news 2017

The re-emergence of a rust disease that can kill wheat is threatening food security. A breakthrough has been announced in the prestigious journal Science. Global collaborators include CSIRO, the US Department of Agriculture and Rothamsted Research. Rust pathogens devastating crops in Africa, making a comeback in Europe Scientists have isolated the very first rust pathogen gene that wheat plants detect to 'switch on' resistance.

Over 50s with fewer than 20 teeth at higher risk of musculoskeletal frailty New research by scientists at King's College London has found that tooth loss may contribute to musculoskeletal frailty in the over 50s, with those with fewer than 20 teeth being at greatest risk. Published in Geriatrics & Gerontology International on 11 December, the research led by Dr Wael Sabbah, from King's College London Dental Institute, examined the overall health of 9,338 Americans aged 50 years and older.

Inleiding: On May 1st, 2018, Els Lecoutere presented her research on the Flemish public television broadcaster, the VRT (Vlaamse Radio -en Televisieomroeporganisatie). If you think of a dull science documentary, you got it wrong. She explained how gender and power relations influence collective action in Smurfs' land.

Adolescents' non-alcoholic drinks preferences are strongly influenced by their own individual circumstances and lifestyle choices, but not by their families and home environment, according to a new UCL study. The study, published in Scientific Reports and funded by the Medical Research Council, is the first paper to establish the relative importance of genetic and environmental influences on liking for a range of common non-alcoholic beverages, in a large population-based sample of older adolescent twins.

Researchers from The University of Queensland have discovered that a key gene which controls flowering time in wheat and barley crops also directs the plant's root growth. Project leader Dr Lee Hickey from the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) said the discovery was a major breakthrough in understanding the genetics of root development and could boost food security by allowing researchers to breed crops better adapted to a range of environments.

The first study to compare ancient and living female bones shows that women from early agricultural eras had stronger arms than the rowers of Cambridge University's famously competitive boat club. Researchers say the findings suggest a "hidden history" of gruelling manual labour performed by women that stretched across millennia.

For the first time researchers have quantified the number of cancers likely to be caused by diabetes and high body mass index (BMI) worldwide. The study , led by Imperial College London, found that nearly six per cent of new worldwide cancer cases in 2012 were caused by the combined effects of diabetes and being overweight (BMI of over 25 kg/m2) or obese (BMI of over 30 kg/m2).

A new simple test that helps predicts which people with type 2 diabetes will benefit most from weight loss surgery has been developed by a UCL-led team. The study, published today in Diabetic Medicine , also reports that keeping the weight off after bariatric surgery is more important than which type of weight loss operation was done.

What began in 2012 is now entering its final stages: Europe's largest study on aging. The international research network behind the DO-HEALTH study is led by Heike Bischoff-Ferrari, Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Aging Research at the University of Zurich, and Head of the Department of Geriatrics at the UniversityHospital Zurich and the Waid City Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland.

'Genome editing is not the answer to world poverty, because food shortage isn't the problem' says a group of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) surveyed by the University of Nottingham. This is one of three main findings in a report from the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University, which looks at NGO's scepticism of genome editing technology.

Ancient peoples began to systematically affect evolution of crops up to 30,000 years ago - ten millennia before experts previously thought, says new University of Warwick research Rice, wheat and barley were used so much that their evolution was affected - beginning the process that eventually turned them from wild to domesticated - as long ago as the last Ice Age Einkorn found to be on the evolutionary trajectory to domestication up to 30,000 y

Research news Obesity leads to the release of cytokines into the bloodstream which impact the metabolism of breast cancer cells, making them more aggressive as a result. Scientists from Technical University of Munich (TUM), Helmholtz Zentrum München, and Heidelberg University Hospital report on this in Cell Metabolism .

An Australian study of peptide hormones critical for plant development could result in enhanced agricultural yields, benefits to tissue culture, and improved knowledge of peptide hormones in humans. The study, involving University of Queensland and University of Sydney researchers, included the synthesis and examination of CLE peptides, a relatively new family of growth hormones in plants.

An exploratory study carried out by Inra inside Agreenium's network enabled to identify French research and agricultural higher education outlines worldwide.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Nutrition has been linked to cognitive performance, but researchers have not pinpointed what underlies the connection. A new study by University of Illinois researchers found that monounsaturated fatty acids - a class of nutrients found in olive oils, nuts and avocados - are linked to general intelligence, and that this relationship is driven by the correlation between MUFAs and the organization of the brain's attention network.

Zurich-Reckenholz, 05. In June of this year, the Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) was detected for the first time in Switzerland, in the canton of Ticino. Considered to be a quarantine pest, it is subject to obligatory control. Agroscope researchers are testing whether this quarantine pest can be controlled with fungi that are effective against May and June beetles.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Metabolically healthy obese adults consuming a diet high in unsaturated fat and low in saturated fat may be able to decrease their total cholesterol by 10 points, a new study suggests. However, there was little research evidence to support current dietary recommendations that replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat aids in weight loss, the researchers also reported in their meta-analysis of recent dietary studies.

Self-compassion is an important part of recovery for people with eating disorders, University of Queensland researchers have found. The School of Psychology study reviewed the use of compassion focussed therapy (CFT) in the treatment of eating and weight concerns. CFT, which has grown over the last two decades, encourages self-compassion to alleviate suffering that is created by an individual's self-criticism and shame.

Researchers say their new knowledge on the inner workings of a bacterium has important implications for Australia's billion dollar cheese industry. University of Queensland School of Agriculture and Food Sciences researcher Associate Professor Mark Turner said a discovery by a UQ, Columbia University and University of Washington research group had explained the regulation of an enzyme in the bacterium Lactococcus, which is used as a starter culture in cheese production.

A study by researchers at King's College London has found that children who skip breakfast regularly may not be consuming the daily amounts of key nutrients for growth and development that are recommended by the UK government. Children who ate breakfast every day were deemed to have overall superior nutritional profiles compared to those who didn't.