http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. There may be a natural solution to the mystery of how small amounts of a banned drug that disrupts thyroid function and plumps up livestock gets into their bodies — and the bodies of humans, scientists are reporting. Their study, which appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, reports the first evidence that the substance can form naturally in feed and food. http://phys.org/news227353388.html Chemistry Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:43:18 EST news227353388 A two-year study by a Texas AgriLife Research team in Amarillo has helped bring a new product to market that could allow the cattle feeding industry to realize efficiencies in mills and more weight on cattle, according to Dr. Jim MacDonald. http://phys.org/news226916222.html Biology Fri, 10 Jun 2011 09:17:23 EST news226916222 (PhysOrg.com) -- Livestock grazing is apparently not the culprit in the steep decline of Yosemite toads and their habitat, according to the results of an extensive, five-year study conducted by UC Davis, UC Berkeley and the U.S. Forest Service. http://phys.org/news226667711.html Biology Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:16:55 EST news226667711 It's an issue that crops up wherever humans and big predators — wolves, bears, lions — coexist. http://phys.org/news226146205.html Biology Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:23:35 EST news226146205 World farm monitors on Wednesday declared a cattle-killing virus that has been a curse through the ages had been wiped out, the first time an animal disease has been eradicated in human history. http://phys.org/news225540516.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 May 2011 11:09:25 EST news225540516 In their eagerness to cut nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico, people have often sought simple explanations for the problem: too many large animal operations, for instance, or farmers who apply too much fertilizer, which then flows into waterways. http://phys.org/news223893280.html Space & Earth Fri, 06 May 2011 09:35:19 EST news223893280 Rotational grazing of cattle in native pasturelands in Brazil's Pantanal and Cerrado regions can benefit both cattle and wildlife, according to a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society. http://phys.org/news223640063.html Biology Tue, 03 May 2011 11:40:03 EST news223640063 David Grewell flipped on the augers that carry corn from a truck to a biorefinery. http://phys.org/news222361509.html Technology Mon, 18 Apr 2011 16:05:25 EST news222361509 Texas Agrilife Research fire and brush control studies in the Rolling Plains on a working ranch-scale showed the benefits and limitations of managed fires for reducing mesquite encroachment while sustaining livestock production. http://phys.org/news220527251.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 Mar 2011 10:34:26 EST news220527251 Increasing numbers of domestic livestock and more resource-intensive production methods are encouraging animal epidemics around the world, a problem that is particularly acute in developing countries, where livestock diseases present a growing threat to the food security of already vulnerable populations, according to new assessments reported today at the International Conference on Leveraging Agriculture for Improving Nutrition & Health. http://phys.org/news216569088.html Medicine & Health Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:04:59 EST news216569088 The worst global recession in 80 years did little to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and China made a major polluting leap, US figures showed on Monday. http://phys.org/news215713426.html Space & Earth Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:24:01 EST news215713426 An increased interest in biofuel production and a growing need to find cost-effective livestock feedstuff alternatives has led University of Illinois researchers to further evaluate the use of glycerin in swine diets. http://phys.org/news214682998.html Biology Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:10:40 EST news214682998 (AP) -- Livestock feed producers must face stricter controls and Germany and other EU nations must have better, more centralized dioxin monitoring, German officials proposed Monday after high dioxin levels prompted the closure of thousands of farms. http://phys.org/news213881178.html Medicine & Health Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:26:31 EST news213881178 (AP) -- Germany froze sales of poultry, pork and eggs from more than 4,700 farms Friday to stem the spread of food contaminated with cancer-causing dioxin, as fears grew that farmers could have been using tainted livestock feed for months. http://phys.org/news213598652.html Medicine & Health Fri, 07 Jan 2011 04:57:51 EST news213598652 The Egyptian vulture population of the Canary Islands was established following the arrival of the first human settlers who brought livestock to the islands. A genetic comparison of Iberian and Canarian birds, published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology, found that the Egyptian vulture population in the Canary Islands was likely established around 2500 years ago – around the same time as humans began to colonise the islands. http://phys.org/news211435152.html Biology Mon, 13 Dec 2010 04:20:01 EST news211435152 CSIRO is researching ways to improve the welfare of livestock by developing scientific methods for assessing how animals 'feel' in response to common management practices. http://phys.org/news211035926.html Biology Wed, 08 Dec 2010 13:05:37 EST news211035926 (AP) -- Officials in Haiti say a river that has been a source of a cholera epidemic is expected to overflow following heavy