Food and Agricultural Sciences News and Research

Latest Food and Agricultural Sciences News and Research

New index relies on pigs to demonstrate protein quality for humans

Nearly a decade ago, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) developed a new index to assess protein quality in foods. The goal, writ large, was to address food security for the world's most vulnerable populations, creating more accurate tools for food assistance programs seeking to provide balanced nutrition.

24 Sep 2020

Farmers' knowledge and high-tech breeding can help find climate-resilient crops

In a review paper published in Frontiers in Plant Science, scientists urge the importance of combining the knowledge harbored by farmers of diverse crop varieties - which is often overlooked by scientists - with high-tech breeding done in laboratories.

24 Sep 2020

Study reveals over 20% of Americans suffer from food shortage

More than 18 percent of U.S. adults do not know whether they will have enough to eat from day to day, and the numbers are worse for Hispanics, Blacks, people with obesity, and women, a new report shows.

24 Sep 2020

A new formula to make safe fermented milk products

A research project headed by the Technical University of Denmark, DTU, has come up with the formula for a freeze-dried starter culture that African camel milk farmers can use to make safe, fermented milk products.

24 Sep 2020

Making healthy, environmentally friendly protein from the air

Increasing environmental challenges have led scientists to rethink how protein can be produced. Traditional processes require a lot of space on land or sea, resulting in a high carbon footprint and reduced resources.

24 Sep 2020

Study shows how climate change may affect different ecosystems

To understand how climate change may affect different ecosystems, 27 researchers from Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana and Puerto Rico, among other countries, conducted experiments in seven different locations involving the aquatic environment in the tank (centrally-located water-holding cup) of bromeliads, a habitat for insect larvae and other small organisms.

24 Sep 2020

Climate change is a risk accelerator for several aspects of economy and society

It could be worth up to 8% of GDP per capita, exacerbate the differences between north and south, between society's rich and poor, as well as affect a number of Italy's strategic sectors: climate change is a risk accelerator for many aspects of both the economy and society.

24 Sep 2020

New interactive tool finds toxins lurking in drinking water

Exposure to hydraulic fracturing fluid in drinking water has been shown to increase the risk of respiratory problems, premature births, congenital heart defects, and other medical problems.

24 Sep 2020

Ecologists use satellite images to track global tundra ecosystems

As Arctic summers warm, Earth's northern landscapes are changing. Using satellite images to track global tundra ecosystems over decades, a team of researchers finds the region has become greener as warmer air and soil temperatures lead to increased plant growth.

24 Sep 2020

New research initiative to model species' range shifts in response to climate change

In response to a changing climate, populations of plants and animals move to more hospitable locations. Predicting where species will end up, and how New England farmers and rural communities need to plan and adapt accordingly is the focus of a new interdisciplinary research initiative led by the University of Maine.

24 Sep 2020

Front of package nutrition labels linked with improved nutritional content

A new study analyzing 16 years of data on tens of thousands of products finds that the adoption of nutrition data on "front of package" (FOP) labels is associated with improved nutritional content of those foods and their competitors.

24 Sep 2020

Combination treatment improves outcomes in advanced kidney cancer patients

An immunotherapy agent combined with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor drug significantly improved progression-free survival and reduced the risk of death compared to a single agent treatment in advanced kidney cancer patients, according to first results of a phase 3 clinical trial. The pivotal study could lead to a new treatment option for patients with metastatic kidney cancer.

24 Sep 2020

The widespread use of antibiotics in crop production and its risks

AZoLifeSciences talks to Dr. Phil Taylor and Dr. Rob Reeder about their research into the scale of antibiotic use in crop production.

From Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) 24 Sep 2020

Study sheds light on the evolution of cheating and cooperative behaviors within different organisms

Cheating mitochondria can exploit cellular mechanisms for dealing with the scarcity of food in a worm, although this can decrease its wellbeing

24 Sep 2020

Research project to explore the impact of global warming on fungi species

Scientists from universities in the UK, US and Argentina are joining forces in a $1m research project to discover what impact an increase in global temperatures could have on the millions of species of fungi around the world.

From Northumbria University 23 Sep 2020

Researchers sequence and assemble the genome of wels catfish

An international research team led by scientists from Estonian University of Life Sciences has for the first time sequenced and assembled the genome of the wels catfish (Silurus glanis).

23 Sep 2020

Water quality database helps scientists to monitor and manage health of freshwater lakes

Although less than one per cent of all water in the world is freshwater, it is what we drink and use for agriculture. In other words, it's vital to human survival. York University researchers have just created a publicly available water quality database for close to 12,000 freshwater lakes globally - almost half of the world's freshwater supply - that will help scientists monitor and manage the health of these lakes.

From York University 23 Sep 2020