As an example 40 percent of the cereals produced around the world is irrigated. However in many cases this results in increased scarcity of water resources and puts a burden on ecosystems.
#Experts voice concerns over arsenic in riceinorganic arsenic in rice and rice-based foods poses health concerns in infants and young children and steps should be taken to minimize exposure according to a commentary in the Journal
The commentary includes the recommendation that Rice drinks should not be used in infants and young children.
Health concerns over arsenic in rice--especially for childreninorganic arsenic is considered a first level carcinogen
The level of inorganic arsenic in rice depends on the type of rice and where it was grown.
Rice has higher arsenic concentrations than other grains because of the unique physiology of the plant
High inorganic arsenic concentrations have been found in rice and rice-based foods--mainly concentrated in the bran layers.
Therefore the risk from consumption of products made from rice bran such as rice drinks is much higher than from raw
but polished (white rice the Committee on Nutrition points out. There's special concern about exposure to arsenic in rice in infants and young children.
Because of its availability nutritional value and relatively low allergenic potential rice is used a widely carbohydrate source during weaning.
In addition rice and rice products such as starch flour and syrup are added commonly to infant foods and drinks.
That contributes to high exposure of infants and young children to inorganic arsenic which is two to three times higher than in adults according to the Committee report.
Data are available on arsenic levels in infant foods and rice drinks but data is limited for rice protein-based infants formulas.
Recommendations to limit exposure to arsenic in ricebecause of these concerns the ESPGHAN Committee on Nutrition urges regulation of the inorganic arsenic content of dietary products used by infants and children.
Their recommendations state that rice-based formulas are an option for infants allergic to cow's milk
Otherwise the Committee recommends avoiding rice drinks for infants and young children. The authors suggest limiting children's exposure to arsenic rice by including a variety of grains in their diets such as oats barley wheat and maize (corn) in addition to rice.
In areas of the world where rice consumption is very high the rice types (cultivars) with the lowest arsenic content should be identified
and used for the preparation of infant foods. The Committee calls for further research on the inorganic arsenic content of rice and other foods and its lifelong impact on health.
They conclude These data will allow the development of evidence-based recommendations regarding the acceptable arsenic content in different foods for infants and children.
'With crops like wheat it's not yet possible for us to unravel the'before and after'of the associated genetic changes but with maize we can chart how these gene copies were acquired first then put to work
'and'non-duplicated'descendants of ancient maize something that is not yet possible with other duplicated crops like wheat.
'Understanding the complete trajectory of duplication and how copied genes can transform a plant is relevant for current efforts to increase the photosynthetic efficiency of crops such as the C4 Rice Project c4rice. irri. org/.
One theory is that different types of tokens represented units of various commodities such as livestock and grain.
While the majority of the cuneiform tablets found with the tokens deal with grain trades it's not yet known what the various tokens represent.
The team say that some tokens likely stand for grain as well as different types of livestock (such as goats
and cereals would get 20 to 40 percent more antioxidants. That's the equivalent of about two extra portions of fruit and vegetables a day with no increase in caloric intake.
First discovered five years ago Rice's silicon oxide memories are a type of two-terminal resistive random-access memory (RRAM) technology.
In a new paper available online in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters a Rice team led by chemist James Tour compared its RRAM technology to more than a dozen competing versions.
Tour is Rice's T. T. and W. F. Chao Chair in Chemistry and professor of mechanical engineering and nanoengineering and of computer science.
The key ingredient of Rice's RRAM is its dielectric component silicon oxide. Silicon is the most abundant element On earth and the basic ingredient in conventional microchips.
and Rice postdoctoral researcher Gunuk Wang showed that using a porous version of silicon oxide could dramatically improve Rice's RRAM in several ways.
Study co-authors--all from Rice--include postdoctoral researcher Yang Yang; research scientist Jae-Hwang Lee;
and Edwin Thomas the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Rice's George R. Brown School of engineering professor in mechanical engineering and materials science and in chemical and biomolecular engineering.
