Tag: Agriculture and Food

Allergy to peanut, which is often severe, is one of the most common food allergies in the United States. Although previous studies have shown that peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT) — ingesting small, controlled amounts of peanut protein — can desensitize adults and children and prevent life-threatening allergic reactions, the optimal duration and dose is unknown.

Being able to see green spaces from your home is associated with reduced cravings for alcohol, cigarettes and harmful foods, new research has shown. The study, led by the University of Plymouth, is the first to demonstrate that passive exposure to nearby greenspace is linked to both lower frequencies and strengths of craving. It builds

Pop quiz: Given a choice between indulgent and healthy foods, what will most people pick? The answer may depend on what other foods sit nearby on the grocery shelf, suggests new research from Duke University. Paradoxically, the nearby presence of an indulgent treat can cause more people to opt for a healthy food, said study

Crops such as wheat and maize have undergone a breeding process lasting thousands of years, in the course of which  humankind has gradually modified the properties of the wild plants in order to adapt them to his needs. One motive was, and still is, higher yields. One “side effect” of this breeding has been a

It doesn’t matter if it’s rye, oats, or wheat. As long as it is wholegrain, it can prevent type 2 diabetes. This is the finding of a new study from researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and the Danish Cancer Society Research Center. The comprehensive study is a strong confirmation of previous research findings

Diet modification can be a vital step to prevent cardiovascular disease. While various biological, economical, physical, social and psychological factors influence food choices, interventions targeting these factors can lead to meaningful improvements in long-term eating habits, according to a review paper published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Research has consistently

A new type of bed net could prevent millions of cases of malaria, according to new research published in The Lancet today (10 August). The two-year clinical trial in Burkina Faso, West Africa involving 2,000 children showed that the number of cases of clinical malaria was reduced by 12 per cent with the new type

Scientists have shed light on how a major cause of human and animal disease can jump between species, by studying its genes. The findings reveal fresh insights into how new disease-causing strains of the bacteria — called Staphylococcus aureus — emerge. Experts say the research could help improve the use of antibiotics and design better

Everyday products carry environmental chemicals that may be making us fat by interfering with our hormones, according to research presented in Barcelona at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, ECE 2018. Following recommendations on how to avoid these chemicals could help minimise exposure and potentially reduce the risk of obesity and its complications. Obesity

A new study has discovered that horses were first domesticated by descendants of hunter-gatherer groups in Kazakhstan who left little direct trace in the ancestry of modern populations. The research sheds new light on the long-standing “steppe theory” on the origin and movement of Indo-European languages made possible by the domestication of the horse. The

Meadowfoam, a native Pacific Northwest plant cultivated as an oilseed crop, has emerged as a potential new source of protection against the sun’s harmful effects on the skin. The findings by scientists at Oregon State University are important because nearly 10,000 people a day in the United States are diagnosed with skin cancer, resulting in

A recent study by sensory researchers at Kansas State University’s Olathe campus finds that emojis are a viable alternative to words when it comes to accurately measuring how kids feel about food, products and other experiences. The results appear in the study, “The emoji scale: A facial scale for the 21st century,” which was published

Occurrence of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) has often been linked with El Niño rainfall. To curb future outbreaks of RVF, M. Kariuki Njenga and colleagues carried out enhanced syndromic surveillance of 22 high-risk RVF Kenyan counties to collect data on RVF-associated syndromes and risk factors in livestock from November 2015 through February 2016. Their research,