Food security news: 2010

December
- New bee vision database useful for food security and more - Press release - 10 December
  A BBSRC-funded PhD student at Queen Mary, University of London has been involved in developing FReD - the Floral Reflectance Database…
- High profile plant disease research published by BBSRC researchers - News - 10 December
  BBSRC researchers have published a series of papers today in Science magazine highlighting their successful work to sequence the genomes…
- The fungus forecast: protecting crops from attack - Feature - 7 December
  Mathematical models help UK farmers counter threat to oilseed rape…
- Spotlights on intelligent pest management innovators - Feature - 2 December
  Start-up company featured on BBC Online and makes top 'clean technology' business list…
November
- Eyespot breakthrough welcomed - Press release - 29 November
  Researchers at the John Innes Centre are working with plant breeders to understand more about the economically important fungal disease, eyespot…
- Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research Platform - Press release - 26 November
  As the UK moves towards tackling climate change, increasing our understanding of how agriculture contributes to this area is…
- Crop science projects drive benefits for farming, food security and UK economy - Press release - 18 November
  Crop science projects funded by BBSRC have fulfilled their potential to underpin progress in plant breeding and agriculture that are needed to…
- Bioscience researchers defeating potato blight - Press release - 18 November
  Researchers funded by the BBSRC Crop Science Initiative have made a discovery that could instigate a paradigm shift in breeding resistance to…
- New disease-resistant food crops in prospect - Press release - 18 November
  Researchers have uncovered the genetic basis of remarkable broad-spectrum resistance to a viral infection that, in some parts of the world…
- From exotic to endemic: a new disease of pigs - Feature - 9 November
  Severity indicator helps farmers and scientists gauge impact on farms…
- BBSRC and Global Food Security at CropWorld 2010 - News - 5 November
  Members of the BBSRC and Global Food Security research communities were in attendance at CropWorld 2010. Staff from BBSRC's Swindon office…
- Preserving crop biodiversity - News - 3 November
  FAO launches 2nd State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture report…
- Dow agrosciences licenses exclusive novel crop enhancement technology - Press release - 2 November
  The JIC is pleased to announce an exclusive commercial license agreement for BBSRC-funded technology that enhances the root systems…
- BBSRC and Global Food Security at CropWorld 2010, 1-3 November 2010 - News - 1 November
  On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week, many members of the BBSRC community will be attending CropWorld 2010…
October
- Prenatal stress leads to stress-prone piglets - News - 29 October
  A BBSRC-funded study into the health and welfare of pigs has shown that stress during pregnancy results in offspring that are 'stress-programmed'…
- Making safer meat - Feature - 28 October
  Advanced animal feed markers can reveal food contamination culprits. Food security also includes food safety…
- International workshop on food and gut health - News - 22 October
  The IFR has brought together three leading organisations from the UK, France and the Netherlands to identify opportunities and priorities…
- 100 million year-old mistake provides snapshot of evolution - Press release - 18 October
  An ancient gene mutation led plants to make male and female parts of flowers in different ways…
- FAO to announce the end of rinderpest (cattle plague) - Press release - 15 October
  Scientists from the BBSRC's Institute for Animal Health (IAH) will be in Rome at the headquarters of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)…
- Surveillance and training key to cattle plague endgame - Feature - 14 October
  One of the most devastating animal diseases known to man looks set to be officially consigned to the history books…
- Landing lights for bumblebees - Press release - 12 October
  Gardeners could help maintain bumblebee populations by growing plants with red flowers or flowers with stripes along the veins…
- Livestock dietary improvements for healthier meat - Feature - 4 October
  Natural supplements for cattle could lead to healthier meat with a longer shelf life…
- IFR develops new method for detecting Clostridium botulinum spores - Press release - 1 October
  The Institute of Food Research has collaborated in the development of a new method for detecting spores of non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum…
September
- EU-wide survey informs Campylobacter control - News - 29 September
  Research addresses two areas: reducing the reservoir and understanding virulence…
- £4M goes to 9 new research projects aimed at improving diet and health - Press release - 15 September
  9 new projects aimed at uncovering links between diet and health and worth a total of £4M are announced today by a public-private partnership…
- Gene discovery holds key to growing crops in cold climates - Press release - 9 September
  Fresh insight from BBSRC-funded research into how plants slow their growth in cold weather could help scientists develop crops suited to…
August
- UK researchers release draft sequence coverage of wheat genome - Press release - 27 August
  A team of UK researchers, funded by BBSRC, has publicly released the first sequence coverage of the wheat genome…
- Delaying fat digestion to curb appetite - Press release - 19 August
  BBSRC-funded scientists at the Institute of Food Research have discovered an unexpected synergy that helps break down fat. The discovery provides…
- Flower power for the 21st century - Press release - 2 August
  Free public event hosted by world-leading plant scientists with BBC's Dr Yan Wong and the Lord Mayor of Bristol…
July
- Response to Food Ethics Council’s “Food Justice” report - News - 30 July
  BBSRC, as a partner in the Global Food Security research programme, will consider the issues around food security raised by…
- New funding announced to beat food poisoning bug - Press release - 27 July
  Up to £2M is being made available today to tackle the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK - Campylobacter…
- Risk to UK livestock and horses from insect- and tick-borne diseases - Press release - 26 July
  The Institute for Animal Health (IAH), an institute of the BBSRC, in partnership with the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA), has been…
- New strategy to tackle food poisoning bug - Press release - 21 July
  A new research strategy to tackle the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK has been launched today…