#Hunger for vegetable oil means trouble for Africas great apesthe vegetable oil found in your popcorn or soap might not be ape friendly
Palm oil is found in a large number of products from popcorn to candy to soap to cosmetics making growth of the tropical trees a very lucrative industry.
#Drought, poor wheat harvest in Kansas has effects on national economy, says climatologistthe Kansas wheat harvest may be one of the worst on record â
#and the loss doesn't just hurt Kansas according to a Kansas State university expert. The rains came too late to benefit the wheat production
so we may have our lowest wheat harvest on record said Mary Knapp service climatologist in the university's agronomy department.
That isn't just disappointing for Kansas farmers but could affect other food availability and the overall economy.
because if you have wheat farmers with very low production they most likely also received very low income Knapp said.
In a gastronomic tour of some of the many food descriptors used in medicine the author highlights imagery such as'anchovy sauce'to describe the pus from a liver abscess through'sago spleen'to indicate protein (amyloid) deposits to'oat
The fungus causes charcoal rot in about 500 other host plants including corn sorghum sunflower and other important crops.
when the plant is under attack from invading corn rootworms. The chemical attracts'friendly'nematode worms from the surrounding soil
which in turn kill the corn rootworm larvae within a few days. The scientists used genetic transformation to investigate
if restoring E-Î-caryophyllene emission would protect maize plants against corn rootworms. After introducing a gene from oregano the transformed maize plants released E-Î-caryophyllene constantly.
and suffered less damage from an infestation of Western Corn Rootworms. Plant defences can be direct such as the production of toxins
These reference areas included pastures annual cropland (soybean sorghum and corn) and Cerrado native vegetation.
#Boron tolerance discovery for higher wheat yieldsaustralian scientists have identified the genes in wheat that control tolerance to a significant yield-limiting soil condition found around the globe--boron toxicity.
Published in the journal Nature today the identification of boron tolerance genes in wheat DNA is expected to help plant breeders more rapidly advance new varieties for increased wheat yields to help feed the growing world population.
About 35%of the world's seven billion people depend on wheat for survival says project leader Dr Tim Sutton.
In southern Australia more than 30%of soils in grain-growing regions have too high levels of boron.
It's also a global problem particularly in drier grain-growing environments. Boron tolerant lines of wheat however can maintain good root growth in boron toxic soils
whereas intolerant lines will have stunted roots. Our identification of the genes and their variants responsible for this adaptation to boron toxicity means that we now have molecular markers that can be used in breeding programs to select lines for boron tolerance with 100%accuracy.
Dr Sutton says wheat has been difficult to work with in genomics. The wheat genome is very large with about six times the number of genes as humans.
This complexity has meant that genes controlling yield and adaptation to environmental stresses have remained extremely challenging to identify.
Advances in molecular biology and genetics technologies of the past few years coupled with the extensive collections of wheat genetic material available around the world have paved the way for a new era in the analysis of complex genomes such as
wheat he says. In this study the researchers tracked these specific boron tolerance genes from wild wheats grown by the world's earliest farmers in the Mediterranean region through wheat lines brought into Australia more than a century ago to current day
Australian commercial varieties. They found a distinct pattern of gene variant distribution that was correlated to the levels of boron in soils from different geographical regions.
This discovery means that wheat breeders will now have precision selection tools and the knowledge to select for the right variants of the tolerance gene needed to do the job in specific environments says Dr Sutton.
This also means that the method can be extended beyond milk to other foods like nuts and wheat products.
In wheat the protein/carbohydrate ratio does not change with temperature but locusts are able to absorb the nutrients more effectively at higher temperatures.
but locusts that are fed wheat are larger at high temperatures. Intriguingly when both plants are available the locusts modify their behaviour to get the maximum benefit from the nutrients on offer.
After eating wheat however the locusts sit in warmer areas to ensure a protein-rich meal.
#Enough to put you off your popcorn? Food labelling study underwaypeople munching popcorn in a cinema don't change their eating habits
whether the snacks are labelled high fat low fat or not labelled at all even if they are concerned about their weight according to a new study led by the University of Greenwich.
