Agriculture News and Research

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Simple, paper-based test could help detect foodborne pathogens

Food poisoning is a stomach-churning, miserable condition that sends thousands of Americans to hospital emergency rooms every year. Now scientists report in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry a simple, paper-based test that could help detect pathogens hitchhiking on food before they reach store shelves, restaurants and, most importantly, our stomachs.

7 Apr 2016

Researchers find pathway to prevent emergence of zoonosis into human population

The parasite responsible for a form of malaria now spreading from macaques to humans in South Asia could evolve to infect humans more efficiently, a step towards enhanced transmission between humans, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The researchers say that defining the means by which the Plasmodium knowlesi parasite invades red blood cells could lead to interventions to prevent the emergence of the zoonosis into the human population.

4 Apr 2016

Daily walnut consumption positively impacts blood cholesterol levels in older adults

Initial findings from the Walnuts and Healthy Aging study presented at Experimental Biology 2016 (EB) indicate that daily walnut consumption positively impacts blood cholesterol levels without adverse effects on body weight among older adults.

4 Apr 2016

Symptom Tracking App for Concussions helps athletes, parents deal with head injuries

Thirteen-year-old Madeline Yunker fell hard during a soccer match three years ago, striking her head on the turf with enough force to cause a concussion.

1 Apr 2016

Commonly used fungicides could cause gene expression changes in brain cells

Scientists at the UNC School of Medicine have found a class of commonly used fungicides that produce gene expression changes similar to those in people with autism and neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease.

31 Mar 2016

Study: 30% of hospital 'super-utilizers' are food insecure

More than half of patients with high hospitalization rates (at least 3 inpatient visits in a 12-month period) used food pantries or other community food resources, and 40% were worried that they would run out of food, according to the results of a study published in Population Health Management, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

30 Mar 2016

New report finds 'double burden of malnutrition’ in South East Asia

A joint report from UNICEF, WHO and ASEAN has shed new light on the nutrition situation of children across South East Asia. The report finds that several ASEAN countries are facing simultaneous crises of over and undernutrition, with some children overweight while their peers suffer from stunting and wasting.

29 Mar 2016

Researchers use novel technology to sequence Y chromosome in malaria spreading mosquitoes

A team of researchers with the Fralin Life Science Institute at Virginia Tech, working with a large international consortium, has sequenced the Y chromosome--the genetic driver of sex-determination and male fertility-- in a family of malaria spreading mosquitoes.

29 Mar 2016

Speech-controlled nutrition-logging system may help lose weight

For people struggling with obesity, logging calorie counts and other nutritional information at every meal is a proven way to lose weight. The technique does require consistency and accuracy, however, and when it fails, it's usually because people don't have the time to find and record all the information they need.

25 Mar 2016

Scientists look for new antibiotic drugs in unexpected places

Many of the drugs we use in hospitals – antibiotics, antifungals and anti-cancer drugs, to name but a few – are produced by bacteria that live in the soil beneath our feet.

22 Mar 2016

OIE, WHO release new global framework to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies

In accordance with the consensus of the Global Conference held in Geneva on 10-11 December 2015, the World Organisation for Animal Health and the World Health Organization are releasing their global framework for the elimination of dog-mediated human rabies, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and with the support of the Global Alliance for Rabies Control.

16 Mar 2016

Decreased dietary diversity linked to reduced microbiotic richness

Changes in farming practices over the last 50 years have resulted in decreased agro-diversity which, in turn, has resulted in decreased dietary diversity. The significant impact of this change in dietary richness on human health is the topic of an insightful perspective in Molecular Metabolism by Mark Heiman, MicroBiome Therapeutics and Frank Greenway, Pennington Biomedical Research Center

15 Mar 2016

Food monopolies growing everywhere, reveals new book

Food monopolies are everywhere - and they're growing. A new book by a Michigan State University professor dissects the troubling trend and shows how it's happening on all levels of the food chain.

11 Mar 2016

MU researchers awarded $4.2 million NSF grant to study corn

Developing drought-tolerant corn varieties that make efficient use of available water is vital to sustain the estimated 9 billion global population by 2050. For the past several decades, University of Missouri researchers have been working to solve this world hunger problem and have made significant strides.

11 Mar 2016

Newly released Dietary Guidelines ignore environmental provisions, sustainable agriculture practices

A national survey of 800 Americans shows that 74 percent of adults believe the newly released Dietary Guidelines should include environmental provisions and support sustainable agriculture practices.

10 Mar 2016

Startling lack of resistance genes discovered in intensively-farmed beef

In the first study to track antibiotic resistance in intensively-farmed beef, scientists discovered a "startling" lack of resistance genes in meat.Meanwhile, in soil and faeces samples from cattle pens they found genes resistant to a powerful "last resort" class of antibiotics called carpabemens that aren't used in the livestock industry. These genes may have jumped from humans or companion animals to livestock, or could even be present at low levels in the wider environment.

9 Mar 2016

Antibiotic resistance: A serious threat to human health

The World Health Organization has identified antibiotic resistance as a serious threat to human health across the world. The Journal of Environmental Quality recently published a special section titled "Antibiotics in Agroecosystems" to address the science of this important topic.

4 Mar 2016

Global climate crisis threatens public health

In a review published in the Annals of Global Health, doctors warn of the impending public health crisis brought on by climate change and call for action to help prepare the world for what is ahead.

2 Mar 2016

New study identifies food choices, nutritional profiles of people with fewer fresh food options

Pork, mayonnaise and cookies versus bagels, kale and hummus. That's the glaring difference in food choices by between two groups of people in the northeastern United States.

27 Feb 2016

Okayama University e-Bulletin highlights role of designer DNA-binding proteins to fight viral infections in agriculture, medicine

This issue includes a feature on designer DNA-binding proteins to combat viral infections in agriculture and medicine; news items include updates of official opening of the Okayama University Silicon Valley Office at Fremont (CA), and international collaboration work with Xiamen University; research highlights on immunizing plants; identification of gene Vrn-D4 for enabling wheat to adapt to areas with warm winters; importance of introgression on intra-specific genetic differentiation and adaptive divergence; an interesting twist on supercooled liquid water; and manufacturing denim in Okayama.

25 Feb 2016