http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- With `trick-or-treaters` coming soon, imagine two spirited new pepper varieties making an appearance in your neighborhood as well. The new pepper cultivars have been released by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and are trademarked `Lil` Pumpkin` and `Pepper Jack.` http://www.physorg.com/news173698898.html Biology Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:10:01 EST news173698898 (PhysOrg.com) -- More of the fertilizers and pesticides used to grow corn would find their way into nearby water sources if ethanol demands lead to planting more acres in corn, according to a Purdue University study. http://www.physorg.com/news173370301.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:40:07 EST news173370301 (PhysOrg.com) -- How much corn crop residue, or stover, can be removed for biofuels without harming soil? An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) study of a 10-mile circle around the University of Minnesota`s Morris campus offers some clues. http://www.physorg.com/news172852191.html Space & Earth Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:50:05 EST news172852191 (PhysOrg.com) -- Two Iowa State University researchers are examining a new method of controlling soybean aphids without the use of chemical pesticides.Bryony Bonning, professor of entomology, and Allen Miller, professor of plant pathology and director of the Center for Plant Responses to Environmental Stresses, are looking at a way to genetically modify soybeans to prevent damage from aphids. http://www.physorg.com/news172246232.html Biology Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:11:15 EST news172246232 (PhysOrg.com) -- Historically, crop rotation has worked to keep the western corn rootworm in check in Wisconsin. http://www.physorg.com/news172239429.html Biology Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:19:33 EST news172239429 (PhysOrg.com) -- Misidentifying boll weevils caught in pheromone traps could be easier to avoid, thanks to a new DNA fingerprinting method devised by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their collaborators. http://www.physorg.com/news171790886.html Biology Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:50:03 EST news171790886 Researchers have established the conditions that foster formation of potentially dangerous levels of a toxic substance in the high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) often fed to honey bees. Their study, which appears in the current issue of ACS' bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, could also help keep the substance out of soft drinks and dozens of other human foods that contain HFCS. The substance, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), forms mainly from heating fructose. http://www.physorg.com/news170502342.html Chemistry Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:00:06 EST news170502342 (PhysOrg.com) -- In 1957, shepherds in Idaho (USA) discovered that when pregnant sheep ate lilies of the species Veratrum californicum (corn lily, California false hellebore), their lambs were born with only one eye in the center of their foreheads, like a cyclops. The trigger for this was found to be the alkaloid cyclopamine. Cyclopamine has proven to be an effective candidate for cancer therapy in adult humans and is now undergoing clinical trials. http://www.physorg.com/news168850201.html Chemistry Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:50:40 EST news168850201 There's no "silver bullet" gene or gene region that controls so-called complex traits in maize, commonly known as corn. http://www.physorg.com/news168787479.html Biology Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:10:01 EST news168787479 A longstanding and fruitful collaboration between researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology and the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland, together with contributions from colleagues in Munich and the US, has produced another first: the successful manipulation of a crop plant to emit a signal that attracts beneficial organisms. http://www.physorg.com/news168539528.html Biology Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:20:01 EST news168539528 Using electrolyzed water rather than harsh chemicals could be a more effective and environmentally friendly method in the pretreatment of ethanol waste products to produce an acetone-butanol-ethanol fuel mix, according to research conducted at the University of Illinois. http://www.physorg.com/news167920738.html Chemistry Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:30:01 EST news167920738 Understanding temporal variability in crop yields has implications for sustainable crop production, particularly since greater fluxes in crop yields are projected with global climate change. http://www.physorg.com/news167394662.html Space & Earth Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:31:52 EST news167394662 Researchers at Georgia State University have found that diets high in fructose -- a type of sugar found in most processed foods and beverages -- impaired the spatial memory of adult rats. http://www.physorg.com/news166972744.html Medicine & Health Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:00:02 EST news166972744 To make the conversion of biomass to biofuels more cost-effective, new technologies are essential, according to Dr. Richard Hess from the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls in the US and his team. Their cost-analysis(1) of the steps involved in the corn stover* supply chain is published in Springer's journal Cellulose, in a special issue dedicated to technological advancements in the conversion of corn stover to biofuels. http://www.physorg.com/news166968710.html Technology Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:30:01 EST news166968710 Scientists are reporting for the first time that the use of weed killers in farmers' fields boosts the nutritional value of an important food a crop. Application of two common herbicides to several varieties of sweet corn significantly increased the amount of key nutrients termed carotenoids in the corn kernels, according