Monsanto is developing several products along these lines as the Times notes: Monsanto has applied for regulatory approval of corn that is genetically engineered to use RNAI as the approach is called for short to kill the western corn rootworm one of the costliest of agricultural pests.
In another project it is trying to develop a spray that would restore the ability of its Roundup herbicide to kill weeds that have grown impervious to it.
So they designed a shell for a quadrotor that incorporated shock absorbers ubber dampers in between sections made from carbon fiber and plastic.
The study was funded by research organizations but also quite a few agribusiness companies that hold interest in plant breeding such as Monsanto Syngenta Hortigenetics among others. o
or single nucleotide proteins (snips) that make up unique fingerprints of different cacao species and hybrid varieties...
New research you see has found that chemicals excreted by microbes in sloth fur had potent activity against a host of human pathogens
The study found that chemicals isolated from fungi in three-toed sloths were deadly for parasites that cause malaria and Chagas disease (Plasmodium falciparum and Trypanosoma cruzi respectively.
It also comes as no shock that fungi create chemicals of interest to drug developers as fungi have spawned drugs from penicillin to Lovastatin.
Very few chemicals have been found to have activity against Chagas disease for example and the drugs currently used to treat it are discontinued often due to their negative side effects.
A total of 20 of the chemicals isolated from these microbes were active against at least one bacterial strain
Several of the chemicals isolated from the fungi also showed strong activity against human breast cancer cells. a
The glue is made of body-friendly chemicals that cells normally produce. In the future del Nido hopes this could become a gentler alternative to the stitching doctors rely on for many surgeries.
So what made Karp think of using the chemicals he did for this glue? He was inspired by spiders
They likely arise from extensive herbicide use with Monsanto's Roundup Ready crops not directly from the Roundup Ready genes themselves.
Both provide valuable ecosystem services buffering floods storing atmospheric carbon and building soils. Both are in decline nationally and globally.
whether the change will affect coastal ecosystems'ability to store carbon; and whether juvenile fish and commercially valuable shellfish will remain abundant in the changing plant communities.
#Molecular evolution of genetic sex-determination switch in honeybeesit's taken nearly 200 years but scientists in Arizona and Europe have teased out how the molecular switch for sex gradually
However how this system of haplodiploid sex determination ultimately evolved at a molecular level has remained one of the most important questions in developmental genetics.
evolved in their article Gradual molecular evolution of a sex determination switch in honeybees through incomplete penetrance of femaleness.
and proline affect protein binding sites on the csd gene which in turn lead to different conformational states
These findings--which have taken nearly 200 years of study to pin down--suggested that incomplete penetrance may be the mechanism by which new molecular switches can gradually
and performs a spectroscopic analysis of the liquid at wave lengths unique for each nutrient. When the analysis is complete the machine gives a breakdown of the milk's composition of proteins fat and carbohydrates.
This analysis lets us know which babies may need nutritional supplements in addition to their mothers'milk Simmons said.
#Efforts to curb climate change require greater emphasis on livestockwhile climate change negotiators struggle to agree on ways to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions they have paid inadequate attention to other greenhouse gases associated with livestock according to an analysis
A reduction in non-CO2 greenhouse gases will be required to abate climate change the researchers said.
Cutting releases of methane and nitrous oxide two gases that pound-for-pound trap more heat than does CO2 should be considered alongside the challenge of reducing fossil fuel use.
and the United states reached their conclusions on the basis of a synthesis of scientific knowledge on greenhouse gases climate change and food and environmental issues.
We also need to reduce non-CO2 greenhouse gases to lessen the likelihood of us crossing this climatic threshold.#
By reflecting the latest estimates of greenhouse gas emissions on the basis of a life-cycle
and sheep production are 19 to 48 times higher (on the basis of pounds of food produced) than they are from producing protein-rich plant foods such as beans grains or soy products.
In addition to reducing direct methane emissions from ruminants cutting ruminant numbers would deliver a significant reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of feed crops for livestock they added.#
#Among agricultural approaches to climate change reducing demand for meat from ruminants offers greater greenhouse gas reduction potential than do other steps such as increasing livestock feeding efficiency or crop yields per acre.
and methods to inhibit production of the gas during digestion. International climate negotiations such as the UNFCCC have not given#oeadequate attention#to greenhouse gas reductions from ruminants they added.