rains from Hurricane Tomas. http://phys.org/news208430666.html Medicine & Health Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:40:01 EST news208430666 Greenhouse gas emissions caused by livestock operations in tropical countries—a major contributor to climate change—could be cut significantly by changing diets and breeds and improving degraded lands, according to a new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. And as an added bonus, scientists found the small changes in production practices could provide a big payoff by providing poor farmers with up to US$1.3 billion annually in payments for carbon offsets. http://phys.org/news203260790.html Space & Earth Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:30:01 EST news203260790 Urgent action is needed to stop the rapid and alarming loss of genetic diversity of African livestock that provide food and income to 70 percent of rural Africans and include a treasure-trove of drought- and disease-resistant animals, according to a new analysis presented today at a major gathering of African scientists and development experts. http://phys.org/news198858942.html Biology Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:35:57 EST news198858942 European mountains have experienced a decline in forestry, agricultural and livestock operations over the past 50 years, due to the exodus of rural populations and socioeconomic changes. These areas have become covered by scrubland. Burning has become a common tool used to regain the landscape of olden times and maintain grazing areas at altitudes of between 1,400 and 2,100 metres above sea level in the Pyrenees. http://phys.org/news197111397.html Biology Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:30:03 EST news197111397 Homeowners tired of watering, fertilizing and mowing grass have a new low-maintenance lawn option -- peanuts. http://phys.org/news197049259.html Biology Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:20:01 EST news197049259 Keeping livestock away from poisonous locoweed during seasons when it's a forage favorite is one way ranchers can protect their animals and their profits, according to a 20-year collaboration by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their university partners. http://phys.org/news196348666.html Biology Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:30:01 EST news196348666 Nutrient runoff from livestock manure is a common source of agricultural pollution. Looking for an uncommon solution, a team of scientists has developed an application of rare earth elements to control and track runoff phosphorus from soils receiving livestock manure. In addition to reducing the solubility of phosphorus, this method shows particular promise for researchers interested in tracking the fate of manure nutrients in agricultural settings. http://phys.org/news195706785.html Space & Earth Mon, 14 Jun 2010 04:00:09 EST news195706785 A major report by an international research team explores the impact of the global livestock industry on the environment, the economy and human health. http://phys.org/news187970528.html Space & Earth Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:30:07 EST news187970528 (PhysOrg.com) -- A joint report from the law schools at UC Berkeley and UCLA recommends ways that farmers and ranchers can mitigate the impact of climate change. "Room to Grow" identifies barriers to lowering emissions and proposes concrete steps to overcome them. http://phys.org/news187450080.html Space & Earth Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:50:01 EST news187450080 A new paper published today in Science warns that billions of dollars promised to fund programs to boost small-scale agriculture in developing countries are unlikely to succeed in feeding the world's increasing populations. This is due not only to increasing populations and changing environments, but also to little "intellectual commitment" to the ubiquitous small-scale "mixed" farmers who raise both crops and animals and are the source of much of today's food supplies and economic development. http://phys.org/news185123578.html Biology Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:20:02 EST news185123578 A joke among two Texas AgriLife Research scientists later turned into a fully-funded study found Viagra can aid fetal development in female sheep. Female sheep (ewes) are an agriculturally important species, which can serve as an excellent animal model for studying the physiology of human pregnancy, the researchers said. http://phys.org/news184434758.html Biology Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:52:49 EST news184434758 (PhysOrg.com) -- Transgenic screwworms developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists could set the stage for new, improved methods of eradicating the pest based on the sterile insect technique (SIT). http://phys.org/news181401143.html Biology Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:13:19 EST news181401143 The Netherlands stepped up measures Wednesday against the world's biggest Q fever epidemic that has killed 10 humans, by ordering the slaughter of over 30,000 animals, a press release said. http://phys.org/news180184772.html Medicine & Health Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:30:08 EST news180184772 The northwards spread of human Rhodesian sleeping sickness in Uganda is likely due to the movement of infected livestock, according to new findings from an interdisciplinary research group including members from the Centre for Infectious Diseases, University of Edinburgh; the Ministry of Health, Uganda; and the Universities of Oxford and Southampton. http://phys.org/news180110748.html Medicine & Health Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:00:26 EST news180110748