Nutrients News and Research

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Study shows how resilience of the Earth's climate system has changed over time

Oxygen levels in the ancient oceans were surprisingly resilient to climate change, new research suggests.

From University of Exeter 18 Jan 2021

Ethylene allows plant roots to sense and avoid compacted soils

The volatile plant hormone ethylene allows plant roots to sense and avoid compacted soils, researchers report. Rendering roots insensitive to ethylene allowed them to penetrate compacted soils more effectively, the same group showed.

15 Jan 2021

Study: No-till practices can significantly reduce soil erosion rates

Soil erosion is a major challenge in agricultural production. It affects soil quality and carries nutrient sediments that pollute waterways. While soil erosion is a naturally occurring process, agricultural activities such as conventional tilling exacerbate it.

13 Jan 2021

Study reveals richness of space-time gene expression dynamics of the liver

Nothing in biology is static. Biological processes fluctuate over time, and if we are to put together an accurate picture of cells, tissues, organs etc., we have to take into account their temporal patterns. In fact, this effort has given rise to an entire field of study known as "chronobiology".

12 Jan 2021

Finding ways to cultivate plants more efficiently in space

When in space, astronauts typically eat dehydrated, nutrient-dense food, but when it comes to longer space missions, that can become a problem as they'll eventually lack nutrients from fresh vegetables.

12 Jan 2021

New fermented coffee and tea contain gut-friendly live probiotics

Good news for those who need a cuppa to start the day. Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have created new probiotic coffee and tea drinks that are packed with gut-friendly live probiotics.

From National University of Singapore (NUS) 12 Jan 2021

Study identifies the effects of nutritional deficiency on patient survival after cardiac surgery

Nutrients are the structural components of food that the body needs to function properly. They are divided into macronutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates) and micronutrients (vitamins, provitamins, various minerals, and so on). Their shortage is called nutritional deficiency.

4 Jan 2021

Twist‐and‐squeeze mechanism of transporter protein confers cancer drug resistance

In 1986, cellular biochemist Kazumitsu Ueda, currently at Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences, discovered that a protein called ABCB1 could transport multiple chemotherapeutics out of some cancer cells, making them resistant to treatment. How it did this has remained a mystery for the past 35 years.

29 Dec 2020

Gut cells raise alarm during parasite invasion

To effectively combat an infection, the body first has to sense it's been invaded, then the affected tissue must send out signals to corral resources to fight the intruder.

29 Dec 2020

New project to study origin and major pathways of pollutants into coastal lagoons

A scientific project led by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena will study the major pathways delivering nutrients, trace metals and pollutants.

24 Dec 2020

Transporter protein likely played a crucial role in vertebrate evolution

A transporter protein that regulates cell membrane cholesterol likely played an important role in vertebrate evolution, according to a review published by iCeMS researchers in the journal FEBS Letters.

24 Dec 2020

Scientists find master switch that adjusts gene activity to match nutrient levels in roundworms

Transforming a fertilized egg into a fully functional adult is a complicated task. Cells must divide, move, and mature at specific times. Developmental genes control that process, turning on and off in a choreographed way.

23 Dec 2020

Terrestrial ecosystems are becoming less efficient in climate change mitigation

Land ecosystems currently play a key role in mitigating climate change. The more carbon dioxide (CO2) plants and trees absorb during photosynthesis, the process they use to make food, the less CO2 remains trapped in the atmosphere where it can cause temperatures to rise.

From NASA 21 Dec 2020

Study: Eating avocado as part of daily diet can help improve gut health

Eating avocado as part of your daily diet can help improve gut health, a new study from University of Illinois shows. Avocados are a healthy food that is high in dietary fiber and monounsaturated fat. However, it was not clear how avocados impact the microbes in the gastrointestinal system or "gut."

16 Dec 2020

Tepary beans are identified as a prospective forage and cover crop

Agriculture accounts for more than a third of water use in the United States. In drier parts of the country, like the southwestern U.S., that fraction can be much higher. For example, more than 75% of New Mexico's water use is for agriculture.

16 Dec 2020

Study identifies the most critical plants needed to sustain food web

University of Delaware Professor of Entomology Doug Tallamy published a new research study in Nature that systematically identifies the most critical plants needed to sustain food webs across the United States.

15 Dec 2020

New portable optical sensor can monitor plant stress

The portable device allows rapid detection of nitrogen deficiency - a critical nutrient for plant health. When tested on popular vegetables such as Spinach and Kai-Lan, the device was also able to detect levels of other metabolites; allowing measurement of a wider range of plant stress phenotypes such as drought, heat/cold, saline, and light stress.

11 Dec 2020

Tight arrangement between root endodermis and microbiome maintains mineral balance in plants

In a similar way to animal guts and the intestinal epithelium, plant roots are in charge of absorbing nutrients and water and of its subsequent transport to the vascular systems.

10 Dec 2020

New model predicts potential outcomes for plants’ “investment” in roots

You might have observed plants competing for sunlight -- the way they stretch upwards and outwards to block each other's access to the sun's rays -- but out of sight, another type of competition is happening underground.

4 Dec 2020

Plant amyloids could improve nutritional value of plant seeds, reduce allergenicity of legume seeds

Thanks to this work, as the journal Trends in Plant Science recently noted, it is now known that functional amyloids serve biological functions in representatives of almost all large groups of living organisms: bacteria, archaea, animals, fungi, and plants.

3 Dec 2020