The Kyoto Protocol for example does not target ruminant emissions from developing countries which are among the fastest-growing ruminant producers.
After infecting the cells the researchers sequenced all of the MESSENGER RNA molecules in the host cells.
and any cell it needs to be able to have a very big arsenal of molecules that can function in the different hosts
As another example of the value of the Amborella genome Joshua Der at Penn State noted We estimate that at least 14000 protein-coding genes existed in the last common ancestor of all flowering plants.
and function of protein-coding genes so the cessation of mobile DNA activity may have slowed the rate of evolution of both genome structure and gene function.
A key advantage to applying genetic selection rather than chemicals to get rid of the worms is that it is permanent
and it could help reduce the potential risk of chemical residues in products made for human consumption.
and the goal of the current study was to encapsulate EGCG in casein (milk protein) molecular aggregates known as micelles to maintain
Of course with increasing pressure on water energy and other resources there are multiple other reasons to reduce the use of synthetic chemicals in agriculture wherever possible.
#Big data project reveals where carbon-stocking projects in Africa provide greatest benefitsit is recognized increasingly that climate change has the potential to threaten people
and nature and that it is imperative to tackle the drivers of climate change namely greenhouse gases.
One way to slow climate change is to increase the number of trees On earth as they through photosynthesis take up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide converting it to carbon products
New forests continue to accumulate carbon for hundreds of years. Therefore forestation projects are one way of generating'carbon credits
'which are tradable units on the carbon market. The more carbon is stored in the vegetation the more profitable such projects are.
Restoring forests should bring especially high carbon returns in areas where plants grow fast and to big sizes but where past disturbances such as deforestation fires and degradation have resulted in much of the vegetation being destroyed because the difference between
what is there and what could potentially be there is so large. However little information exists on where such areas are
and how big their carbon storage potential is. Researchers from Aarhus University Denmark the University of Pretoria South africa and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South africa have developed now a method to calculate the difference between the potential carbon that could be stored in vegetation
if there were no disturbances and the carbon that is stored currently in vegetation in tropical Africa.
The researchers based their analysis on a satellite-derived map of current carbon being stored in vegetation.
Combining it with data on environmental factors that affect plant growth such as climate and soil they could model the maximum amount of carbon that could be stored in vegetation across tropical Africa.
By subtracting the actual amount of carbon currently stored in vegetation from this they could
thus show where in Africa carbon-stocking projects would be particularly profitable. People and biodiversity factors are also importantin reality such a map of where most carbon could be stored is limited probably of use for deciding where to plan carbon projects
because there may be a number of constraints to setting up forestation projects to stock carbon.
For example a densely populated agricultural area with high levels of rainfall and temperatures might bring high carbon returns;
however it would be unlikely to be profitable as land value in these areas is high
and because it would be problematic to have to relocate people. Therefore such constraints must be considered
when planning carbon forests. In addition it might be a good idea to consider whether there are wider benefits to setting up such projects.
We used our map which showed where carbon forests would bring high returns to ask where carbon-stocking by forestation would
not only be highly profitable but where it would also minimize conflict with people and benefit biodiversity and people says Michelle Greve from the University of Pretoria who led the project as part of her Phd at Aarhus University.
which would not only have high carbon returns but would also conserve native biodiversity and support ecosystem services that is services that the environment provides which benefit humans.
thus identify areas where carbon projects would have wider co-benefits. An example of an area that showed high carbon returns
but was less important when these other factors were considered was the region around Lake victoria in East Africa.
and thus has a high potential for carbon stocking through forests. However it does not support as high biodiversity as some other areas
So setting aside land here to plant carbon forests would not be optimal. Rather regions of the Upper Guinean rainforests of West Africa and the Lower Guinean rainforests which are situated on the coast of Nigeria
and Cameroon were identified as having more optimal combinations of high carbon stocking potential high co-benefits for wildlife conservation and humans and high feasibility.
Chemical treatments are expensive and may cause harm to trees and other fauna and the introduction of an ash borer predator from its native range in Asia might bring with it a host of new problems he said.