Labels had the opposite effect on concerned popcorn lovers of lower status: they ate less of the low fat snack--and less of the high fat snack.
and were offered a large tub of salted or toffee popcorn. Participants received their selected flavour with one of three labels:
They then watched two film clips while completing measures of demographic characteristics emotional state and taste of the popcorn.
Following the experiment popcorn consumption was measured. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Greenwich.
which stone tools reflect an agricultural transition from cutting meat to pounding grain. It's the first step towards all the trappings of civilization that we currently see said Kohler.
Maize which we know as corn was grown in the region as early as 2000 B c. At first populations were slow to respond probably because of low productivity said Kohler.
and Tonto people would have difficulty finding new farming opportunities for many children since corn farming required irrigation.
In vegetable and strawberry systems in the central coast region of California grain drills are used commonly by medium-to large-scale farms
but Rice scientists have now found a chemical-free way to unzip them. The Rice lab of materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan discovered that nanotubes that hit a target end first turn into mostly ragged clumps of atoms.
But nanotubes that happen to broadside the target unzip into handy ribbons that can be used in composite materials for strength
The Rice researchers led by graduate student Sehmus Ozden reported their finding in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters.
The researchers fired pellets of randomly oriented multiwalled carbon nanotubes from a light gas gun built by the Rice lab of materials scientist Enrique Barrera with funding from NASA.
Co-authors include Pedro Autreto a postdoctoral researcher at the State university of Campinas Brazil who has a complementary appointment at Rice;
graduate student Chandra Sekhar Tiwary of Rice and the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore; graduate student Suman Khatiwada of Rice;
Leonardo Machado and Douglas Galvao of the State university of Campinas; and Robert Vajtai a senior faculty fellow at Rice.
Barrera is a professor of materials science and nanoengineering. Ajayan is Rice's Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Mechanical engineering and Materials Science and of chemistry and chair of the Department of Materials Science and Nanoengineering.
The Department of defense U s. Air force Office of Scientific research through a Multidisciplinary University Research Institute grant and the Brazilian agencies National Council for Scientific and Technological Development Coordination for the Improvement of Higher education
If all of the acquired lands were farmed to their full capacity--a 100%closure of the yield gap--there would be a 308 per cent increase in rice production a 280 per cent increase in maize production a 148
or use low-fat/fat-free milk on their cereal than children who were exposed not to the program.
Compared to corn soy and palm oil the rapid growth rate of sugar cane has put it at the forefront of biofuel crops.
In particular corn production and trade at the domestic level might be an area to target as changes could significantly reduce national water use for irrigation.
Crops like corn rice and wheat thrive best in these drier regions but rainfall is limited
The researchers looked at domestic and international trade of corn rice soy and wheat along with such livestock products as ruminant (animals like cattle goats and sheep that subsist on plant matter) pork and poultry.
These products accounted for 93 percent of China's domestic food supply in 2005 the last year with available data.
They found that domestic corn trade leads to significant losses of irrigation water resources (such as rivers reservoirs and groundwater.
However the provinces of Hubei Henan Jiangsu and Anhui produce wheat quite efficiently and their exports lead to large national water savings for both rainfall and irrigation water.
#New technologies will bring health benefits of oats and barley to a greater number of foodsnew technologies may help food manufacturers more broadly utilize the many healthful benefits of oats
and barley in a greater range of food products according to a June 24 panel discussion at the 2014 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expoâ in New orleans. Oats and barley are ancient food
crops known for their durability versatility and healthful attributes. Both grains have high levels of protein fiber and beta-glucan.
There is now evidence that oats and barley significantly reduce cholesterol levels and that they moderate blood glucose concentrations following a meal according to a presentation by Susan M. Toth Phd research scientist Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
In addition there is also research to support that oat and barley foods increase satiety after meals a sensation of feeling full after meals
which may aid in weight maintenance. In China barley and oats are used in a variety of products from cereals
and noodles to beverages and flat bread said Bo Jiang Phd professor of food science and executive director of the State Laboratory of Food Science and Technology at Jiangnan University in China.
Oats are now the third largest food staple in China growing in popularity as that country deals with rising rates of cancer diabetes heart disease and intestinal issues.
