Food and Agricultural Sciences News and Research

Latest Food and Agricultural Sciences News and Research

New way to make 'green' ammonia from air, water, and renewable electricity

Chemical engineers at UNSW Sydney have found a way to make 'green' ammonia from air, water and renewable electricity that does not require the high temperatures, high pressure and huge infrastructure currently needed to produce this essential compound.

From The University of New South Wales (UNSW) 22 Jan 2021

New approach to biomaterial production may ease environmental burden of forestry, agriculture

It takes a lot to make a wooden table. Grow a tree, cut it down, transport it, mill it ... you get the point. It's a decades-long process. Luis Fernando Velásquez-García suggests a simpler solution: "If you want a table, then you should just grow a table."

22 Jan 2021

Antibiotic resistance may be spreading much faster than expected

Pathogenic bacteria in humans are developing resistance to antibiotics much faster than expected. Now, computational research at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, shows that one reason could be significant genetic transfer between bacteria in our ecosystems and to humans. This work has also led to new tools for resistance researchers.

21 Jan 2021

New form of cultivated meat promises more natural flavor and texture

Researchers have created a type of cultivated meat using a process that offers more natural flavor than other substitutes to conventional animal meat.

20 Jan 2021

New technique helps detect dangerous histamine levels in fish samples

For people buying food products, there is no way to determine the safety and quality of food that is delivered to their plates by existing distribution systems.

20 Jan 2021

Study highlights need to develop new measures to improve conservation outcomes in protected areas

Protected areas are critical to mitigating extinction of species; however, they may also be in conflict with efforts to feed the growing human population.

20 Jan 2021

Global analysis of the impact of land acquisitions on local food security

Large-scale land acquisitions by foreign investors, intended to improve global food security, had little to no benefit, increasing crop production in some areas while simultaneously threatening local food security in others, according to researchers who studied their effects.

20 Jan 2021

Fecal microbiome differs in healthy and food-allergic twins

A new study out of the University of Chicago and Stanford University on pairs of twins with and without food allergies has identified potential microbial players in this condition. The results were published on Jan. 19 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

20 Jan 2021

Scientists urge global policymakers to recognize fish as a solution to food insecurity

Scientists are urging global policymakers and funders to think of fish as a solution to food insecurity and malnutrition, and not just as a natural resource that provides income and livelihoods, in a newly-published paper in the peer-reviewed journal Ambio.

20 Jan 2021

New technique for electrolytic wastewater treatment

Researchers from the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS) have devised a technique for electrolytic wastewater treatment that destroys microplastics at the source.

19 Jan 2021

New genome resource helps study genetic traits in major crops

Thanks to a new genome resource created for green millet, researchers will be able to study the genetics of crucial traits in crops, like sorghum and maize, in a much better way. The resource was created by three RIKEN scientists.

18 Jan 2021

Researchers use novel technique to improve aquaculture

A team of researchers has effectively created larger-than-usual zooplankton strains by producing mutations with the help of a heavy ion beam.

18 Jan 2021

Study identifies gene networks that control sugar and organic acid metabolism during fruit development

The watermelon and melon cultivation project by researchers achieved a new advancement in controlling the metabolism of sugar in watermelon fruit.

15 Jan 2021

Exaggerated activation of food quality control system may explain the rising food allergies

For more than three decades, food allergies have been rising drastically across the developed world.

15 Jan 2021

Ethylene allows plant roots to sense and avoid compacted soils

The volatile plant hormone ethylene allows plant roots to sense and avoid compacted soils, researchers report. Rendering roots insensitive to ethylene allowed them to penetrate compacted soils more effectively, the same group showed.

15 Jan 2021

Study: Cattle feed yards emit synthetic chemical cocktails into the environment

A recent Point of Reference article, "The meat of the matter: Environmental dissemination of beef cattle agrochemicals," published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, points at synthetic chemical cocktails being emitted from cattle feed yards into the environment and how they can impact our ecosystem and our health.

15 Jan 2021

Study: No-till practices can significantly reduce soil erosion rates

Soil erosion is a major challenge in agricultural production. It affects soil quality and carries nutrient sediments that pollute waterways. While soil erosion is a naturally occurring process, agricultural activities such as conventional tilling exacerbate it.

13 Jan 2021