A new study at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign asks a deceptively simple question: what is the best way to feed artificially reared pigs? The answer has implications not just for agriculture, but for biomedical research where pigs are used to study different aspects of human medicine.
In February, the USAID-funded Feed the Future Soybean Innovation Lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was told to stop work, bringing an abrupt end to 12 years of progress toward developing a global soybean value chain supporting Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. SIL director Pete Goldsmith cobbled together funding from the university to keep the lab afloat until April 15, which was to be its last day.
Switchgrass has gripped Midwestern soils for millions of years, but soon, the earthbound prairie grass could fly. New studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign identify economic and environmental considerations that make switchgrass a candidate for sustainable aviation fuel.
Farmers apply nitrogen fertilizers to crops to boost yields, feeding more people and livestock. But when there’s more fertilizer than the crop can take up, some of the excess can be converted into gaseous forms, including nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that traps nearly 300 times as much heat in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. About 70% of human-caused nitrous oxide comes from agricultural soils, so it’s vital to find ways to curb those emissions.
Increasingly, individual U.S. states issue their own regulations about food manufacturing practices, allowable ingredients, or product labeling. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign examines the various ways manufacturers respond to state regulations and what drives their choices.
AI is changing the way we work, create, and share information — but brownies? A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explores how ChatGPT can be used in the sensory evaluation of foods, specifically brownies. The study offers insights that could streamline development of new products, and possibly enhance recipes moving forward.
The success of in vitro fertilization depends on many factors, one of which is sperm viability. A recent study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign documents a new way to select viable sperm and prolong their viability in the laboratory, reducing one source of variability during the process.
Parents can help their children by giving advice on how to deal with challenges, but it matters whether youth want support or not. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign looks at the impact of parental advice and youth support seeking in African American families.
Livestock agriculture is bearing the cost of extreme weather events. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explores how heat stress affects U.S. dairy production, finding that high heat and humidity lead to a 1% decline in annual milk yield. Small farms are hit harder than large farms, which may be able to mitigate some of the effects through management strategies.
Up to 25% of new mothers suffer from postpartum depression, which can significantly impact their parenting behavior and the wellbeing of their children. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign looks at long-term effects of early maternal depression on children, underscoring the need to provide adequate support for mothers who might be struggling.
Personalized nutrition (PN) has gained popularity in recent years as a customized approach to health outcomes. The Personalized Nutrition Initiative at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, together with their external partners, hosted two workshops for PN practitioners and experts, aimed at establishing guidelines and setting up best practices for the field. The workshop findings were recently published in two journal articles.
A University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign research team has developed organic-material-based nanozymes that are non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and cost effective. In two new studies, they introduce next-generation organic nanozymes and explore a point-of-use platform for molecule detection in agricultural products.
How do wildlife researchers know when an endangered population is sick? They can detect infectious microbes in animal waste, but the presence of a microbe doesn’t always equate to impactful symptomatic infections.
Weeds like Palmer amaranth make farming harder and less profitable, and available herbicides are becoming less effective. For scientists to find solutions, they first need to know their enemy. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborating institutions reveals complete chromosome-level genomes for Palmer and two other Amaranthus species, smooth and redroot pigweed. The advancement represents a major leap in scientists’ understanding of the weeds’ biology, including their ability to detoxify common herbicides.
A research team at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign developed an online weight management program that provides personalized assistance from a registered dietitian. In a new study, they collaborated with Illinois Extension to test the program’s efficacy among residents of rural Illinois.
Pomelo is a large citrus fruit commonly grown in Southeast and East Asia. It has a very thick peel, which is typically discarded, resulting in a considerable amount of food waste. In a new study, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers explore ways to utilize waste pomelo-peel biomass to develop tools that can power small electric devices and monitor biomechanical motions.
There’s a longstanding attitude in many farming communities that trees and agriculture don’t mix. But agroforestry can provide a multitude of benefits to farmers and landscapes. A new University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign study provides a decision support tool for strategic plans that integrate environmental, social, and economic considerations of trees in agricultural landscapes.
Globally, women’s workforce participation is about 25% lower than men’s, often due to barriers such as domestic responsibilities and cultural norms. A new study from an international research team explored whether hybrid distance learning can improve accessibility to job training for rural women in Nepal.
Unfertilized soybean fields with lower soil fertility should be planted earlier than high fertility fields, according to a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign study that re-evaluates longtime soil testing. This result comes as a bit of a surprise, says Fred Below, senior author of the study.
Many U.S. forests are privately owned, which makes control of invasive plants and pests challenging. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explores how differences in ownership motivation affects willingness to control, and how economic incentives can be implemented efficiently.
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