They all contain different amounts of white refined sugar. But what perhaps may result amazing is that this sugar is probably sourced from a plant very similar to spinach or chard but much sweeter:
or quinoa as well as plants with an interesting biology for instance carnivorous plants or desert plants. 27421 protein-coding genes were discovered within the genome of the beet more than are encoded within the human genome.
which can be identified based on protein-domains. These genes turned out as particularly plastic with beet-specific gene family expansions and gene losses.
and the associated resources generated future studies on the molecular dissection of natural and artificial selection gene regulation and gene-environment interaction as well as biotechnological approaches to customize the crop to different uses in the production of sugar
The study found eating a diet high in tomatoes had a positive effect on the level of hormones that play a role in regulating fat and sugar metabolism.
which are rich in essential nutrients vitamins minerals and phytochemicals such as lycopene conveys significant benefits. Based on this data we believe regular consumption of at least the daily recommended servings of fruits
For a separate 10-week period the participants consumed at least 40 grams of soy protein daily.
Our project aims to clearly quantify environmental services such as water flow carbon storage and biodiversity conservation that decision makers will consider as they evaluate projects from forest restoration to watershed management said Jefferson Hall Smithsonian staff scientist and project director.
#Importance of food as key provider of vitamins and nutrientswhile dietary supplements can help some people meet their nutrition needs eating a wide variety of nutrient-rich foods is the best way for most people to obtain the nutrients
Two newly published studies in Annals of Internal medicine and an accompanying editorial indicate there is no clear benefit for most healthy people to consume vitamin supplements.
#¢Start each day with a healthy breakfast that includes whole grains fat-free or low-fat dairy for calcium and Vitamin d and Vitamin c-rich foods.#¢
#¢Don't forget beans which are rich in fiber and folate. The recent increase in sales of supplements may not have been accompanied by an increase in consumers'knowledge about
and turn it into high-quality protein and energy. The end product is six times more nutritious than the moss.
Analysis of the pikas'caecal pellets showed they contained six times more protein than the moss they ate.
Most managers realize how downstream ecosystems such as coral reefs can be affected negatively by land-based activities that cause increases in runoff and associated sediments nutrients and chemicals.
With this genetic modification the trees were able to produce an insecticidal protein that helped protect against insect attack.
and E North america recent molecular analysis have shown that Altingia and Semiliquidambar are nested within Liquidambar. A new taxonomic synopsis published in the open access journal Phytokeys formally transfers all Altingia and Semiliquidambar taxa to Liquidambar
Louis G. Hector Jr. a researcher from the Chemical sciences and Materials Systems Laboratory at General motors Research and development Center;
The cellulose nanocrystals represent a potential green alternative to carbon nanotubes for reinforcing materials such as polymers and concrete.
With this in mind cellulose nanomaterials are inherently renewable sustainable biodegradable and carbon-neutral like the sources from
or you might want to change the chemical characteristics so that it behaves differently with its environment Moon said.
and the amount of greenhouse gases they produce. The study produced by scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
and the International Institute for Applied Systems analysis (IIASA) shows that animals in many parts of the developing world require far more food to produce a kilo of protein than animals in wealthy countries.
Greenhouse gas emissionsscientists also sought to calculate the amount of greenhouse gases livestock are releasing into the atmosphere
They modelled only the emissions linked directly to animals--the gases released through their digestion and manure production.
and questions emerging from the new data relate to the amount of feed livestock consume to produce a kilo of protein something known as feed efficiency
and the amount of greenhouse gases released for every kilo of protein produced something known as emission intensity.
and goats) require up to five times more feed to produce a kilo of protein in the form of meat than a kilo of protein in the form of milk.
and poultry (monogastrics) are more efficient at converting feed into protein than are cattle sheep
Globally pork produced 24 kilos of carbon per kilo of edible protein and poultry produced only 3. 7 kilos of carbon per kilo of protein--compared with anywhere from 58 to 1000 kilos of carbon per kilo of protein from ruminant meat.
The authors caution that the lower emission intensities in the pig and poultry sectors are driven largely by industrial systems
and environmental risks notably greenhouse gases produced by the energy and transport services needed for industrial livestock production
In arid regions of Sub-saharan africa for example where the fodder available to grazing animals is of much lower quality than that in many other regions a cow can consume up to ten times more feed--mainly in the form of rangeland grasses--to produce a kilo of protein than a cow
and Sudan can in the worst cases release the equivalent of 1000 kilos of carbon for every kilo of protein they produce.
