Food and Agricultural Sciences News and Research

Latest Food and Agricultural Sciences News and Research

No-tillage system helps maintain soil health and prevent erosion

Organic field crop farmers in the Northeast and Upper Midwest are facing an increasing number of challenges related to more extreme weather events and pest and disease outbreaks.

9 Nov 2020

Species-rich plant communities can limit herbivore pest outbreaks

Increasing plant diversity enhances the natural control of insect herbivory in grasslands. Species-rich plant communities support natural predators and simultaneously provide less valuable food for herbivores.

9 Nov 2020

Study analyzes changes in geographical range under different climate and socio-economic scenarios

Mammals, birds and amphibians worldwide have lost on average 18% of their natural habitat range as a result of changes in land use and climate change, a new study has found. In a worst-case scenario this loss could increase to 23% over the next 80 years.

9 Nov 2020

Study examines impact of “Front Style Labels”

Researchers from Illinois State University, North Carolina State University, University of South Carolina, and University of Maryland published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines the impact of moving nutrition labels, typically placed on the back of product packages, to the front.

9 Nov 2020

Converting lower value crops into nutritious food products

A new food manufacturing company, Nutri V, has been formed by leading vegetable grower Fresh Select and Australia’s national science agency CSIRO.

9 Nov 2020

Unrelated mutations can lead to false positive results in men with advanced prostate cancer

Unrelated mutations, when present in the blood, can lead to false positive results in men with advanced prostate cancer who are undergoing liquid biopsies.

6 Nov 2020

Study shows five strategies to mitigate climate change

Reducing fossil fuel use is essential to stopping climate change, but that goal will remain out of reach unless global agriculture and eating habits are also transformed, according to new research from the University of Minnesota and University of Oxford.

6 Nov 2020

Warming climate can affect species that depend on stable, abundant access to food

The climate seems to be getting warmer. This could be bad news for species that depend on stable and abundant access to food at certain times of the year.

6 Nov 2020

Scientists develop machine learning algorithms to determine oil viscosity

A group of Skoltech scientists developed machine learning (ML) algorithms that can teach artificial intelligence (AI) to determine oil viscosity based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data.

6 Nov 2020

Composition of virus communities is shaped by host genetic factors

Plants can be infected by multiple viruses at once. However, the composition of the pathogen community varies, even if individuals belong to the same species and the same population.

6 Nov 2020

Highly automated device rapidly detects the presence of COVID-19

Throughout the pandemic, infectious disease experts and frontline medical workers have asked for a faster, cheaper and more reliable COVID-19 test.

6 Nov 2020

LipiDiDiet project shows positive effects of nutrient intervention in early Alzheimer’s disease

Trial participants who received a multinutrient formulation over an extended period of time showed a significantly less rapid deterioration in cognitive performance than the patients in a control group, who received only a placebo.

6 Nov 2020

Researchers outline the future effects of global warming on major cancers

Climate change will bring an acute toll worldwide, with rising temperatures, wildfires and poor air quality, accompanied by higher rates of cancer, especially lung, skin and gastrointestinal cancers, according to a new report from UC San Francisco.

6 Nov 2020

A stepwise approach to increase crop yield

GAIN4CROPS is developing novel disruptive technologies to overcome one of the main constraints of photosynthesis: the photorespiration, a process that reduces CO2 assimilation efficiency, and thus biomass yield and agricultural productivity.

6 Nov 2020

Study shows AI can enhance breast cancer detection on mammography

Artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance the performance of radiologists in reading breast cancer screening mammograms, according to a study published in Radiology: Artificial Intelligence.

5 Nov 2020

Dietary supplement helps to partially prevent fatty liver disease in rats

A recent study by researchers at the University of Jyväskylä was successful in partially preventing fatty liver disease in rats.

5 Nov 2020

Study shows soil bacteria rely on fungi to survive dry periods

Researchers have used two different transparent soil substitutes to demonstrate how soil bacteria depend on fungi to help them endure the dry periods. The study was recently published in the eLife journal.

4 Nov 2020

Study: Oil extracted from wild olives has excellent sensorial and physicochemical characteristics

The oil from wild olive trees has excellent sensorial, physicochemical, and stability characteristics from a nutritional point of view, according to an article published in the journal Antioxidants.

4 Nov 2020

New research finds clues for disarming antibiotic-resistant bacteria

A virus can stop bacteria from sharing genes for antibiotic resistance among themselves, Texas A&M AgriLife researchers have discovered.

4 Nov 2020

Scientists examine dietary differences between male and female dolphins

More evidence has emerged to support stricter coastal management, this time focusing on pollution and overfishing in the picturesque tourist waters off Auckland in New Zealand.

4 Nov 2020