Rumen research shows promising reduction in methane emissions and big weight gains in cattle.

Rumen research shows promising reduction in methane emissions and big weight gains in cattle.Research into the rumen of cattle has led to some encouraging results using additives to reduce methane emissions and increase weight gain. The CSIRO trialled a synthetic and a natural compound in the feed of 10 animals in a Queensland research feedlot. Team leader Ed Charmley said it reduced methane emissions by 30 per cent and increased weight gain in the cattle by 400–500 grams a day. Lead researcher Gonzalo Martinez said the compounds promoted some bacteria and inhibited others. "In this short experiment … one reduced the methane [by] targeting or eliminating the microbe that produced the methane, and another compound promoted another bacteria that used energy that wasn't available in the rumen, so the animal got a daily weight gain," he said.He said the additives did not affect fermentation in the rumen or the health of the animals. While Dr Martinez was not prepared to name the synthetic compound used, citing commercial confidentiality, Mr Charmley said the other natural compound was tannin which is a natural extract from tea and other plants. "A lot of plants have tannins naturally, leucaena for example, and we know it reduces methane." Dr Gonzalo Martinez talks to the crowd at the AgCatalyst conference in Sydney.Essential oils may also provide some natural compounds that could be turned into additives."The challenge, particularly in northern Australia, is how you get these products into the animal because they're out there grazing in large paddocks." He said they were looking at getting it into the diet through lick blocks or water medication. Meanwhile, Dr Martinez said the next step was to find compounds that were cheap enough to make them commercially viable."Our goal was to prove it and now our next step is finding other compounds to apply on farm situations," he said. listen

Foal midwife ensures safe foaling.

A foal midwife ensures safe foaling.Ms Cannon is a horsewoman and midwife at Gooree Park in Mudgee, New South Wales, where she spends the winter months ensuring foals are born safely and healthy."The horse being the horse, it's a herd animal so predominantly they give birth at night," she said. "From the end of July to about now, I turn into the vampire creature and just work the night shift and bring the babies into the world." Ms Cannon has been the midwife at Gooree Park for 33 years, after being head hunted from Segenhoe Stud in the Hunter Valley. She estimates she has delivered more than 3,000 foals in this time, and said every horse had a story. "It's days like today [Melbourne Cup] when those stories become evident to the public," she said. Gooree Park is a historic property bought by Filipino businessman Eduardo Cojuangco Jnr in 1979. "They have developed all the infrastructure here and turned it into one of the pre-eminent nurseries of thoroughbreds in Australasia," Ms Cannon said. Since that time, the stud has flourished as a breeding and training ground for thoroughbred horses, and even boasts its own racetrack. Ms Cannon said Gooree Park's famous red and black striped racing silks had been appearing on racetracks across the country for more than 40 years, on renowned stallions such as Tempest Morn, Desert War and Don Eduardo. Most recently, the third generational home-bred Prized Icon took out first place in the Victoria Derby last week. Ms Cannon said while her job could be stressful, there was nowhere else she would rather be."It's a very rewarding job. It can be heartbreaking — we do have losses occasionally — but the euphoric moments far exceed that," she said. more

Gene editing yields tomatoes that flower and ripen weeks earlier.

Gene editing yields tomatoes that flower and ripen weeks earlier.Using a simple and powerful genetic method to tweak genes native to two popular varieties of tomato plants, a team at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has devised a rapid method to make them flower and produce ripe fruit more than 2 weeks faster than commercial breeders are currently able to do. This means more plantings per growing season and thus higher yield. In this case, it also means that the plant can be grown in latitudes more northerly than currently possible -- an important attribute as Earth's climate warms. Our work is a compelling demonstration of the power of gene editing -- CRISPR technology -- to rapidly improve yield traits in crop breeding," says CSHL Associate Professor Zachary Lippman, who led the research. Applications can go far beyond the tomato family, he says, to include many major food crops like maize, soybean, and wheat that so much of the world depends upon. Lippman clarifies that the technique his team publishes in Nature Genetics is about more than simply increasing yield. "It's really about creating a genetic toolkit that enables growers and breeders in a single generation to tweak the timing of flower production and thus yield, to help adapt our best varieties to grow in parts of the world where they don't currently thrive. At the heart of the method are insights obtained by Lippman and colleagues, including plant scientists at the Boyce Thompson Institute in Ithaca, NY and in France led by Dr. José Jiménez-Gómez, about the evolution of the flowering process in many crops and their wild relatives as it relates to the length of the light period in a day. Genetic research revealed why today's cultivated tomato plant is not very sensitive to this variable compared to wild relatives from South America. Somehow, it does not much matter to domesticated plants whether they have 12 hours of daylight or 16 hours; they flower at virtually the same point after planting.continue

Parkinson’s May Actually Originate From Microbes in the Gut.

