science wire

For a long time, researchers believed the diets of ancient people were nutritionally poor. Everyday ancient Mediterranean civilizations relied on a diet of grains and pulses (chickpeas, lentils and other members of the bean family). Researchers thought this food lacked micronutrients such as zinc and iron, while also containing components that inhibit the uptake of what nutrients the food did have.

A new book published by researchers at the University of Sydney and Curtin University explores how global food production and consumption are impacting the environment and contributing to emissions, offering a positive, sustainable way forward.

Farmlands across Europe are potentially the biggest global reservoir of microplastics due to the high concentrations found in fertilisers derived from sewage sludge, new research has shown. Scientists from Cardiff University and the University of Manchester estimate that between 31,000 and 42,000 tonnes of microplastics (or 86 - 710 trillion microplastic particles) are applied to European soils annually, mirroring the concentration of microplastics found in ocean surface waters.

Researchers Sabine Hoffmann, Kai Udert and Lisa Deutsch are committed to a sanitation and nutrient transformation. They use an example to explain why a transformation is needed and why collaboration with politicians in particular is a challenge. "Resources from the bowl are the key" (in German: "Ressourcen aus der Schüssel sind der Schlüssel") is the title of a discussion paper that Sabine Hoffmann, Lisa Deutsch and Kai Udert developed together with a transdisciplinary team from research, politics and practice.

A £2.5M project to efficiently convert grass into a range of new food products and ingredients by using cutting-edge biotechnology has received funding Research to create low-carbon meat and da

However, in small quantities it can be quite sustainable, shows a study by the University of Bonn If our planet Earth is to continue feeding us in the future, rich countries must significantly reduce their meat consumption - ideally by at least 75 percent.

The world may be facing a devastating "hidden" collapse in insect species due to the twin threats of climate change and habitat loss according to new research by Dr Tim Newbold and Dr Charlie Outhwaite (UCL Biosciences) Insects are critical to the future of our planet. They help to keep pest species under control and break down dead material to release nutrients into the soil.

Empa and BASE (Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy) launched a data-science driven mobile app that aims to minimize the loss of food production and lower greenhouse gas emissions by enabling access to cooling facilities and allowing smallholder farmers to monitor the shelf-life of their produce.

Despite Detroit's reputation as a mecca for urban agriculture, a new University of Michigan-led analysis of the city's Lower Eastside, which covers 15 square miles, found that community and private gardens occupy less than 1% of the vacant land. Even so, gardens on Detroit's Lower Eastside, which has one of the city's highest vacancy levels, play an important role in reducing neighborhood blight and have the potential to provide other significant benefits to residents in the future, according to the new study.

The invasion of Ukraine entails rapid price increases not only for energy, but also for food. Ukraine is one of the world's top agricultural producers - it produces 11 percent of the world's wheat and more than 50 percent of sunflower oil.

A team from UdeM's Department of Computer Science and Operations Research is using artificial intelligence (AI) and modeling to optimize and automate winter strawberry production.

Doctor X Nabat is the name of an application for the early detection of diseases and pests in horticultural crops, developed by the members of the research group on Plant Phenomics, belonging to the

TUM@Freising: Lecture on the importance of boron, arsenic and other semimetals for agriculture The semimetal boron is an essential microelement for plants.

This year's National Week Without Meat & Dairy will take place from Monday, 7 March until Sunday, 13 March (weekzondervlees.nl).

Eating wild-caught fish instead of using it as feed in salmon farming would allow nearly four million tonnes of fish to be left in the sea, while providing an extra six million tonnes of seafood for human consumption, a study finds.

Ceragen is helping farmers engineer the plant microbiome to increase crop yields By Stephanie Longeway University Relations Danielle Rose works under a pop-up grow tent inside Velocity's main incubator workspace.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is on the cusp of driving an agricultural revolution, and helping confront the challenge of feeding our growing global population in a sustainable way.

Cambridge researchers will tackle environmental threats that could affect a third of the UK's home-grown vegetables and more than a quarter of its rare and endangered wild animals.

Robotic mushroom harvester, operating at Whitecrest Mushrooms Limited, in Putnam, Ont. (Submitted) Ten years ago, local mushroom farmer Murray Good approached engineering professor Mehrdad Kermani with a challenge. Could Kermani and his team develop an autonomous mushroom harvesting robot to address the labour shortage Good and mushroom farmers around the world were facing? Kermani, a world leader in the field of safe human-robot interactions , wasn't sure at first.

Sowing crops with agroeconomical services, that is, with benefits for the global ecosystem in crop practices is an efficient strategy for improving environmental sustainability.

Meat alternatives are suddenly everywhere, from burger joints to supermarket shelves to restaurant-grade food.

Phosphorus is one of the most important nutrients for plants. Among other functions, it is needed to create substances for the plant's immune system, for the healthy development of seeds and for root growth.

As many as half a million Australians are suffering from constant tinnitus, with farmers, automotive workers, transport drivers, construction workers and other trades people at the greatest risk, a national survey as part of Curtin-led research has found.

By focusing on nominal prices instead of inflation-adjusted real prices, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) risks understating global food security problems The inflation-adjusted index

The international scientific community has created a validated list of scientific names for legumes.

Supporting On-Farm Experimentation networks and activities globally to better connect farmers and researchers could help transform the agricultural industry and solve some of its toughest challenges, a international study led by Curtin University in partnership with Murdoch University and CSIRO has found.

The first comprehensive analysis of drinking water quality in California finds that 370,000 or more rely on drinking water that may contain unsafe chemical contaminants and that communities of color are more likely to be impacted.

By combining trees with crops or livestock on a single agricultural plot, agroforestry is increasingly viewed as a significant element in the agroecological transition to sustainable farming and food systems.

Researchers at the University of Toronto have begun studying school-based meal programs across Canada to better understand which programs work well, how they have functioned during the COVID-19 pandemic - and whether a long-discussed national program could improve child nutrition in this country.

An innovative herbicide delivery system could revolutionise the way agricultural and environmental managers battle invasive weeds.

What do our toilets have to do with global challenges such as climate change? Climate change - particularly fast, worldwide population growth - poses significant global challenges for us.

Institucional The University of Barcelona and the company Chartier World LAB Barcelona have created the UB - Gastronomy and aroma - Chartier LAB Chair.

Agriculture experts from The Australian National University (ANU) have teamed up with government bodies and NGOs in sub-Saharan Africa to improve irrigation schemes and boost crop production.

The increase of intestinal permeability is associated with factors such as ageing, food allergies and intolerances and unhealthy diets. This alteration causes a reduction of the gut integrity barrier that triggers the transit of potentially-toxic substances for the blood, and is related to the development of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and even Alzheimer's.

It's no longer sufficient just to show that child slavery practices are happening, campaigners need to invest time and effort to truly understand the processes and conditions that create them, says Dr Michael Odijie (UCL History).