to a study scheduled for publication in the July 22 issue of ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication. http://www.physorg.com/news166268198.html Chemistry Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:37:13 EST news166268198 The misleading "health" halo surrounding highly-publicized marketing campaigns regarding sweetener reformulations is starting to dim. http://www.physorg.com/news165584461.html Medicine & Health Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:42:06 EST news165584461 Three top researchers corrected inaccuracies and misunderstandings concerning high fructose corn syrup's impact on the American diet. They also examined how the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) considers this sweetener in light of the upcoming 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. http://www.physorg.com/news163700299.html Medicine & Health Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:18:34 EST news163700299 Some researchers hope to turn plants into a renewable, nonpolluting replacement for crude oil. To achieve this, scientists have to learn how to convert plant biomass into a building block for plastics and fuels cheaply and efficiently. In new research, chemists have successfully converted cellulose -- the most common plant carbohydrate -- directly into the building block called HMF in one step. http://www.physorg.com/news161957989.html Chemistry Tue, 19 May 2009 13:20:09 EST news161957989 The answer to the looming fuel crisis in the 21st century may be found by thinking small, microscopic in fact. Microscopic organisms from bacteria and cyanobacteria, to fungi and microalgae, are biological factories that are proving to be efficient sources of inexpensive, environmentally friendly biofuels that can serve as alternatives to oil, according to research presented at the 109th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. http://www.physorg.com/news161860707.html Biology Mon, 18 May 2009 10:19:12 EST news161860707 Here's some sweet news for honey lovers: Researchers in France are reporting development of a simple test for distinguishing 100 percent natural honeys from adulterated or impure versions that they say are increasingly being foisted off on consumers. Their study appears in ACS` Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. http://www.physorg.com/news160943241.html Chemistry Thu, 07 May 2009 19:27:41 EST news160943241 Scientists in California are reporting use of a first-of-its-kind approach to craft genetically engineered microbes with the much-sought ability to transform switchgrass, corn cobs, and other organic materials into methyl halides - the raw material for making gasoline and a host of other commercially important products. http://www.physorg.com/news160936277.html Chemistry Thu, 07 May 2009 17:31:58 EST news160936277 (AP) -- The Obama administration renewed its commitment Tuesday to speed up investments in ethanol and other biofuels while seeking to deflect some environmentalists' claims that huge increases in corn ethanol use will hinder the fight against global warming. http://www.physorg.com/news160766172.html Space & Earth Tue, 05 May 2009 18:16:38 EST news160766172 (AP) -- The Environmental Protection Agency says that corn ethanol - as made today - wouldn't meet a congressional requirement that ethanol produce 20 percent less greenhouse gas than gasoline. But the agency said it is still more climate friendly than gasoline. http://www.physorg.com/news160751096.html Space & Earth Tue, 05 May 2009 14:05:22 EST news160751096 (AP) -- President Barack Obama's commitment to take on climate change and put science over politics is about to be tested as his administration faces a politically sensitive question about the widespread use of ethanol: Does it help or hurt the fight against global warming? http://www.physorg.com/news160593602.html Space & Earth Sun, 03 May 2009 18:20:23 EST news160593602 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of researchers from Iowa State University is putting flu vaccines into the genetic makeup of corn, which may someday allow pigs and humans to get a flu vaccination simply by eating corn or corn products. http://www.physorg.com/news160327633.html Biology Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:28:24 EST news160327633 Ethanol production in Minnesota and Iowa uses far less water overall than similar processes in states where water is less plentiful, a new University of Minnesota study shows. http://www.physorg.com/news158992120.html Space & Earth Wed, 15 Apr 2009 05:29:04 EST news158992120 (AP) -- Food stamps and child nutrition programs are expected to cost up to $900 million more this year because of increased ethanol use. http://www.physorg.com/news158569963.html Other Sciences Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:13:05 EST news158569963 The journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (BBRC), published by Elsevier, will publish an important review this week online, by M. Daniel Lane and colleagues at Johns Hopkins, building on the suggested link between the consumption of fructose and increased food intake, which may contribute to a high incidence of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. http://www.physorg.com/news157187750.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:16:12 EST news157187750 Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and world-leading gene-synthesis company DNA2.0 have taken an important step toward the development of a cost-efficient process to extract sugars from cellulose--the world's most abundant organic material and cheapest form of solar-energy storage. Plant sugars are easily converted into a variety of renewable fuels such as ethanol or butanol. http://www.physorg.com/news157048957.html Biology Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:43:35 EST news157048957 One of the most significant developments in agricultural growth in modern times has been the continuous and substantial increase in corn yield over the past 80 years in the U.S. Corn Belt. http://www.physorg.com/news156434984.html Biology Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:10:28 EST news156434984