Parkinson’s May Actually Originate From Microbes in the Gut. Parkinson's instead of being isolated to the brain, new evidence in mice suggests that the disease might actually start in the gut. The study could help in finding the cure for Parkinson's, a neurodegenerative disease affecting an estimated 10 million people worldwide. In the many studies that seek to decode the mystery that is Parkinson’s disease, scientists have confined their search to the brain. However, new research suggests that the neurodegenerative disease may actually originate in the gut. The study is detailed in the journal Cell. Researchers have noticed that people with Parkinson’s often report constipation, as well as other digestive problems, up to ten years before tremors (the usual symptoms of Parkinson’s) cropped up. The study attributed a microbe in the gut to protein mutations in the brain known to cause Parkinson’s. Mice bred to develop Parkinson’s were put in cages that were either sterile or non-sterile. The mice in the germ-free cages manifested less motor degeneration, and their brains had reduced tangling of the protein α-synuclein. They had “almost normal performance” in motor tasks. The researchers injected gut bacteria from human Parkinson’s patients into these mice, and they deteriorated quickly. This effect did not occur with bacteria taken from healthy humans. The mice in the normal, non-sterile cages developed the expected symptoms of Parkinson’s. When treated with antibiotics, their symptoms were reduced, suggesting effectiveness in a microbial approach to the disease. Gut bacteria taken from healthy people didn’t have the same effect. “We have discovered for the first time a biological link between the gut microbiome and Parkinson’s disease,” said Sarkis Mazmanian, lead researcher. Essentially, the scientists think the gut bacteria might be releasing chemicals that over-activate parts of the brain, leading to damage. What’s next for the researchers is to identify specifically which among the cocktail of gut microbiomes is causing the disease. If these certain strains could be identified, scientists could find a way to screen for the disease before symptoms appear and the brain becomes damaged. “Much like any other drug discovery process, translating this innovative work from mice to humans will take many years,” said Mazmanian. “But this is an important first step.” more

S. aureus identified in industrial hog operation workers.

S. aureus, skin infection correlation identified in industrial hog operation workers.Inter-nasal antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was associated with recent symptoms of skin and soft tissue infections in individuals who work on large industrial hog operations, according to recent study findings. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health and community organizers at the Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help in Duplin County, North Carolina, collaborated to investigate the relationship between nasal carriage of livestock-associated S. aureus among industrial hog operation workers and their household members in North Carolina and self-reported skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI) symptoms. One hundred eighty-three participants —103 workers, 26 adult household members and 54 minor children — completed a baseline questionnaire and provided a baseline nasal swab between October 2013 and February 2014. The researchers compared the distributions of potential individual risk factors (ie, antibiotic usage, participation in contact sports) and household risk factors for S. aureus, and they found that traditional risk factors were uncommon among the hog workers and adult household members. However, 36% of the minors reported recently playing contact sports and 55% reported using a gym or workout facility during the 3 months prior to enrollment in the study. Forty-four percent of workers and 39% of the household members carried S. aureus at baseline and MRSA was identified in one worker. Twenty percent of workers and 10% of household members carried multidrug-resistant (MDR) S. aureus. Six hog operators and six household members — all children — reported recent SSTIs. Another study published this year by Heaney and colleagues suggests children who live with parents who work on large industrial hog operations have a higher prevalence of inter-nasal antibiotic-resistant S. aureus compared with children whose parents did not work on hog operations in the same community in North Carolina. see study here

Plastic bottles made from plants cleans up environment.

