news from the lab

Agronomy/Food Science - 2.05
Stanford-led research pushes back origins of agriculture in China by 12,000 years
The discovery pushes back the roots of agriculture in China by 12,000 years. The global emergence of similar practices around 23,000 years ago hints that agriculture evolved independently around the world, perhaps as a response to climate change.

Agronomy/Food Science - Medicine/Pharmacology - 29.04
Federal food assistance program encourages healthy beverage purchases
Efforts to encourage healthy beverage choices by people receiving federal food assistance are paying off, according to a study by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. The study shows that purchases of 100% juice declined among participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) after the program changed in 2007 to offer foods that better reflect dietary recommendations for Americans.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Agronomy/Food Science - 1.04
Is Guided Self-Help Effective in Treating Childhood Obesity?
It is known that family-based treatment that combines nutrition and exercise education, along with behavior modification, is a good approach to help children lose weight. But clinic-based weight-control programs for childhood obesity are not accessible to many families, due to issues such as cost or time commitment.

Agronomy/Food Science - Life Sciences - 18.03
New method makes puffed rice pop with more nutrients
Puffed rice just got more snap, crackle and pop, thanks to a new method for making puffed rice that retains nutrients and allows producers to fortify cereals with vitamins and protein. - That's important, as rice remains a major staple for half the world's population, yet micronutrient deficiencies and malnutrition endure as serious global concerns, especially for women, infants and schoolchildren.

Life Sciences - Agronomy/Food Science - 27.02
Sourdough research yields sweet results
University of Alberta researchers have found a way to replace artificial preservatives in bread, making it tastier. - After loafing around in the lab analyzing strains of mould fermented in sourdough bread, Michael Gänzle , professor and Canada Research Chair in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science , PhD candidate Brenna Black and collaborator Jonathan Curtis , a professor of lipids research, were able to isolate natural compounds that can help keep bread fresh without altering its flavour.

Agronomy/Food Science - Medicine/Pharmacology - 14.02
Poor stress responses may lead to obesity in children
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Children who overreact to stressors may be at risk of becoming overweight or obese, according to researchers at Penn State and Johns Hopkins University. - "Our results suggest that some children who are at risk of becoming obese can be identified by their biological response to a stressor," said Lori Francis, associate professor of biobehavioral health.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Agronomy/Food Science - 5.02
Vitamin D, omega-3 may help clear amyloid plaques found in Alzheimer’s
A team of academic researchers has pinpointed how vitamin D3 and omega-3 fatty acids may enhance the immune system's ability to clear the brain of amyloid plaques, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.

Life Sciences - Agronomy/Food Science - 29.01
Changes in epigenome control tomato ripening
Everyone loves a juicy, perfectly ripened tomato, and scientists have long sought ways to control the ripening process to improve fruit quality and prevent spoilage. - A new study by researchers at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research (BTI) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), both on the Cornell campus, reveals that epigenetics, a set of chemical changes to a plant's DNA, plays a pivotal role in tomato ripening, signaling to the fruit when the time is right to redden.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Agronomy/Food Science - 14.01
Diet may not impact certain health outcomes in older persons
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Eating diets high in sugar and fat may not affect the health outcomes of older adults ages 75 and up, suggesting that placing people of such advanced age on overly restrictive diets to treat their excess weight or other conditions may have little benefit, according to researchers at Penn State and Geisinger Healthcare System.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Agronomy/Food Science - 9.01
Medical Center Research May Explain Why Obese People Have Higher Rates of Asthma
Findings suggest that therapies that increase leptin-signaling may relieve asthma in obese people - New York, NY - A new study led by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers has found that leptin, a hormone that plays a key role in energy metabolism, fertility, and bone mass, also regulates airway diameter.

Agronomy/Food Science - Medicine/Pharmacology - 19.12.2012
Public obsession with obesity may be more dangerous than obesity itself, UCLA author says
Much has been made about who or what is to blame for the "obesity epidemic" and what can or should be done to stem the tide of rising body mass among the U.S. population. - A new book by a UCLA sociologist turns these concerns on their head by asking two questions.

Agronomy/Food Science - Life Sciences - 12.11.2012
It's Not Just What You Eat, But When You Eat It: Penn Study Shows Link Between Fat Cell and Brain Molecules
Fat cells store excess energy and signal these levels to the brain. In a new study this week , Georgios Paschos PhD , a research associate in the lab of Garret FitzGerald, MD , FRS director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics , Perelman School of Medicine , University of Pennsylvania , shows that deletion of the clock gene Arntl, also known as Bmal1 , in fat cells, causes mice to become obese, with a shift in the timing of when this nocturnal species normally eats.

Agronomy/Food Science - Medicine/Pharmacology - 29.10.2012
Interaction of genes and environment influences obesity in children
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Neither genes nor the environment alone can predict obesity in children, but when considered together a strong relationship emerges, according to researchers at Penn State, St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Agronomy/Food Science - 7.09.2012
Malnourishment likely for Ugandan pregnant women despite HIV treatment
Malnutrition is common among HIV-infected pregnant women even when they receive antiretroviral therapy, leading to low birth weight and other health problems in their infants, according to a recent study conducted by a Cornell University faculty member working with the Makerere University-UCSF Research Collaboration.

Business/Economics - Agronomy/Food Science - 7.08.2012
The economic cost of increased temperatures
Study: Warming episodes hurt poor countries and limit long-term growth. - Even temporary rises in local temperatures significantly damage long-term economic growth in the world's developing nations, according to a new study co-authored by an MIT economist.