Tag: agriculture
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ARPA-E to Fund $130 Million for New Energy R&D
The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced the availability of funding of five new research areas in its fourth round of grants for new energy technologies. The projects to be funded will involve rare earth alternatives, biofuels, thermal storage, grid controls, and solar power electronics. ARPA-E is modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency…
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U.S. Meat, Poultry Found with Drug-Resistant Staph Bacteria
A study in five cities by the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix, Arizona finds drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in meat and poultry from U.S. grocery stores at unexpectedly high rates. The study’s findings appear in today in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. S. aureus is a bacteria linked to a wide…
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Monsanto, Venture Company to Fund Life Science Start Ups
Monsanto Company in St. Louis, Missouri and Atlas Venture, a venture capital firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts, agreed to jointly explore investments in early-stage life sciences companies. Monsanto is a manufacturer of agricultural chemicals; Atlas Venture invests in early-stage technology and life sciences businesses. Under the agreement, Monsanto and Atlas will identify investments in several agricultural…
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Lab: Algae Can Produce Fuel Equivalent to 17 Pct of Imports
A study by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington estimates that growing algae for biofuel could realistically replace 17 percent of the nation’s imported oil for transportation. The research team from the lab, part of the U.S. Department of Energy, and other colleagues published its findings in the journal Water Resources Research…
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Manuka Honey Shows Potential For Drug-Resistant Wounds
Research at University of Wales Institute, Cardiff suggests that manuka honey can help reverse bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Cardiff biologist Rose Cooper will report on her findings this week at a meeting of the Society for General Microbiology. Manuka honey is produced by bees fed on the flowers of the New Zealand manuka bush, and…
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Ozone Acts As Vaccine to Protect Fruit from Spoilage
Biologists at Newcastle University in the U.K. have found that exposing fruit to a blast of ozone gas can protect them against spoilage from fungus. Microbiologist Ian Singleton (pictured right) and plant biologist Jerry Barnes at Newcastle present their findings today at the spring conference of the Society for General Microbiology. Singleton says the ozone…
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Business Council Releases Ecosystem Valuation Guide
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in Geneva, Switzerland released today its Guide to Corporate Ecosystem Valuation (CEV), to help businesses better understand the benefits and value of ecosystem services like fresh water, food, fiber, and natural hazard protection. The CEV guide can be downloaded free of charge from the WBCSD Web site.…
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Gene Added to Soybean Plants Adds Protein to Seeds
Research conducted at Iowa State University in Ames found an external gene introduced to soybeans can substantially increase the amount of protein in soybean seeds. The university has filed a patent and aims to commercialize the technology. Professor of genetics Eve Wurtele and adjunct professor Ling Li placed a gene found only in Arabidopsis plants…
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Elm Variety Discovered with Possible Disease Resistance
Two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists believe they have found a missing variety of American elm tree with genes that carry resistance to Dutch elm disease. Botanist Alan Whittemore and geneticist Richard Olsen, with the USDA’s National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., will publish their findings in the April edition of the American Journal of…
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Study: Food Scares and Product Recalls Increasing
Researchers at Queen’s University in Belfast, U.K. have completed the first analysis of all food recalls announced in the U.S., U.K., and Ireland over the last decade. The findings will be presented at the Food Integrity and Traceability Conference taking place at Queen’s University this week. The research by Antony Potter at the university’s Centre…