news 2010

Environmental Sciences - Agronomy/Food Science - 14.05
Wasted milk is a drain on resources
Milk poured down Britain's kitchen sinks each year creates a carbon footprint equivalent to that of thousands of cars, research shows. University scientists say the 360,000 tonnes of milk wasted in the UK each year creates greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 100,000 tonnes of CO2.

Agronomy/Food Science - 30.04
Obesity affects job prospects for women, study finds
Obese women are more likely to be discriminated against when applying for jobs and receive lower starting salaries than their non-overweight colleagues, a new study has found. The study, led by The University of Manchester and Monash University, Melbourne, and published in the International Journal of Obesity , examined whether a recently developed measure of anti-fat prejudice, the universal measure of bias (UMB), predicted actual obesity job discrimination.

Agronomy/Food Science - Architecture - 23.03
From foraging to farming: the 10,000-year revolution
Excavation of 19,000-year-old hunter-gatherer remains, including a vast camp site, is fuelling a reinterpretation of the greatest fundamental shift in human civilisation - the origins of agriculture.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Agronomy/Food Science - 22.02
Exposure to micronutrients prior to pregnancy has been associated with gene modifications in offspring
Scientists find that micronutrients affect methylation, which has been associated with changes in the immune system.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Agronomy/Food Science - 15.02
Owning a dog encourages exercise in pregnant women
  Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that women who own dogs are more physically active during pregnancy than those who don't. The study of more than 11,000 pregnant women, in partnership with Mars Petcare, showed that those who owned dogs were approximately 50% more likely to achieve the recommended 30 minutes of exercise a day through high levels of brisk walking than those without dogs.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Agronomy/Food Science - 13.02
Sri Lanka diabetes warning
Scientists at King's College London and the National Diabetes Centre (Sri Lanka) have found evidence of a high number of risk factors for type 2 diabetes among the young urban population in Sri Lanka.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Agronomy/Food Science - 26.01
Heart attack deaths have halved
The death rate from heart attacks in England has halved in the last decade, according to Oxford University research. The study published in the British Medical Journal found that there were fewer heart attacks in the last decade – and fewer of these were fatal – compared with earlier years.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Agronomy/Food Science - 19.01
Tuna-eating teenagers less likely to suffer depression
New research from the Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol, which has been charting the health of 14,500 children since their birth in the early 1990s, shows that the link between low levels of vitamin D and depression is established in childhood and that ensuring children have a good intake of vitamin D could help reduce depression in adolescence and adulthood.

Life Sciences - Agronomy/Food Science - 13.01
Discovery of plant ‘nourishing gene’ brings hope for increased crop seed yield and food security
University of Warwick scientists have discovered a “nourishing gene” which controls the transfer of nutrients from plant to seed - a significant step which could help increase global food production.

Business/Economics - Agronomy/Food Science - 3.10.2011
Research uncovers what increases chicken wellbeing
Researchers from the University of Bristol's School of Veterinary Sciences have concluded that the wellbeing of barn chickens is increased if they have activity objects, perches and other stimulation. Around 75 per cent of barn chickens reared for UK households are in barns which don't have natural daylight or activity objects such as pecking blocks.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Agronomy/Food Science - 20.07.2011
New research to investigate brain responsiveness to food and the link with type 2 diabetes
Researchers from the University of Birmingham are set to monitor brain reactions when exposed to images of food in a study which will provide an insight into the difficulties of weight and diet control faced by young diabetes patients.

Life Sciences - Agronomy/Food Science - 16.05.2011
Genetic master switch identified in obesity and diabetes
A gene linked to type 2 diabetes and cholesterol levels has been identified as a ‘master regulator' by a team at King's College London and the University of Oxford. The researchers found that the gene controls the behaviour of other genes found within fat tissues in the body.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Agronomy/Food Science - 3.03.2011
Middle aged diabetics can die six years earlier
Having diabetes in mid-life may reduce a person's life expectancy by an average of six years, according to a large, multinational study coordinated by the University of Cambridge. Diabetes is already known to approximately double the risk of heart attacks and strokes, but these new findings show that people with type 2 diabetes are also at greater risk of dying from several other diseases, including cancer and infection.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Agronomy/Food Science - 4.02.2011
Obesity has doubled since 1980, major global analysis of risk factors reveals
Obesity has doubled since 1980, major global analysis of risk factors reveals Study shows western high-income countries have achieved impressive progress in lowering hypertension and cholesterol The worldwide prevalence of obesity has nearly doubled since 1980, according to a major study on how three important heart disease risk factors have changed across the world over the last three decades.

Agronomy/Food Science - Life Sciences - 25.01.2011
Insects that deter predators produce fewer offspring
Liverpool, UK - 25 January 2011: Insects that frequently use their defence mechanisms to deter predators could be reducing their lifespan and numbers of offspring, researchers at the University of Liverpool have found.