UW scientists probe, attack late blight in potatoes

(Phys.org)—As the annual potato harvest begins, Wisconsin farmers continue to check their fields for late blight, the ferocious plant disease that caused the 1848 Irish potato famine and fueled massive emigration from Ireland.

Avocado oil: The 'olive oil of the Americas'?

Atmospheric oxygen facilitated the evolution and complexity of terrestrial organisms, including human beings, because it allowed nutrients to be used more efficiently by those organisms, which in turn were able to generate ...

Identifying poverty levels requires accurate measurements

When food prices spiked in 2008, the number of households that moved into poverty was overestimated by about 60 percent, according to a recent University of Illinois study. In middle-income countries such as Mexico that have ...

A zap of cold plasma reduces harmful bacteria on raw chicken

A new study by food safety researchers at Drexel University demonstrates that plasma can be an effective method for killing pathogens on uncooked poultry. The proof-of-concept study was published in the January issue of the ...

Foreign insects, diseases got into US

(AP) -- Dozens of foreign insects and plant diseases slipped undetected into the United States in the years after 9/11, when authorities were so focused on preventing another attack that they overlooked a pest explosion ...

Salmonella uses similar mechanism to infect plants and humans

In recent years, it has become clear that food poisoning due to Salmonella typhimurium can be contracted not only by uncooked eggs and meat but also through eating contaminated raw vegetables and fruit. So far, it was unclear ...

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