The Greener World

Conventional wisdom among many ecologists is that industrial-scale agriculture is the best way to produce lots of food while preserving biodiversity in the world's remaining tropical forests. But two University of Michigan researchers reject that idea and argue that small, family-owned farms may provide a better way to meet both goals.

In many tropical zones around the world, small family farms can match or exceed the productivity of industrial-scale operations, according to University of Michigan researchers Ivette Perfecto and John Vandermeer. At the same time, smaller diversified farms are more likely to help preserve biodiversity in tropical regions undergoing massive amounts of deforestation, Perfecto and Vandermeer conclude in a paper to be published online Feb. 22 in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Read the rest of the article over at ScienceDaily.

A low-fat vegetarian diet is very efficient in terms of how much land is needed to support it. But adding some dairy products and a limited amount of meat may actually increase this efficiency, Cornell researchers suggest.

This deduction stems from the findings of their new study, which concludes that if everyone in New York state followed a low-fat vegetarian diet, the state could directly support almost 50 percent more people, or about 32 percent of its population, agriculturally. With today's high-meat, high-dairy diet, the state is able to support directly only 22 percent of its population, say the researchers.

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Scientists in Canada are reporting the development of a fast, inexpensive "dipstick" test to identify small amounts of pesticides that may exist in foods and beverages. Their paper-strip test is more practical than conventional pesticide tests, producing results in minutes rather than hours by means of an easy-to-read color-change, they say.

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Machines have been an integral part of agriculture for generations helping with such tasks as tilling fields, picking cotton, and sorting eggs. One ability machines have lacked, until now, is the ability to determine whether fruit is actually ready for harvest. 

Robotic engineers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh have devised an army of automated robots that have the ability to fully tend a crop. These robots use vision systems, laser sensors, satellite positioning and instruments to measure things like humidity and can build up a database of information about each plant. Crop yields can be predicted more accurately by robotic observation of each developing plant. Automated harvesters will then use the database to identify and gather individual produce whenever it is ready for harvest.

On a small scale it is already possible to see fully automated horticulture in action. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has an experimental greenhouse growing cherry tomatoes on raised platforms. It is managed entirely by small robots. Each plant is equipped with sensors which keep track of its condition. If a particular plant is getting a bit dry, one of the robots is summoned to water it. When a tomato is identified as being ripe, the robot uses its vision system to locate the fruit on the vine and pick it with a mechanical arm.

For the complete article please head over to The Economist.

According to an article found at Arthritis Today a new study suggests that a daily dose of blueberry juice could improve memory.

Researchers had 16 participants, all of whom were in their 70s and having memory lapses, drink either 20 ounces of blueberry juice or 20 ounces of another beverage that had no fruit juice in it each day for 12 weeks. The blueberry juice was made from commercially available frozen wild blueberries.

They found that the group that drank blueberry juice showed a significant improvement in memory function and learning and memory tests – including word association and list learning – compared to the placebo group.