By comparison in many parts of the US and Europe the emission intensity is around 10 kilos of carbon per kilo of protein.
so they can produce more protein with better feed while simultaneously reducing emissions said Petr Havlik a research scholar at IIASA
For example the low livestock feed efficiencies and high greenhouse gas emission intensities in Sub-saharan africa are determined largely by the fact that most animals in this region continue to subsist largely on vegetation inedible by humans especially by grazing on marginal lands
Using radiocarbon dating and isotopic analyses of carbon and nitrogen traces in the bones of cats dogs deer
Carbon isotopes indicate that rodents domestic dogs and pigs from the ancient village were eating millet
Carbon and nitrogen isotopes show that cats were preying on animals that lived on farmed millet probably rodents.
and energy--and how in addition to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions the technological developments in the water sector may help alleviating water scarcity.
#¢Without a reduction in global greenhouse-gas emissions 40 per cent more people are likely to be at risk of absolute water scarcity.#¢
Another paper co-authored by Dr Gosling shows that without reductions in global greenhouse-gas emissions 40 per cent more people are likely to be at risk of absolute water scarcity than would be the case without climate change.
while river flooding could decrease by the end of the century across about a third of the globe increases are expected at more than half of the areas investigated under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario.
Given the present trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions agricultural models estimate that climate change will directly reduce food production from maize soybeans wheat and rice by as much as 43 percent by the end of the 21st century.
Turning chicken feathers and plant fiber into eco-leather, bio-based circuit boardsthe Environmental protection agency has honored the University of Delaware's Richard Wool with its Presidential Green chemistry Challenge Award for his extensive
Now in its 18th year the EPA awards program recognizes the design of safer and more sustainable chemicals processes and products.
Academic Small Business Greener Synthetic Pathways Greener Reaction Conditions and Designing Greener Chemicals. Wool UD professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and director of the Affordable Composites from Renewable Resources (ACRES) program is a world leader in developing safer chemical substances from renewable resources through processes that require less water
and energy and produce less hazardous waste compared to petroleum-based processes. The products can be used as adhesives composites
This motivated Wool to incorporate green chemistry and green engineering solutions into his research. He created several high-performance materials using biobased feedstocks including vegetable oils lignin chicken feathers and flax.
In 2012 Dixie Chemical began producing Wool's bio-based composite resins for a worldwide market.
Ten years ago green chemistry and engineering was a novel concept but today we are reaching a critical mass of individuals focused on sustainability
and pasteurized milk contain equivalent levels of nutrients such as proteins carbohydrates calcium vitamins and enzymes. Claims that raw milk is associated not with lactose intolerance have not been substantiated by independent studies.
Implementation of VTT's long-term recommendations requires the construction of new biorefineries for manufacturing highly refined products such as absorbing materials and membranes cellulose-based textiles bio-based chemicals
or even explosive gases may find their way into buildings according to researchers at Rice university. Those problems would likely occur in buildings with cracked foundations that happen to be in the vicinity of fuel spills.
The Rice study detailed this week in the American Chemical Society journal Environmental science and Technology emerges as the Environmental protection agency (EPA) prepares technical guidance for higher ratios of ethanol in fuels.
and forcing the gas outward--and upward. That could overwhelm natural attenuation and should prompt new thinking about how to manage vapor-intrusion risks Alvarez said.
traces of the gas would be detected even when the source lay as much as 13 meters below a building.
but did not emit substantial amounts of carbon monoxide and toxic volatile organic compounds. The level of secondhand exposure to nicotine depended on the e-cigarette brand.
and volatile organic compounds and compare the emissions from electronic and conventional tobacco cigarettes said Dr. Goniewicz a researcher and Assistant professor of Oncology in RPCI's Department of Health Behavior.
and a limited number of chemicals released from e-cigarettes. Future research should explore emissions
and exposures to other toxins and compounds identified in e-cigarettes such as formaldehyde acetaldehyde and acrolein.#¢
Gabriel's team's work will be outlined in a research paper that will be published in February in the journal Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction.
