science wire

A new way of using compost could boost global crop production and deliver huge benefits to the planet, according to a study co-led by The University of Queensland.

The opening of the academic year on 5 September is themed planetary boundaries. But, what are they? How can you study them, and can you use them in your day-to-day life? Today, episode 4: Sjoukje Heimovaara.

Writing in The Conversation, Professor Mark Maslin (UCL Geography) and Dr Simon Day (UCL Institute for Risk & Disaster Reduction) highlight how sulfur, a fossil fuel waste product, is an important industrial chemical and that the shift to renewable energy could affect its supply.

The newly launched ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture is cultivating the next crop of plant science experts.

A powerful new crop management tool has been launched today, to enable farmers, businesses, and governments to make more informed decisions about water management, irrigation investments, and climate risks.

Smallholder farmers are the backbone of Agriculture in Africa, and prospects of African transformation are tied to their performance.

Curtin University is part of a new agricultural science collaboration aimed at boosting Western Australia's agricultural research and development capabilities in light of climate change and other challenges facing the industry.

New research from the Royal Veterinary College has revealed the large extent of suboptimal vaccination practice in the UK sheep industry and the impact of the lack of awareness of training for farmers. The research also identified the barriers farmers face accessing training. This provides valuable information for the industry to help guide education of vaccination technique.

Veterinary public-health expert Professor Michael Ward explains why the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease among Indonesian cattle has Australia on edge.

The consumption of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) —a product with widely known benefits for our health— increases the level of phenolic compounds in breast milk and can cross the placental barrier, reaching the descendant. This has been stated in a study carried out by a team of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences , the UB Institute for Research on Nutrition and Food Safety (INSA-UB ) and the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition Networking Biomedical Research Centre ( CIBEROBN ).

The growth in demand for fish and seafood is harming stocks and valuable ecosystems. In response, food technologist Lukas Böcker and food chemist Severin Eder are developing microalgae-based seafood substitutes in their joint Pioneer Fellowship project.

Bee populations worldwide have been collapsing under attack from parasitic Varroa mites. Now, these mites have reached Australia.

Scientists at the University of Queensland are buzzing about a new citizen science project investigating some of Australia's native bee species in our own backyards. Dr Gurion Ang and Dr Tobias Smith from UQ's School of Biological Sciences are calling on citizen beekeepers to help observe native stingless bees, to better understand them and how their colonies reproduce.

Researchers led by the University of Bonn and Gobabeb/Namibia study drought-adapted melon varieties Southern Africa has a rich bounty of crop varieties, crop wild relatives, orphan crops and underuti

For Achim Walter, it-s time we take responsibility for what we eat. As consumers, we have a right to demand a food system that serves the environment, promotes health and protects those in less affluent circumstances.

An international scholarship student has found and defined the sequence of an important gene underlying leaf rust resistance in barley.

Edible insects and plant-based alternatives to meat will be discussed with children as part of new research. The project, led by academics at Cardiff University and the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), aims to find out children's attitudes to environmental issues and how this translates into views on the food they eat.

A leading astrophysicist uncovering the deep inner secrets of the Milky Way and a renowned plant scientist tackling one of the greatest challenges facing the agriculture industry have both been newly elected as Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science for 2022.

Olive oil is one of the most prestigious agri-foods in Spain and it is the base of the Mediterranean diet. This is why adulteration and commercial fraud cases occur when it comes to the origin and varieties of a product with such an economic and business interest. Now, a team from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences and the Institute for Nutrition and Food Safety Research ( INSA ) of the University of Barcelona presents a new authentication tool to check the geographical origin of virgin olive oil as a control on the quality, tradition and product linked to the territory.

The prolonged violence is shaking up global political alliances, driving food insecurity, and upending the lives of millions of refugees, Johns Hopkins experts said during a live briefing May 17 The

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).