Agriculture
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Agriculture
Superbugs take flight from cattle farms
Winds can carry antibiotics and drug-resistant bacteria from cattle farms to downwind communities.
By Beth Mole -
Agriculture
Restoring crop genes to wild form may make plants more resilient
Restoring wild genes could make plants more resilient in tough environments.
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Environment
Crops take up drugs from recycled water
Plants irrigated with recycled wastewater can soak up tiny amounts of pharmaceutical compounds but what this means for human health is unclear.
By Beth Mole -
Plants
Borrowed genes raise hopes for fixing “slow and confused” plant enzyme
Inserting some bacterial Rubisco chemistry into a plant might one day boost photosynthesis and help raise crop yields.
By Susan Milius -
Agriculture
Drug-resistant staph can cling to farm workers for days
Agricultural exposure to staph bacteria could threaten the health of laborers and people who live near farms, a study of pig farm workers suggests.
By Beth Mole -
Agriculture
Killer bug behind coconut plague identified
A pest has devastated coconuts in the Philippines, and scientists now realize the perp is not the bug they thought was causing the damage.
By Nsikan Akpan -
Health & Medicine
Organic foods may contain extra antioxidants
Contrary to previous studies, a new analysis finds that organic crops have nutritional benefits over conventionally grown foods.
By Beth Mole -
Agriculture
Fertilizer produces far more greenhouse gas than expected
Farmers’ overuse of nitrogen-based fertilizers may explain previously puzzling high emissions of nitrous oxide.
By Beth Mole -
Climate
Crop nutrients may drop as carbon dioxide rises
Many staple grains and legumes pack 5 to 10 percent less iron, zinc and protein when grown at carbon dioxide levels expected midcentury.
By Beth Mole -
Agriculture
Where antibiotics go
Of the 51 tons of antibiotics consumed every day in the United States, about 80 percent goes into animal production.
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Life
Big study raises worries about bees trading diseases
Pathogens may jump from commercial colonies to the wild.
By Susan Milius -
Agriculture
Some bioenergy crops are greener than others
In the Upper Midwest, switchgrass trumps maize at boosting ecological health.
By Beth Mole