evade host immune systems and spread within the liver.
and facilitate its spread within the host once it has infected a person said Lemon. While no other virus has been shown to exhibit this particular behavior Dr. Lemon said that it is likely that Hepatitis a virus is not unique in its dual nature.
The efforts will help scientists at the Universidad de La Serena's Terra Pacific Group better understand the value of soil moisture data in grape and wine production.
She found that it was mediated by droplets of sugar esters called acylsugars that are produced and exuded from hairs (trichomes) that cover the plants.
or laying eggs on the plants. The process does not require genetic modification and is completely safe.
and Food Research Initiative and is led by entomologist Diane Ullman of the University of California Davis
Whether it be altering sugar levels to suit different environments or tweaking virus resistance Mutschler-Chu wants to discover the best package for insect and virus control.
New Brown University research published online in the journal Ecology reports exactly such a situation in the distressed salt marshes of Cape cod.
#Verifying that sorghum is a new safe grain for people with celiac diseasestrong new biochemical evidence exists showing that the cereal grain sorghum is a safe food for people with celiac disease who must avoid wheat
Their study which includes molecular evidence that sorghum lacks the proteins toxic to people with celiac disease appears in ACS'Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Paola Pontieri and colleagues explain that those gluten proteins present in wheat and barley trigger an immune reaction in people with celiac disease that can cause abdominal pain and discomfort constipation diarrhea and other symptoms.
The only treatment is lifelong avoidance of gluten. Sorghum they note has emerged as an alternative grain for people with celiac disease.
In Western countries sorghum traditionally has been feed an animal. But in Africa and India it long has been a food for people.
Recently U s. farmers have begun producing sorghum hybrids that are a white grain known as food-grade sorghum.
The researchers set out to make a detailed molecular determination of whether sorghum contains those toxic gluten proteins.
They describe evidence from an analysis of the recently published sorghum genome the complete set of genes in the plant
and other sources that verify the absence of gluten proteins. The authors also report that sorghum has high nutritional value.
Food-grade sorghums should be considered as an important option for all people especially celiac patients the report concluded.
The authors acknowledge funding from the Regione Campania the Istituto Banco di napoli--Fondazione and the Compagnia di San Paolo.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by American Chemical Society. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference e
#Breakthrough in hydrogen fuel production could revolutionize alternative energy marketa team of Virginia Tech researchers has discovered a way to extract large quantities of hydrogen from any plant a breakthrough that has the potential to bring a low-cost environmentally friendly fuel source
The key to this exciting development is that Zhang is using the second most prevalent sugar in plants to produce this hydrogen he said.
To liberate the hydrogen Virginia Tech scientists separated a number of enzymes from their native microorganisms to create a customized enzyme cocktail that does not occur in nature.
Other processes that convert sugar into biofuels such as ethanol and butanol always have energy efficiencies of less than 100 percent resulting in an energy penalty.
but the reaction required a food source that made the process too costly for mass production.
Traditional ethnographic literature indicates these ancient American indians were heavily dependent on maize as a food source
Berkebile has uncovered many examples of other plant life the Puebloans might have used as a food source such as purslane pinyon nut juniper berries globemallow and even cactus.
Examples at MU 125 include pinyon nut juniper berries and cactus. -Domesticated resources: These are brought plants to the Southwest by humans
More importantly she thinks how Puebloans thought about food is an important lesson for today.
We think that we can just go to the grocery store any time and get whatever we want Berkebile says.
And if we have a mind-set that we can have certain foods when they are in season the process becomes a lot more sustainable.
Its flowers are large producing a high volume of sugar-rich nectar each day--an ideal place for bumblebees to forage.
and aluminum in the flowers'nectar influenced bumblebee behavior Ashman and Meindl used two groups of uncontaminated flowers one group of flowers contaminated by nickel and another contaminated by aluminum.
and sample the nectar they are able to discriminate against certain metals. In the study the bees were able to taste discriminate against
The paper The effects of aluminum and nickel in nectar on the foraging behavior of bumblebees first appeared online March 6 in Environmental Pollution.
#Tiny grazers play key role in marine ecosystem healthtiny sea creatures no bigger than a thumbtack are being credited for playing a key role in helping provide healthy habitats for many kinds of seafood according to a new study
The researchers found that these plant-eating animals feast on the nuisance algae that grow on seagrass ultimately helping maintain the seagrass that provides nurseries for seafood.
The grazers also serve as food themselves for animals higher on the food chain. Drifting seaweed usually thought of as a nuisance also plays a part in this process providing an important habitat for the grazing animals that keep the seagrass clean.
Seagrass declines in some areas are attributed partly to excessive nutrients in water bodies stimulating excessive algal growth on seagrasses.
and enter the blood often leading to the spread of cancer to other parts of the body.
and their invasiveness in a tissue culture dish doctors may be able to quickly adjust their treatment plans in response We are optimistic that the use of our Nanovelcro CTC technology will revolutionize prostate cancer treatment.
studies have shown that this simple label can lead us to think that a food is healthier through
A study by Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab researchers Wan-chen Jenny Lee Mitsuru Shimizu Kevin M. Kniffin and Brian Wansink set out to answer this question.
when a food is labeled organic. Certain people also appear to be more susceptible to this'health halo'effect than others#are you?
