Proper post-harvest handling and storage of food produces are equally important to the intensive and extensive farming in securing food for a nation. A survey revealed that post-harvest losses of Fruits and Vegetables at 23.6 to 43.5 percent of the total production in Bangladesh. This loss can be »
Mushrooms have been used medicinally in China for more than 6,000 years. In ancient Egypt mushrooms were declared to be a food for royalty and no ordinary citizens could touch them. It was also believed that whoever ate these mushrooms would become immortal. The Romans called mushrooms "food of »
Source: USDATips: Mushrooms are useful not only as food but also as medicine because: Mushrooms provide lean proteins source as they have zero cholesterol, fats and very low carbohydrates. Mushrooms are one of the few natural sources of vitamin D, which is essential for healthy bones and teeth. Mushrooms contain »
Mushrooms are composed of 90% water. There is a mushroom that looks like a brain and so dangerous to eat that Switzerland and Germany prohibit it to be sold, while some others regard it as a delicacy. Mushrooms do not require sunlight to produce energy. The DNA of the mushroom »
Artificial leaves mimic photosynthesis -- the process whereby plants use water and carbon dioxide from the air to produce carbohydrates using energy from the sun. But even state-of-the-art artificial leaves, which hold promise in reducing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, only work in the laboratory because they use pure, pressurized »
For people who suffer from celiac disease, traditional staples like wheat bread and pasta are off the menu. With celiac, the body's immune system reacts when gluten is eaten, causing nausea, cramps, malnutrition, and other health problems. There is no available treatment for the disease, other than avoiding foods made »
Tiny pores on the leaves of plants, called stomata, have a huge influence on the state of our planet. Through the stomata, plants absorb carbon dioxide, which is incorporated into carbohydrates, and release oxygen. But they also lose water through open pores, which can be life-threatening for plants in dry »
A global alliance of researchers has pioneered a new method to rapidly recruit disease-resistance genes from wild plants for transfer into domestic crops. The technique promises to revolutionize the development of disease-resistant varieties for the global food supply. The technique called AgRenSeq was developed by scientists at the John Innes »
Catechins are major components of the flavonoid pathway in tea in which they are synthesized in four distinct ways under the direct catalysis of two enzymes, leucoanthocyanidin reductase (LAR) and anthocyanidin reductase (ANR). Vietnamese scientists conducted the cloning and sequence analysis of genes encoding ANR and LAR (namely, CsANR2 and »
Plants belonging to the Brassicaceae family such as cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, mustard, and Brussels sprout may have different tastes, but they have a common enemy: white rust. One kind of white rust, caused by the pathogen Albugo candida threatens cabbages. Though not actually a fungus, A. candida acts like one »
Scientists have discovered that grasses are able to short cut evolution by taking genes from their neighbors. The findings suggest wild grasses are naturally genetically modifying themselves to gain a competitive advantage. Understanding how this is happening may also help scientists reduce the risk of genes escaping from GM crops »
