The study, which appears in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focuses on CRP land, a federal program encouraging farmers to grow natural vegetative cover rather than crops, and its role in the production of biofuels.

U.S. production of ethanol for fuel has been rising quickly, topping 13 billion gallons in 2010. With the usual rail, truck and barge transport methods under potential strain, existing gas pipelines might be an efficient alternative for moving this renewable fuel around the country. But researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) caution that ethanol, and especially the bacteria sometimes found in it, can dramatically degrade pipelines.

At a conference this week,* NIST researchers presented new experimental evidence that bacteria that feed on ethanol and produce acid boosted fatigue crack growth rates by at least 25 times the levels occuring in air alone.

Some compounds found in grapes help to protect skin cells from the sun's ultraviolet radiation, according to a study by researchers from the University of Barcelona and the CSIC (Spanish National Research Council). The study supports the use of grapes or grape derivatives in sun protection products.

Ultraviolet (UV) rays emitted by the sun are the leading environmental cause of skin complaints, causing skin cancer, sunburn and solar erythema, as well as premature ageing of the dermis and epidermis.

Around the globe, many nations are realizing that the potential for bioterrorism isn't just about the U.S., officials say.

And because an intentional introduction of bacteria, a virus or a toxin could happen anywhere, the World Organization for Animal Health is issuing a paper aimed at prevention.

"Any emerging country that is beginning to think about maintaining international trade needs to be aware of the potential for bioterrorism," said Dr. Neville Clarke, special assistant to the Texas A&M University System's vice chancellor of agriculture.

Warmer temperatures increase water loss to the atmosphere, leading to drier soils. In contrast, higher CO₂ levels cause leaf stomatal pores to partly close, lessening the amount of water vapor that escapes and the amount of water plants draw from soil.

Researchers have published a step by step plan to one day end the use of environmentally harmful chemicals on commercial crops by developing plants that produce their own fertilizer

(Edmonton) Two University of Alberta researchers have published a step by step plan to one-day end the use of environmentally harmful chemicals on commercial crops by developing plants that produce their own fertilizer.

There is literally a way to undercut dust emissions in the very driest parts of the Pacific Northwest's Columbia Plateau region, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist.

Brenton Sharratt, research leader at the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Land Management and Water Conservation Research Unit in Pullman, Wash., found that undercutting is a promising conservation tillage technique on fallow fields. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency.

The new system, being trialled by scientists at Newcastle University, tracks the feeding behaviour of each individual animal, alerting farmers to any change that might indicate the cow is unwell.

Using RFID (radio frequency identification) technology -- similar to that used in the Transport for London Oyster card -- each calf is 'clocked' in and out every time they approach the trough, with the time spent feeding being logged by a computer.

Scientists from the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability at Michigan State University used a simulation model to study the amount of land farmers in the Wolong Nature Reserve in southwestern China re-enrolled in the Grain-to-Green Program (GTGP), which aims to reduce soil erosion by converting sloping cropland to forest or grassland.