Food and Agricultural Sciences News and Research

Latest Food and Agricultural Sciences News and Research

Manual pollination increases the cocoa yield and farming income

Cocoa is in great demand on the world market, but there are many different ways to increase production. A research team from the University of Göttingen has now investigated the relative importance of the use of pesticides, fertilizers and manual pollination in a well replicated field trial in Indonesian agroforestry systems.

1 Oct 2020

Rapeseed could replace soy as best plant-based source of protein for humans

Rapeseed has the potential to replace soy as the best plant-based source of protein for humans. In a current study, nutrition scientists at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), found that rapeseed protein consumption has comparable beneficial effects on human metabolism as soy protein.

1 Oct 2020

New study shows the possibility of achieving clean air worldwide

Air pollution is currently the largest environmental risk factor for human health globally and can be linked to several million cases of premature deaths every year.

30 Sep 2020

Climate change impacts the biodiversity of marine communities in the Pacific Arctic

Climate warming will alter marine community compositions as species are expected to shift poleward, significantly impacting the Arctic marine ecosystem.

30 Sep 2020

Research highlights the lack of data about lesser-known cannabis compounds

THC and CBD. Anyone who has used, sold, studied or even read much about marijuana likely recognizes these acronyms as active ingredients in the plant.

30 Sep 2020

Noise levels can play a major role in dining experience

Noise can make or break a dining experience, according to a laboratory study replicating common noise levels in restaurants.

30 Sep 2020

New project aims to strengthen agro-biodiversity and food diversity

Twenty-eight interdisciplinary partners will be coming together from 30 September to 2 October for the kick-off meeting of the FoodLAND project. Due to the current COVID-19 global health situation, the event will take place online.

29 Sep 2020

Jellyfish with your Chips instead? Creating New Sustainable Takeaways

Leslie Roberson speaks to AZoLifeSciences about her research into endangered seafood, and how creating sustainable takeaways could overcome this.

From University of Queensland 29 Sep 2020

Biodiversity increases plant decomposition rate

The afterlife of plant matter plays a significant role in ecosystems, as a key processor and provider of key nutrients.

29 Sep 2020

Analysis of wild tomatoes elucidates genetic basis underlying fruit traits

Domestication and subsequent intensive breeding of tomato had a major impact on fruit ripening and the myriad metabolic processes accompanying it.

29 Sep 2020

Early introduction of gluten may prevent coeliac disease in children

Introducing high doses of gluten from four months of age into infants' diets could prevent them from developing coeliac disease, a study has found.

29 Sep 2020

Reusable tableware can reduce plastic waste and life cycle emissions

In China, approximately 10 billion online food orders were served to over 400 million customers in 2018. All of these orders came in single-use plastic packaging, with single-use plastic tableware.

28 Sep 2020

Fast, accurate and non-destructive: The new method to analyze food quality

Consumers always look for good quality products, above all in fresh food. But how do we measure the quality of fresh spinach before it gets on the market?

28 Sep 2020

Tree rings show scale of arctic pollution is worse than previously thought

A large study of tree rings has shown that the direct and indirect effects of industrial pollution in the region and beyond are far worse than previously thought.

28 Sep 2020

Loss of seagrass will leave tropical islands vulnerable to climate change

Tropical islands have an important ally when it comes to battling storms and sea-level rise: seagrass. During hurricane Irma, an extremely powerful Category 5 storm that hit the North Caribbean in 2017, NIOZ scientist Rebecca James witnessed how native seagrass meadows along the coast of Sint Maarten held their ground, reduced coastal erosion and lowered the chances of flooding.

25 Sep 2020

Study: Consumption of cooked carrots can also trigger allergic reactions

The consumption of raw carrots triggers allergic reactions in many people. Contrary to popular belief, cooked carrots can also have this effect. This was recently discovered by a research team at the University of Bayreuth.

25 Sep 2020

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