In the U s. barley and oats are used primarily for animal feed since they are difficult to break down
Food uses of barley and oats are limited rather due to lack of palatability of whole grain foods
In addition the U s. has ample and affordable supplies of other grains such as rice and wheat
And yet recent discoveries of the varied health benefits of oats and barley have spurred food scientists to develop new
and more efficient methods of breaking down the components and nutrients in these grains to make oats
and barley easier and more appealing to eat and for use as food additives. If we can improve the processing of barley
and oats we can improve public health said Liu. Many researchers have worked on processing barley or oats into value-added fractions enriched with nutrients some with commercial success said Liu.
The USDA has developed improved dry and wet methods to more quickly easily and affordably transform barley and oats into functional ingredients.
However added Liu food scientists and engineers have more work to do to commercialize these methods
and to educate consumers about the health benefits of beta-glucan and these two grains.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Institute of Food Technologists (IFT. Note:
Wheat fields are tilled often immediately after the crop is harvested removing the light-coloured stubble and crop residues from the soil surface
and verified a clone library consisting of 403 Arabidopsis GTS and 96 rice GTS. In plant biology Arabidopsis is the reference plant for species like poplar and rice the reference plant for grasses.
Using the unique infrastructure and resources at JBEI we have provided a collection of high quality GT clones all of
In addition to the clones for Arabidopsis and rice GTS Heazlewood and his collaborators at JBEI also created a set of highly efficient particle bombardment plasmids--pbullets
While the 403 Arabidopsis clones represent approximately 88-percent of the defined Arabidopsis GTS the 96 rice clones represent only 15-percent of the defined rice GTS.
Grasslands are converted easily to farmland for row crops such as corn and soybeans said Egan Grassland species with few exceptions cannot survive on these intensive agricultural lands.
Specifically former graduate student Allyson Radford and two faculty members found children ate whole-and refined-grain foods in equal amounts.
if they would eat the whole-grain foods as much as the refined-grain foods and so we were surprised pleasantly that they would eat the same amount
Examples of whole-grain foods include popcorn oats whole wheat bread and brown rice. Refined grains enriched and fortified with nutrients include foods such as white rice and white bread.
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans call for at least half the grain consumers eat to be whole grains
and they urge adolescents to consume 5 to 7 ounces of grains daily with at least half being whole grains.
about 1 ounce or the grain contained in one slice of bread. Federal dietary guidelines for the 2012-13 school year increased the whole grain required in school lunches.
Starting this fall schools must offer only whole-grain rich products. The new rules requiring more whole grains in school lunches should result in adolescents eating more of them Dahl said
but many parents believe their kids won't eat whole grains. General mills funded a broad study on the impact of whole grains on immunity.
For the study 83 students in a Florida middle school were assigned randomly to receive either whole-or refined-grain foods over a six-week period in 2010.
while 41 were in the whole-grain group. Participants and their families were given refined-grain
or whole-grain pasta rice bread and other foods to eat at home. And they were given whole-and refined-grain snack foods to eat at school.
Researchers interviewed students weekly to see what fruits vegetables and grains they ate in the previous 24 hours.
Before the study participants were eating about one ounce of whole grain per day. During the study students in both groups reported eating more than 6 ounces of grains each day and those given whole grains reported more than half their grain intake came from whole grains meeting the 2010 dietary guidelines.
Snacks served at school were the most popular grain foods the kids ate. Encouraging consumption of whole-grain foods that require little to no preparation may be the most effective means of increasing whole grain intake at home said Radford now a UF research study coordinator in food science and human nutrition.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Florida Institute of food and agricultural sciences. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference e
#Africas poison apple provides common ground for saving elephants, raising livestockwhile African wildlife often run afoul of ranchers
and pastoralists securing food and water resources for their animals the interests of fauna and farmer might finally be unified by the Sodom apple a toxic invasive plant that has overrun vast swaths of East African savanna and pastureland.
#Increasing rice production on acidic soils in Malaysiaadding lime is a cost-effective means of increasing rice production on marginal acidic soils according to a study published in the Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science.