Plastic bottles made from plants cleans up environment. The use of plastic bottles for packaging is increasing globally, with the number expected to reach around 227 million this year. Most of these bottles are made from fossil fuels, mainly petroleum with Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) is the fastest growing category of the bottles being produced. Plastic bottles as a whole present a number of problems to developed and developing economies such as high greenhouse gas emissions during production and incineration, the physical pollution of oceanic waters and health complications that result from burning them. The plastic bottle is an economical replacement for glass bottles and recycling a PET bottle is better, in regard to greenhouse gas emissions, than producing a new one or burning an existing bottle. The reduction of carbon emissions from a cheap product that is increasingly being demanded as economies grow around the world is a great concern and certain companies have stepped in to curb emissions. The world has enjoyed the use of a plastic bottle made of 30% plant material and 70% from fossil fuels now for over 7 years and the product known as PlantBottle, was launched by Coca Cola in 2009. The result has been wonderful, with Coca Cola reporting cutting down emissions by about 315, 00 metric tons of carbon dioxide after their first PlantBottle was launched in 2009. The plant material used to make part of the plastic component is being sourced from sugar cane. The traditional PET bottle which is made from 100% fossil fuels achieves a higher carbon foot print,as manufacturing of PET traditionally produces around 3 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). The race to environmentally sustainable packaging is still on and changes underway should enable even greater improvements. Coca Cola has launched a PlantBottle made of 100% plant material. The initiative will mark a big global step towards reducing the carbon footprint produced from plastics. The elimination of dependence on fossil fuels in production of bottles will finally have substantial overall impact as 75% of global carbon emissions come from burning fossil fuels such as oil and gas, and from making cement and thus reduction of burning of fossils when producing these bottles would be considerable. The percentage of PlantBottles being used as a whole worldwide is further less when you compare to the current total global consumption of plastic bottles. Therefore, adoption and acceptance of this technology by other companies will be crucial. Other companies have also started adopting the innovation, leading to further saving of petroleum. Heinz is using the PlantBottle technology for its Ketchup bottle, SeaWorld for some test models of the Fusion Energi hybrid sedan and Coca Cola is working with others such as Nike and Procter & Gamble. This marks the beginning of the application of the PlantBottle technology in other areas than bottling, which is considerable given that bottles account for only 30% of PET produced. Ford Motors also said it would use the PlantBottle packaging solution for interior fabric surfaces on its models to test the market. Toyota has also been interested in employing the technology for its seats. Coca Cola also wants to have all its beverage packaging use the new PlantBottle by 2020 and want to recover 50% of its PET bottles consumed globally through recycling by 2015. continue

Plant clinics helping farmers and ensuring food security.

Plant clinic are helping farmers and ensuring food security in Kenya. Majority of Kenya’s population mainly about 75% with the majority concentrated in the rural areas, rely on agriculture not just for food but as a source of income. This sector the country counts on for economic development, contributing over 25 per cent to the economy. The small holder farmers, who form the bulk of the food producers have been grappling with a myriad of challenges, key among them pests and diseases. In fact they lose up to 40 per cent of their yields to these pests according to Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KARLO) the premier research institution in the country. The situation has been exacerbated by changing weather patterns that have seen the emergence of new pests and mutation of others, some which are attacking crops they traditionally didn't. But in the wake of these issues that have threatened food production and ultimately fanning the hunger cycle, Kenya is counting on a model that is giving farmers more personalized attention to tame these diseases. The 'plant clinics', the model which resembles the human health concept, involves officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, researchers from agricultural institutions and scientists who are christened 'plant doctors'. They visit markets, churches and schools on select days and pitch tents there. Farmers then bring samples of their ‘sick plants’ which the doctors analyze before giving a diagnosis and recommending treatment. The concept being championed by both government of Kenya and private research institutions like Centre for Agricultural Bioscience International (CABI), have so far been rolled out in major food producing counties in Kenya, and has trained over 268 plant doctors and documented more than 11,600 plant health queries since they were set up in 2010. In Kiambu on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital Nairobi at Kirigiti market, a queue of farmers holding polythene bags snakes its way through the market. Two men are attending to the farmers under a tree. They have a table that has brochures, scalpel, laptops, and magnifying lens. They are the plant doctors who have been stationed here, and visit the area every Saturday. Humphrey Wekesa, one of the doctors is a senior agronomist from the Ministry of Agriculture. Jude Thoiya listens and watches attentively as Humphrey dissects a tomato plant he has brought after noticing worms which have made the leaves wilt and destroyed a section of his yields. The retired civil servant has been growing fresh produce since he retired five years ago. “Your tomatoes have been affected by Whiteflies. You are lucky they haven’t gotten into the severe stage of the attack. He was advised not to spray any pesticides yet, but to use wood ash and sprinkle it over the plants for a week and then come back here and give update.Jude sighs heavily. He has spent a fortune on conventional pesticide and nothing seemed to have worked. “I can’t believe the solution could be in something as simple as wood ash,” he says as he leaves and another farmers prepares to be attended to. They have been instrumental in taming the spread of the Maize Lethal Necrosis, christened the cancer of maize, which struck Kenya’s major food producing zones in 2012 and wiped over 300,000 tonnes of yields in that year alone. The clinics have also nipped in the bud the spread of Tomato leaf miner, commonly referred to as Tuta Absoluta that has crippled tomato production in Kenya according to CABI. The clinics have also played surveillance role especially against foreign threats. At the Kenyan -Uganda border where four clinics have been stationed, they have averted the spread of the notorious black stem rust called Ug 1999 originating from Uganda. Because Kenya and Uganda farmers trade freely, the disease is easier to transport. Samples submitted at the clinics spotted high levels of the fungus.more