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New evidence that people make aspirin's active principle -- salicylic acid
Scientists in the United Kingdom are reporting new evidence that humans can make their own salicylic acid (SA) - the material formed when aspirin breaks down in the body.   view more (2008-12-23)

Modified plants may yield more biofuel
Plants, genetically modified to ease the breaking down of their woody material, could be the key to a cheaper and greener way of making ethanol, according to researchers who add that the approach could also help turn agricultural waste into food for livestock.   view more (2008-12-23)

U.N. Climate Change Conference considers ancient soil replenishment technique in battle against global warming
Former inhabitants of the Amazon Basin enriched their fields with charred organic materials-biochar-and transformed one of the earth's most infertile soils into one of the most productive.   view more (2008-12-18)

Post-pandemic reforestation in New World helped trigger Little Ice Age, Stanford researchers say
The power of viruses is well documented in human history. Swarms of little viral Davids have repeatedly laid low the great Goliaths of human civilization, most famously in the devastating pandemics that swept the New World during European conquest and settlement.    view more (2008-12-18)

DOE Joint Genome Institute completes soybean genome
The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has released a complete draft assembly of the soybean (Glycine max) genetic code, making it widely available to the research community to advance new breeding strategies for one of the world's most valuable plant commodities.   view more (2008-12-09)

Managing Carbon Loss
As the United States continues to develop alternative energy methods and push towards energy independence, cellulosic-based ethanol has emerged as one of the most commercially viable technologies.   view more (2008-12-04)

Replacing corn with perennial grasses improves carbon footprint of biofuels
Converting forests or fields to biofuel crops can increase or decrease greenhouse gas emissions, depending on where - and which - biofuel crops are used, University of Illinois researchers report this month.   view more (2008-12-03)

Nutrients in water may be a bonus for agriculture
Agriculture producers may find they don't have to bottle their water from the Seymour Aquifer in the Rolling Plains to make it more valuable, according to Texas AgriLife Research scientists.   view more (2008-11-25)

Research finds way to double rice crops in drought-stricken areas
University of Alberta research has yielded a way to double the output of rice crops in some of the world's poorest, most distressed areas.   view more (2008-11-21)

Shifts in soil bacterial populations linked to wetland restoration success
A new study led by Duke University researchers finds that restoring degraded wetlands -- especially those that had been converted into farm fields -- actually decreases their soil bacterial diversity.   view more (2008-11-13)

The bonsai effect: Wounded plants make jasmonates, inhibiting cell division, stunting growth
It is well known that plants growing under unfavourable conditions are generally smaller than those growing in stress-free conditions: indeed it is estimated that in the US, abiotic stress reduces the yield of agricultural crops by an average of 22%.   view more (2008-11-12)

Ethanol will curb farm income until economy rebounds, economist says
Ethanol helped drive two years of record profits for grain farmers, but also will hold income down during a looming recession that has already sliced crop prices in half, a University of Illinois economist says.   view more (2008-11-11)

Improved poverty analysis
Development planners and policymakers in developing countries need accurate information about the poverty of the population. The risk of food shortages or other poverty-related problems is an ever present threat.   view more (2008-10-29)

Scientists propose the creation of a new type of seed bank
While an international seed bank in a Norwegian island has been gathering news about its agricultural collection, a group of U.S. scientists has just published an article outlining a different kind of seed bank, one that proposes the gathering of wild species -- at intervals in the future --... view more (2008-10-16)

More flexible method floated to produce biofuels, electricity
Researchers are proposing a new "flexible" approach to producing alternative fuels, hydrogen and electricity from municipal solid wastes, agricultural wastes, forest residues and sewage sludge that could supply up to 20 percent of transportation fuels in the United States annually.   view more (2008-10-15)

Iowa State researchers developing wireless soil sensors to improve farming
Ratnesh Kumar keeps his prototype soil sensors buried in a box under his desk. He hopes that one day farmers will be burying the devices under their crops.   view more (2008-10-13)

Opening a can of worms: Serendipitous discovery reveals earthworms more diverse than first thought
Scientists have found that the UK's common or garden earthworms are far more diverse than previously thought, a discovery with important consequences for agriculture.   view more (2008-10-10)

Arctic soil reveals climate change clues
Frozen arctic soil contains nearly twice the greenhouse-gas-producing organic material as was previously estimated, according to recently published research by University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists.   view more (2008-10-08)

Nitrogen Applied
Combating soil erosion is a primary concern for agricultural producers in the United States, and many have incorporated conservation tillage systems in their effort to maintain a profitable crop output.    view more (2008-10-02)

Experiment Demonstrates 110 Years of Sustainable Agriculture
A plot of land on the campus of Auburn University shows that 110 years of sustainable farming practices can produce similar cotton crops to those using other methods.    view more (2008-09-30)

From Sugar to Gasoline
Following independent paths of investigation, two research teams are announcing this month that they have successfully converted sugar-potentially derived from agricultural waste and non-food plants-into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and a range of other valuable chemicals.   view more (2008-09-22)

Scientists behind 'doomsday seed vault' ready the world's crops for climate change
As climate change is credited as one of the main drivers behind soaring food prices, the Global Crop Diversity Trust is undertaking a major effort to search crop collections-from Azerbaijan to Nigeria-for the traits that could arm agriculture against the impact of future changes.   view more (2008-09-18)

Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis
Improved agricultural productivity can help developing countries reduce their reliance on international emergency food relief following natural disasters. This is one of the conclusions of a team of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) scientists who visited cyclone-devastated Myanmar in... view more (2008-09-18)

K-State professor's USDA research shows mad cow disease also caused by genetic mutation
New findings about the causes of mad cow disease show that sometimes it may be genetic.   view more (2008-09-12)

Saltwater solution to save crops
Technology under development at the University of New South Wales could offer new hope to farmers in drought-affected and marginal areas by enabling crops to grow using salty groundwater.   view more (2008-09-12)

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