They used chemicals to extract DNA and purified it. The team had to separate the tree DNA from that of the bacterium.
which makes up 15 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions. Both food security and urbanization is on the program for next year's major international conference on sustainability hosted by the IARU partnership.
whereby soil particles are removed from the bed by water currents. Many limiting factors However the seedlings also work against themselves.
#Indigenous hunting with fire helps sustain Brazils savannasindigenous use of fire for hunting is an unlikely contributor to long-term carbon emissions
While all types of milk fat can help improve an individual's fatty acid profile the team concludes that organic whole milk does so even better.
daily servings of mostly full-fat organic dairy products. Women who also avoid a few foods each day that are high in omega-6 fatty acids can lower their fatty acid ratio to around 4 80 percent of the way to the 2. 3 goal.
Surprisingly simple food choices can lead to much better levels of the healthier fats we see in organic milk says Benbrook.
We were surprised to find that recommended intakes of full-fat milk products supply far more of the major omega-3 fatty acid ALA than recommended servings of fish says co-author
#Clues about protein mechanism critical to plant growth, yieldscientists at the Donald Danforth Plant science Center have made several scientific discoveries demonstrating the significant roles Heterotrimeric G proteins play in plant development and yield.
and timber fix the carbon and thus collaborate in the regulation of global climate systems;
or accumulating carbon more. As they are trees with a longer turnover because they grow more slowly than pine plantations their management produces fewer disturbances in the system explained Ametzaga.
Dirk HÃ lscher from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena Germany and an international team of researchers have discovered that some banana varieties accumulate specific plant toxins in the immediate vicinity
The toxin is stored in lipid droplets in the body of the nematode and the parasite finally dies.
and vitamins B and C. Apart from fungi and insects the parasitic nematode Radopholus similis is considered a major banana pest.
which not only cause ecological damage but can also have severe negative effects on the health of people who are exposed to these chemicals.
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology and their colleagues from universities in Leuven (Belgium) Jena Kassel-Witzenhausen Halle Bonn and Bremen as well as the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product
Local accumulation of defensive substances in infected regions of root tissues inhibits further propagation of the pestthe researchers used modern spectroscopic analysis
The concentration of the most active compound anigorufone however was much higher in the immediate vicinity of lesions on the roots of resistant bananas in comparison to infected root tissues of the nematode susceptible banana plants.
Lipid droplets containing the active compounds visible in the nematodethe toxic effect of anigorufone and other substances was tested on living nematodes.
There the lipid-soluble anigorufone accumulated in lipid droplets which increased in size as they converged
Why these complex lipid droplets are formed and why the nematodes cannot metabolize or excrete the toxin still needs to be clarified.
However it is likely that the growing lipid droplets displace the inner organs of the nematode causing an eventual metabolic dysfunction.
and translocate the defense compounds on a molecular level. Such insights will provide important clues for the development of banana varieties which are resistant to the nematodes.
The above story is provided based on materials by Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
And some of them create chemical bonds with components in the soil and form the so-called bound residues.
what chemical structures they have hidden could not yet been evaluated. By applying the so-called 13c-method Kästner
For this purpose they initially marked the pesticide to be examined with the nonradioactive heavy carbon isotope 13c
If the pesticide has undergone a chemical bond with the humus bound residues are allocated to the Type 2
and the carbon contained therein was transported into the microbial biomass. For these kinds of residues we can give the all-clear signal
In 2010 coal oil and gas supplied more than 80%of the world's total primary energy supply
The EMF27 study shows that without policies to cut greenhouse gas emissions fossil fuels will remain the major energy source in 2100 with resulting increases in greenhouse gas emissions.
But where should policymakers focus their carbon mitigation efforts? Which technologies hold the most promise?
That would allow us to compensate for short term delays in mitigation by later taking carbon out of the atmosphere.
CCS is a yet-unproven technology that would remove carbon from fossil fuel or bioenergy combustion and store it underground.
In combination with bioenergy this results in carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere (owing to the previous carbon uptake of plants through photosynthesis)
These papers touch on issues as diverse as climate policy land use and agriculture and non-CO2 greenhouse gases among others.
and gas supplies in the coming decades. However our study which compares long-term scenario results across a large suite of technologically-detailed models shows that fossil resource constraints are unlikely to limit greenhouse gas emissions in this century.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by International Institute for Applied Systems analysis. Note:
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