Agriculture News and Research

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Study presents new framework to assess urban food waste policies and initiatives

Food waste is one of the most important issues of current food systems: Food and Agriculture Organization has estimated that more than one third of food is either lost or wasted along the entire food supply chain causing significant economic, social and environmental impacts.

20 Oct 2020

New book highlights climate crisis, urges governments for a sustainable future

When COVID-19 announced its catastrophic presence in the global theatre it temporarily upstaged the climate crisis which showed we were on the path to environmental and social disaster.

16 Oct 2020

Researchers engineer cow muscle cells to produce plant nutrients

A group of researchers at Tufts University have genetically engineered cow muscle cells to produce plant nutrients not natively found in beef cells.

15 Oct 2020

Lockdowns improved air quality, averted tens of thousands of deaths in severely polluted regions

Lockdowns initiated to curb the spread of the coronavirus in China and Europe at the beginning of the pandemic improved air quality, averting tens of thousands of deaths in regions where air pollution has a significant impact on mortality, a new study shows.

15 Oct 2020

Even light physical activity can significantly boost health, shows study

More than 5 million people around the world die from causes associated with a lack of physical activity. Two research teams at UC San Diego School of Medicine sought to understand sedentary lifestyles, with one study finding that even light physical activity, including just standing, can benefit health, and the other that Americans are still sitting too much.

13 Oct 2020

Mologic launches its first crop pathogen diagnostic test

Mologic Ltd, a leading developer of lateral flow and rapid diagnostic technologies, today announced the launch of its first crop pathogen diagnostic test, BotrytisAlert.

9 Oct 2020

Genomic study shows the evolutionary history of banyan trees and their wasp pollinators

The banyan fig tree Ficus microcarpa is famous for its aerial roots, which sprout from branches and eventually reach the soil.

9 Oct 2020

Bio-based material can be used to make more sustainable diapers

More sustainable diapers are one possible use for a new bio-based material that researchers in Sweden are developing. The superabsorbent material is made with wheat gluten proteins from wheat starch processing, without directly competing with food resources.

8 Oct 2020

Researchers track down two new relatives of rubella virus

At night in a Ugandan forest, a team of American and African scientists take oral swabs from insect-eating cyclops leaf-nosed bats.

8 Oct 2020

Wearing facemask does not affect indicators of cognitive performance, shows study

A novel study shows that facemask use does not affect indicators of cognitive performance when the wearers are resting or performing moderate physical work in hot environments.

7 Oct 2020

Dried plum diet prevents spinal cord injury‐related bone loss

Findings from a new study among mice show a diet high in dried plum (prunes) completely prevents bone loss associated with spinal cord injury (SCI), while also restoring some of the bone lost following SCI.

6 Oct 2020

Researchers identify gene related to seed dispersal in green millet

For years, Elizabeth (Toby) Kellogg, PhD, member and Robert E. King Distinguished Investigator and other researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (Danforth Center) drove up and down the highways of the continental United States, occasionally pulling over to the side of the road to collect small weedy plants and bring them back to the lab.

6 Oct 2020

Midges and mosquitoes unlikely to spread SARS-CoV-2

A recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in September 2020 looked to see if biting insects pose a risk for transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to humans or animals following a SARS-CoV-2 infected blood meal.

5 Oct 2020

New research projects intend to alleviate farmer and rancher stress

The stress level in rural communities is off the charts. Farm and ranch closures, land forfeitures, labor issues and more contribute, and according to a 2015 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - a full five years before the COVID-19 pandemic hit - rates of suicide in rural communities measured twice that of urban areas.

26 Sep 2020