- The re-emergence of a destructive cereal disease poses a threat to UK wheat production - Press release - 14 July
  BBSRC scientists are advising farmers to change their fungicide regime to help prevent loses to a destructive cereal disease…
- Disinfectants may be contributing to antibiotic resistance - Press release - 7 July
  Cleaning products for use in commercial, agricultural and domestic settings could be contributing to a rise in bacterial resistance in food…
June
- Aphids mount multiple defence strategies to resist insecticides - Press release - 28 June
  The peach potato aphid, Myzus persicae is the most important aphid pest of crops in many regions of the world due to its large host range…
- New projects to address decline of honeybees and other insect pollinators - Press release - 22 June
  Projects worth a total of up to £10M from the Insect Pollinators Initiative are announced today, during National Insect Week…
- More or less? Disease control key to maintaining yields under climate change - Press release - 21 June
  Oilseed rape disease losses are predicted to increase by a further £50M by 2050, under high CO2 emission scenarios.…
- New discovery could aid development of elusive bovine mastitis vaccine - Press release - 7 June
  Researchers have discovered components of the bovine mastitis-causing bacterium, Streptococcus uberis that play a key role in the disease…
- Helping plants to help themselves - Press release - 2 June
  With the need to feed an ever increasing world population, we must reduce crop yield losses in new, sustainable ways…
May
- How do bumblebees get predators to buzz off? - Press release - 26 May
  Researchers funded by BBSRC, EPSRC, the German Research Foundation and Wellcome Trust have found that bumblebees' distinctive…
- Study uncovers optimal ecology of bio-insecticide - Press release - 20 May
  BBSRC funded researchers at the University of Oxford and Royal Holloway University of London have discovered that the commonly used…
- Vaccination still best option for controlling ovine enzootic abortion - Press release - 17 May
  Scientists…are encouraging sheep farmers to continue to vaccinate against Ovine Enzootic Abortion (OEA) on the day that they publish…
- New screen for safer food crops - Press release - 14 May
  John Innes Centre scientists are working on a way to screen crop plants for toxic accumulation…
March
- Modern farming and healthy butterfly populations can co-exist through better management of land - Press release - 27 March
  The way grassland buffer strips are maintained could have a significant impact on improving biodiversity…
- Seaweed to tackle rising tide of obesity - Press release - 22 March
  Seaweed could hold the key to tackling obesity after it was found it reduces fat uptake by more than 75 per cent…
- Major new research effort targets key pig diseases - Press release - 17 March
  A consortium of researchers in Cambridge and London has been awarded a £5M grant from BBSRC to develop a way of diagnosing and…
- Public-private research partnership to develop improved crops for food security - Press release - 11 March
  A new research initiative has been launched to accelerate the development of improved crops with higher yields and consistent, high quality products…
- UK research community unites to help ensure future food security - Press release - 11 March
  The UK's main public funders of food-related research and training will today join together to launch a new programme…
- Scientists solve puzzle of chickens that are half male and half female - Press release - 10 March
  A puzzle that has baffled scientists for centuries - why some birds appear to be male on one side of the body and…
February
- Hormone study gives scientists a sense of how animals bond - Press release - 24 February
  BBSRC-funded scientists have pinpointed how a key hormone helps animals to recognise others by their smell…
- Genome of crop pest reveals nature of a complex symbiosis - Press release - 24 February
  New research into the genome sequence of a major feed pest, funded in part by a joint BBSRC/ANR initiative…
- A 30% cut in fertiliser use in China would not threaten food security - Press release - 17 February
  A study published in Science shows that over-use of ammonium-based in China has caused soil acidification…
- BBSRC-Gates Foundation-BecA-ILRI workshop - News - 16 February
  The workshop aims to bring together scientists from sub-Saharan Africa, the USA and UK to foster scientific collaborations with the potential to create…
- Scientists take on global livestock threat to reduce poverty and increase food security - Press release - 15 February
  £13M of new research is being launched today to tackle the significant and growing threat…
- Plants under attack send finely-tuned aromatic cry for help - Press release - 11 February
  Researchers from Rothamsted Research, an institute of BBSRC, have found that plants under attack by insect…
- First member of the wheat and barley group of grasses is sequenced - Press release - 10 February
  A few grass species provide the bulk of our food supply and new grass crops are being domesticated for sustainable…
- Bluetongue vaccine given to pregnant ewes protects lamb after birth - Press release - 8 February
  Dr Chris Oura and colleagues at the IAH, an institute of BBSRC, have shown for first time that lambs born to ewes that had…
January
- Scientists using x-ray vision to produce more nutritious flour - Press release - 21 January
  Pioneering research combining plant breeding and high-intensity x-rays is being used by scientists…to explore the possibility…
- Scaling-up key to meet food security challenge - Press release - 18 January
  BBSRC is today meeting with 50 leading agri-food scientists to identify coordinated ways to translate lab-based research…
- The plant that doesn’t feel the cold - Press release - 7 January
  Scientists at the John Innes Centre, an institute of BBSRC, have discovered that plants have a built-in thermometer that they use…
- Response from Professor Douglas Kell, BBSRC Chief Executive, to Oxford Farming Conference survey findings - News - 7 January
  BBSRC is pleased to have had the opportunity to sponsor two surveys on agricultural research, which were presented…
- Only greater agricultural science co-operation will deliver production and sustainability gains - Press release - 6 January
  Farmers, scientists, the food industry and the Government must work more closely if UK agriculture is to increase…
- BBSRC welcomes new science research strategy for food security and sustainability - Press release - 6 January
  The BBSRC, the UK’s largest funder of agriculture and food related research, has welcomed and pledged its support…

Food security news: 2010

December

November

October

September

August

July

June

May

March

February

January