Food and Agricultural Sciences News and Research

Latest Food and Agricultural Sciences News and Research

Protein in the pancreas protects beta-cells from high-fat diet induced stress

Every time we eat, the glucose level in our body goes up. This spurs our pancreatic machinery into action and through intricate physiological mechanisms, appropriate amounts of insulin are produced, our blood glucose levels are controlled, and we remain healthy.

17 Sep 2020

Research can help farmers select the best cover crops to protect the soil

Farmers around the world are keen to protect their most important asset: their soil. The soil supports and enriches their crops. But the relatively thin layer of topsoil can readily wash away into streams, carrying unwanted nutrients with it.

17 Sep 2020

Growing algae for biofuels in the dark using solar-generated electricity

Algae could compete with petroleum as the fuel of the future if only the process of growing it was more efficient. Thanks to a fellowship from the Link Foundation, it soon could be.

16 Sep 2020

Viruses provide a "coup de grace" when ocean algae are stressed and dying

Scientists have long believed that ocean viruses always quickly kill algae, but Rutgers-led research shows they live in harmony with algae and viruses provide a "coup de grace" only when blooms of algae are already stressed and dying.

From Rutgers University 15 Sep 2020

Researchers examine micromechanical behavior of plant tissues to improve food production

QUT researchers are working to design faster, cheaper, and better ways to store food. Published in journal PLOS ONE, researchers used QUT's supercomputing facilities to examine the micromechanical behavior of plant tissues and how biological cells behave while dehydrated or dried.

15 Sep 2020

Tropical, Mediterranean animals are most sensitive to land-use and climate change

Animals in tropical and Mediterranean areas are the most sensitive to climate change and land use pressures, finds a new study by UCL researchers.

From University College London 15 Sep 2020

Researchers develop highly scalable and accurate antibody test for COVID-19

An antibody test for the virus that causes COVID-19, developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin in collaboration with Houston Methodist and other institutions, is more accurate and can handle a much larger number of donor samples at lower overall cost than standard antibody tests currently in use.

14 Sep 2020

Study shows how climate change impacts Arctic insect communities

Through a unique research collaboration, researchers at the University of Helsinki have exposed major changes taking place in the insect communities of the Arctic. Their study reveals how climate change is affecting small but important predators of other insects, i.e. parasitoids.

14 Sep 2020

Scientists recommend integrated weed management to augment the impact of herbicides

Given the increase in herbicide resistance among weeds, scientists and Extension weed specialists recommend integrated weed management (IWM), an approach that draws on physical, cultural, and biological strategies to augment the impact of herbicides.

11 Sep 2020

Sociological study focuses on perceptions about food purity and impurity

Is an oozing apple with fuzzy white mold better than one that is fresh and green a month after you bought it? Yes, according to a new sociological study of Danes' perceptions about food 'purity' and 'impurity'.

11 Sep 2020

Wild relatives could help domestic crops adapt to climate change

Earth is getting hotter. Huge amounts of greenhouse gases are warming the planet and altering the climate. Heat waves are harsher. Droughts are longer. And some diseases and pests are stronger than ever.

10 Sep 2020

Novel tool helps select the best gene-editing option

Scientists have improved one of the biggest scientific advancement of the past decade.

10 Sep 2020

Researchers reconstruct the birth of a male sex chromosome in Atlantic herring

The evolution of sex chromosomes is of crucial importance in biology as it stabilises the mechanism underlying sex determination and usually results in an equal sex ratio.

10 Sep 2020

In-depth study of kidney tumors reveals novel markers of response to immunotherapy

Treatments for kidney cancer have improved considerably over the past few decades. In 1988, when Memorial Sloan Kettering oncologist Robert Motzer started researching the disease, the average survival was less than one year.

9 Sep 2020

Early detection of soil-surface ozone can prevent damage to apples and grapes

Farmers and fruit growers are reporting that climate change is leading to increased ozone concentrations on the soil surface in their fields and orchards - an exposure that can cause irreversible plant damage, reduce crop yields and threaten the food supply, say materials chemists led by Trisha Andrew at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

9 Sep 2020

Food additives prove to be efficient at controlling bacteria on tomatoes preharvest

When vegetable farmers harvest crops, they often rely on postharvest washing to reduce any foodborne pathogens, but a new University of Georgia study shows promise in reducing these pathogens - as well as lowering labor costs-- by applying sanitizers to produce while it is still in the fields.

From University of Georgia 9 Sep 2020