Futurity.org » Purdue University

White veggies dropped like a hot potato

Amy Patterson Neubert-Purdue — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:20:54 +0000

PURDUE (US) — Colorful vegetables are promoted as key to a healthy diet, but white vegetables, especially potatoes, are getting a bad rap, nutrition expert says.

“Potatoes are a great source for potassium, and only 3 percent of American adults consume the recommended daily intake for this mineral that’s essential to healthy blood pressure,” says Connie Weaver, distinguished professor of nutrition science at Purdue University.

LEDs cut tomato costs, not yield

Brian Wallheimer-Purdue — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:05:31 +0000

PURDUE (US) — Tomatoes grown around LED lights in the winter can significantly reduce greenhouse energy costs without sacrificing yield.

The average tomato is shipped about 1,500 miles from warmer climates where they’re grown to cooler climates that cannot produce the fruit cost-effectively in the winter. But the journey is costly—tomatoes are picked green and ripen during shipping, decreasing quality and flavor. The lengthy shipping distance also adds to the industry’s carbon footprint.

Business will likely boom for livestock producers

Brian Wallheimer-Purdue — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:55:04 +0000

PURDUE (US) — Stalled demand for ethanol and growing demand for meat in developing countries should boost the livestock industry, a new study predicts.

“Due to consumer taste preferences, global growth in income and population, the livestock industry will grow, particularly toward poultry and pork,” says Farzad Taheripour, a research assistant professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University.

‘Plasma’ zaps bacteria in bagged veggies

Brian Wallheimer-Purdue — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:41:07 +0000

PURDUE (US) — Exposing packaged liquids and fresh produce to an electrical field for just minutes might eliminate all traces of food borne pathogens.

Kevin Keener, a professor of food science at Purdue University, looked for new ways to kill harmful bacteria, such as E.coli and Salmonella, that contaminate foods and cause serious illnesses and deaths. His method uses electricity to generate a plasma, or ionized gas, from atmospheric gases inside the food package.

Sunlight on snow reacts to clean Arctic air

Elizabeth Gardner-Purdue — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:34:00 +0000

PURDUE (US) — Rising surface temperatures in the Arctic could affect a unique chemical reaction that helps rid the air of pollutants, experts report.

“We are racing to understand exactly what happens in the Arctic and how it affects the planet because it is a delicate balance when it comes to an atmosphere that is hospitable to human life,” says team leader Paul Shepson, a professor of chemistry at Purdue University.

Testosterone pumps up threats for tough guys

Brooke Donald-Stanford — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:03:35 +0000

STANFORD (US) — The higher a man’s testosterone level, the more macho he’s likely to act when his masculinity is threatened, a new study finds.

Robb Willer, an associate professor of sociology at Stanford University, has been studying masculinity since he was a graduate student, lending empirical data to the popular beliefs about emasculation.

‘ReadingMate’ reduces treadmill eye bobble

Emil Venere-Purdue — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:17:59 +0000

PURDUE (US) — New technology makes it easier for aspiring multi-taskers to read while they run on the treadmill.

The system, called ReadingMate, adjusts text on a monitor to counteract the bobbing motion of a runner’s head so that the text appears still.

Weed-killer warps genes in fish embryos

Amy Patterson Neubert-Purdue — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 19:32:33 +0000

PURDUE (US) — An agricultural herbicide alters reproductive and neuroendocrine genes during embryonic development in fish, according to new research.

“The exact connection to health outcomes is not defined, but we found gene alterations in our animal model when exposed to the level of atrazine that is deemed safe for drinking water,” says Jennifer Freeman, an assistant professor of toxicology in the School of Health Sciences at Purdue University.

How antibodies zap a mosquito-borne virus

Emil Venere-Purdue — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:46:43 +0000

PURDUE (US) — Seeing the mosquito-transmitted chikungunya virus pathogen at very high resolution while it’s bound to antibodies could lead to vaccines for the disease.

The infection causes symptoms similar to dengue fever, followed by a prolonged disease that affects the joints and causes severe arthritis. In recent outbreaks, some cases progressed to fatal encephalitis.

The researchers studied “virus-like particles,” or non-infectious forms of the virus. They also obtained near atomic-scale resolution of the virus attached to four separate antibodies.

Recyclable solar cells made from trees

Jason Maderer-Georgia Tech — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:47:18 +0000

GEORGIA TECH / PURDUE (US) — Fabricating new plant-based solar cells on cellulose nanocrystal substrates means that they’re recyclable in water.

The researchers report that the organic solar cells reach a power conversion efficiency of 2.7 percent, an unprecedented figure for cells on substrates derived from renewable raw materials.

The cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) substrates on which the solar cells are fabricated are optically transparent, which lets light pass through them before being absorbed by a very thin layer of an organic semiconductor.