Tag: agriculture
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Fewer Drug-Resistant Bacteria in New Organic Poultry Farms
A study of mid-Atlantic poultry farms that switched to organic practices shows significantly lower levels of drug-resistant enterococci bacteria that can spread to humans. The findings by researchers from University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, and Pennsylvania State University appear online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The research, led by Amy Sapkota with the…
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Bio-Based Resins, Coatings Developed from Common Crops
Researchers at North Dakota State University in Fargo have developed a family of resins from renewable raw materials that eliminate hazardous components yet perform as well the originals. The team reported its findings earlier this year in the journal Biomacromolecules (paid subscription required). The researchers led by Dean Webster, professor in the NDSU Department of…
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New Measure Developed of Irrigation Water Requirements
The Agricultural Research Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has devised a new method for measuring the water requirements of crops, based on the yield per drop of water actually taken in by the crops. A company is now developing instruments and software to measure and manage the amounts of water absorbed…
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USDA Develops Cooked Corn-Soy Meal Supplement Product
The Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has developed a fully cooked food-aid product called Instant Corn Soy Blend that supplements meals, particularly for young children. The work was led by food technologist Charles Onwulata at the USDA’s Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania. A nutritionally fortified and processed corn-soy blend…
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Universities to Study Food Security in Appalachia
Virginia Tech in Blacksburg is collaborating with West Virginia University and North Carolina State University to develop, implement, and evaluate a food security strategy for the southern Appalachian region. The three-year, $2 million study is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.…
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Grad Student Develops Process to Recycle Paper Mill Waste
A graduate student at Hebrew University in Israel has developed a method for converting paper mill sludge into eco-friendly industrial foams. Shaul Lapidot (pictured right), a Ph.D. candidate in agriculture, also started a company that licensed the technology and plans to take the process to market. A paper mill uses wood fibers long enough to…
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Surfactants Discovered Among Naturally Occurring Yeasts
Scientists with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Peoria, Illinois have found naturally-grown yeasts that can produce molecules with surfactant properties. Surfactants are wetting agents that lower a liquid’s surface tension, used in a variety of consumer and industrial products, and normally derived from petroleum. Surfactants work by enabling the cleaning solution to fully wet…
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Wood Products Offered As Part of Carbon Control Strategy
Taking advantage of the full life-cycle of forests and wood products offers opportunities for greater control of carbon emissions, according to an analysis by a team of researchers from the U.S. and Sweden. Their paper appears in the June issue of the journal Carbon Management. The review, by Bruce Lippke, University of Washington professor emeritus…
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Rice Bolstered for Climate Impacts by Fungus Spores
Rice can become adapted to climate change by colonizing its seeds or plants with the spores of tiny naturally occurring fungi, according to new research led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The study is published online in the journal PLoS One. Rice, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, feeds half of the…
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International Team Completes Draft Sequence of Potato Genome
The Potato Genome Sequencing Consortium (PGSC), a global group of universities and research institutes, has published a draft sequence of the potato genome. Their work appears in the current issue of the journal Nature. PGSC began in 2006 at Wageningen University & Research Centre in the Netherlands, and has grown to include 29 research groups…