News 2019

Take protein - for instance, in the form of skimmed-milk powder - and put a pinch of it in a test tube. To determine how efficiently this dietary protein is converted into endogenous protein, follow the recipe described in the online science step-by-step in the laboratory. And voilà, the value of the protein, i.e. its benefit for humans, is revealed.

More needs to be done to tackle modern slavery in supply chains in Brazil - one of the world's biggest suppliers of beef and an important source of timber. Whilst some businesses in Brazil are already putting measures in place to tackle modern slavery in their supply chains, there is a lack of consistency in approach, action is voluntary, and initiatives are frequently limited to specific communities or locations, according to new research.

University of Queensland researchers trying to pinpoint the mystery killer behind 'pasture dieback' find their research is fascinating - but they would much prefer to watch grass grow. Dieback, which causes large tracts of pasture to unexpectedly collapse and die, has been identified at two sites at UQ's Gatton campus.

Consumption of sugary drinks in Berkeley's diverse and low-income neighborhoods dropped precipitously in 2015, just months after the city levied the nation's first soda tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. Three years later, residents in these neighborhoods reported drinking 52 percent fewer servings of sugary drinks than they did before the tax was passed in November 2014, shows a new report from the University of California, Berkeley.

Around two-thirds of the global adult population cannot digest lactose - milk sugar - due to a deficiency in lactase, the enzyme that is required for lactose digestion in humans. Generally, consumers are unaware of whether they are able to digest the lactose contained in dairy products. However, Agroscope and Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) researchers have now discovered a new method to measure the presence of lactase in the human body, and consequently determine an individual's ability to digest lactose.

Growing meat in the laboratory may do more damage to the climate in the long run than meat from cattle, according to new research. In a first-of-its-kind study from the LEAP (Livestock, Environment and People) programme at the Oxford Martin School, the climate-change impact of several production methods for lab-grown and farmed beef was assessed accounting for the differing greenhouse gases produced.

EPFL's Digital Epidemiology Laboratory has launched Food & You - one of Switzerland's first citizen science initiatives on personalized nutrition. The study aims to create a digital cohort that will help scientists develop nutritional guidelines that can be personalized to specific individuals. Several studies over the past few years have shown that what constitutes a healthy diet for an individual depends to some extent on his or her physiology and lifestyle.

"Beer before wine and you'll feel fine; wine before beer and you'll feel queer" goes the age-old aphorism. But scientists have now shown that it doesn't matter how you order your drinks - if you drink too much, you're still likely to be ill. Unpleasant as hangovers are, we should remember that they do have one important benefit..

A fresh look by the University of Bristol at how teenagers are affected by their asthma, eczema or obesity has some reassuring findings published in BMJ Open today (Monday 21 January). Researchers supported by the NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre found that both girls and boys at the ages of 12, 14 and 16 did not experience different levels of active or sedentary time if they had asthma or eczema compared to their peers.

Grown throughout the world, F1 hybrid crop varieties have highly desirable traits. However, they remain expensive to produce. This situation may be about to change. By modifying the expression of certain genes, INRA researchers have created hybrid rice plants whose seeds give rise to offspring that are identical to the mother plant.