Rice is a staple food for Malaysians. With global demand for rice increasing Malaysia needs to become more self-sufficient in rice production.
However with fertile land in short supply farmers may need to increase their rice production on land that was previously idle
and less fertile such as the acid sulphate soils that occur along Malaysia's coastal plains. Marked with high acidity (soil ph<3. 5) acid sulphate soils contain high levels of aluminium (Al.
In the study Shamshuddin Jusop and colleagues at the Universiti Putra Malaysia treated an acid sulphate paddy with ground magnesium limestone (GML) hydrated lime and liquid lime.
Prior to the treatments the ph of water from the rice field was 3. 7
and the Al concentration was 878 Î M. Rice plants grown under these conditions would normally suffer from acid
/or minimizing rice growth and yield. For their experiment the researchers tested paddy variety MR 219--the most common variety grown in Malaysia.
In the first season rice plants were affected by drought while in the second they were infested with rice blast fungus.
Despite this the rice yield was 3. 5 tons (t) per hectare or almost as much as the average national yield of 3. 8 t per hectare.
This was achieved by applying 4 tons of GML per hectare at a cost of US$382.
Since one ton of rice sold at the market price of US$318 the yield obtained is worth the effort
and cost the authors conclude. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM.
In a recent study scientists used ARID to predict crop yields by quantifying water loss for cotton soybeans corn
ARID could have wide uses Woli said. â#oearid has potential to predict various responses by a crop that are related water stress â such as grain yield total biomass produced pest
The existence of wetland-related agriculture near the markets such as farms that raise ducks in flooded rice fields appeared to be a contributing factor linked to the initial emergence of the virus
#More frequent extreme, adverse weather conditions threaten Europes wheat productioneuropean wheat production areas have to prepare for greater harvest losses in the future
since it produces almost a third of the world's wheat. Of particular concern is the finding that the probability of multiple adverse events occurring within one season is projected to increase sharply by mid-century.
Wheat harvests will suffer in the future for example from more frequent hot days drought late spring frost and harsh winters.
The results are very alarming given the fact that Europe produces 29 per cent of the world's wheat.
and tailored to wheat in Europe. The novel method helps to reveal the implications of various climatic and agronomic risks such as frost water logging drought
Applied in combination with crop simulation models it is also possible to evaluate local adaptation strategies as successfully shown in an earlier study for barley in Finland.
and their integration for accelerating delivery of new diverse varieties of wheat for the different future environments argues Reimund RÃ tter.
In addition to wheat the novel indicator method will be applied to the risk assessment of other crops as well.
Although our results highlight the potential of adverse impacts of changing climate on wheat similar risks apply to other crops as well for their growing times
and sensitive periods partially overlap with wheat adds Reimund RÃ tter. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by MTT Agrifood Research Finland.
or a whole wheat diet known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. His study published today (Saturday June 14) in the journal Diabetes Care found that those on the canola bread diet experienced both a reduction in blood glucose levels and a significant reduction in LDL or bad cholesterol.
Dr. Jenkins said another interesting finding of the study was that patients on the whole wheat diet seemed to have better blood flow after 12 weeks than those on the canola bread diet as measured by the Endopat test that uses a cuff on the arm similar to a blood pressure test.
but this positive result may be an indication of why whole wheat foods have consistently been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
High GI foods--such as white bread most breakfast cereals potatoes and rice--produce a large rise in blood glucose and insulin
which may damage eyes kidneys and heart. The carbohydrates in low GI foods--including pasta beans lentils berries apples
and certain whole grains such as barley and oats-are broken down more slowly so that people get more gentle raises in blood glucose
#How food marketing creates false sense of healthhealth-related buzzwords such as antioxidant gluten-free and whole grain lull consumers into thinking packaged food products labeled with those words are healthier than they actually are according to a new research study conducted by scholars at the University
Annie's Bunny Fruit Snacks (Organic) Apple sauce (Organic) Chef Boyardee Beefaroni (Whole Grain) Chef Boyardee Lasagna (Whole Grain) Chocolate Cheerios (Heart
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