Tag: agriculture
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USDA Funding Research to Aid Organic Dairy Farming
A $2.9 million grant will fund a team led by researchers at University of New Hampshire in Durham studying ways to help organic dairy farmers produce and market their milk. The four-year grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will also support researchers at universities…
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Gates Foundation, China to Partner on Health, Agriculture
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and China’s Ministry of Science and Technology announced a partnership to support research and development and manufacturing of new products to improve global health and agriculture. Bill Gates and vice-minister Zhang Laiwu signed an agreement that they say affirms their focus on meeting the needs of developing countries and…
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Genomic Sequencing Precisely Targets Food Pathogens
A collaboration of academic, industry, and government researchers have harnessed genomic sequencing to more precisely identify food pathogens. Their findings appeared online earlier this month in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology (paid subscription required). To identify the source of outbreaks of food-borne illnesses, such as salmonella, public health authorities have up to now analyzed…
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National Academies Urge Single, Simple Food Rating System
A study by the National Academy of Sciences recommends federal agencies develop an easy-to-understand point system that rates the nutritional value of packaged food and beverages. The point system, says the study authors, should reflect a single numerical rating that reflects calorie counts with saturated and trans fats, sodium, and added sugars. The study was…
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ARPA-E Grant Funds Development of Univ. Oil Plant Research
Arcadia Biosciences Inc. in Davis, California has received a $950,000 grant to develop technology that helps plants produce high levels of oil in their leaves and stems. That technology is based on research conducted at nearby University of California – Davis. Vegetable oil is the most concentrated source of energy made by plants, but is…
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$50K Challenge Seeks Higher Nutritional Value in Crop Tissue
A challenge on InnoCentive seeks new strategies through chemical, mechanical, or other means to improve the nutritional value of crop plant tissues. The competition has a prize of $50,000 and a deadline of 13 December 2011 for submissions. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts is a company the conducts open-innovation crowd-sourcing competitions for corporate and organization sponsors.…
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Students Start Company to Commercialize Biochar Process
Students at University of Washington in Seattle are taking to market a new process to turn forestry waste into biochar, a charcoal-like substance that boosts agricultural yields. Their company, C6 Systems, is also a recipient of one of the first Innovation Corps grants from National Science Foundation. Jenny Knoth, a UW doctoral student in forest…
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Broccoli Shown More Beneficial Than Supplement Substitutes
Food scientists at Oregon State University in Corvallis find that a key enzyme in whole broccoli is better absorbed by the body than when offered in a supplement. Their research appeared last month in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (paid subscription required). Broccoli has attracted the interest of researchers because it contains high…
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Genetic Technique Reduces Time to Bioengineer Pine Trees
Agricultural scientists at University of Florida in Gainesville have discovered a genetic process that can create new pine tree varieties in half the time it takes current methods. The development that involves a major industry in the southeast U.S. is described in the online edition of the journal New Phytologist (paid subscription required). The research…
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USDA Funding Forest, Grasses Biofuel Research
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, announced $137 million in grants for research on biofuels from tall grasses, crop residues, and forest resources. The five-year awards will go to 22 universities and companies, through the lead institutions in Washington, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Iowa. The grants will…