One item from each food pair was labeled organic while the other was labeled regular. The trick to this study was:
Even though these foods were all the same the organic label greatly influenced people's perceptions. The cookies and yogurt were estimated to have significantly fewer calories
The nutritional aspects of these foods were biased also greatly by the health halo effect. The organic cookies and yogurt were said to taste'lower in fat'than the regular variety
The label even tricked people's taste buds: when perceived as organic chips seemed more appetizing
because people often believe healthy foods are not tasty. All of these foods were exactly the same
but a simple organic label made all the difference! Who is less susceptible? This study found that people who regularly read nutrition labels those who regularly buy organic food
and those who exhibit pro-environmental behaviors (such as recycling or hiking) are less susceptible to the organic'health halo'effect.
The above story is provided based on materials by Cornell Food & Brand Lab. The original article was written by Rachel Eklund and Wan-chen Jenny Lee.
#Feeding corn germ to pigs does not affect growth performanceinclusion of corn germ in swine diets can reduce diet costs depending on the local cost of corn germ and other ingredients.
Recent research conducted at the University of Illinois indicates that corn germ can be included at up to 30 percent in diets fed to growing pigs.
In previous research we had seen that pigs do very well on diets containing 10 percent corn germ
Stein's team tested diets containing 0 percent 10 percent 20 percent and 30 percent corn germ.
They tested each inclusion level of corn germ in diets containing 30 percent distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) as well as in diets containing no DDGS.
or backfat quality as increasing amounts of corn germ were added to the diets regardless of the inclusion level of DDGS.
The results of this work demonstrate that pig growth rate will not be changed by the inclusion of up to 30 percent corn germ in the diets
and feed conversion rate will not be changed Stein said. All diets contained the same amounts of energy standardized ileal digestible indispensable amino acids
and digestible phosphorus. Fat content was held not constant across diets; the diets containing more corn germ also contained more fat.
As a result the bellies of pigs fed diets with no DDGS were softer as corn germ levels increased.
Producers may have to reduce the inclusion rate during the final three to four weeks before slaughter Stein concluded.
There was no effect on belly firmness in pigs fed diets containing DDGS. Stein said that research on
whether reducing the inclusion rate of corn germ in late-finishing diets would ameliorate the negative effects on belly quality might be warranted.
The study Up to 30 percent corn germ may be included in diets fed to growing-finishing pigs without affecting pig growth performance carcass composition
or pork fat quality was published in the Journal of Animal Science and was authored co with Jung Wook Lee a Master's student in the Stein Monogastric Nutrition Laboratory at Illinois
and Floyd Mckeith professor of animal sciences at Illinois. The manuscript is available at: Story Source:
The above story is provided based on materials by University of Illinois College of Agricultural Consumer and Environmental sciences (ACES.
The work was supported by the U s. Forest Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture Story Source:
#Gene responsible for short stature of dwarf pearl millet identifiedwhile pearl millet is a major food staple in some of the fastest growing regions On earth relatively little is known about the drought-hardy grain.
and then compared that section to a similar section of DNA from sorghum. Sorghum is a grain related to pearl millet
and a complete map of its genome recently was released by Devos'UGA colleague Andy Patterson.
and causing reduced plant height in sorghum was the prime gene candidate controlling pearl millet dwarf stature Devos said.
It already is a popular food crop in semiarid regions of India and Africa and will likely gain interest from drought-prone regions of the developed world as an alternative to corn in animal feed Parvathaneni said.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Georgia. The original article was written by J. Merritt Melancon.
Funding for the study was provided the U s. Department of agriculture--National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the National Science Foundation.
and Pine nut Mountains and from Reno south to Topaz Lake--an area collectively referred to as the Carson front.
#Eating more fiber may lower risk of first time strokeeating more fiber may decrease your risk of first time stroke according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.
One serving of whole wheat pasta plus two servings of fruits or vegetables provides about 7 grams of fiber researchers said.
Greater intake of fiber-rich foods--such as whole-grains fruits vegetables and nuts--are important for everyone
and having high blood pressure said Diane Threapleton M. Sc. lead author of the study and Ph d. candidate at the University of Leeds'School of Food Science & Nutrition in Leeds united Kingdom.
and help them learn how to increase fiber in their diet. In the United states stroke is the fourth leading cause of death killing more than 137000 people annually.
In addition to following a nutritious diet the American Heart Association recommends being physically active and avoiding tobacco to help prevent stroke and other heart and blood vessel diseases.
and Victoria J. Burley Ph d. The U k. Department of health for England and Kellogg Marketing and Sales Company (UK) Ltd. funded the study.
The researchers found that a scale insect that exclusively feeds on oak trees was 13 times more abundant on willow oaks in the hottest parts of the city of Raleigh North carolina than in cooler areas of the same city even
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