PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Greenhouse gas emissions from silage fed to livestock

Greenhouse gas emissions from silage fed to livestock
2024-09-24
(Press-News.org) Changes in silage production could help cut greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. Agriculture is the largest source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions in the United States. N2O is the third most impactful greenhouse gas, yet one potential source—silage—has not been thoroughly studied. Silage, which is moist, harvested plant material used to feed livestock during the winter, is preserved through fermentation. During this process, anaerobic bacteria produce lactic acid, which prevents the plants from spoiling. Jeongdae Im and colleagues suggest that silage could be a significant source of N2O emissions. The authors estimated the N2O emissions from simulated silage of three major crops commonly used in the US: maize, alfalfa, and sorghum. Monitoring these crops over four weeks revealed that all produced substantial amounts of N2O, indicating that forage conservation could be the third largest contributor to agricultural N2O emissions. The addition of chlorate dramatically reduced N2O emissions from all crops, suggesting that chlorate could serve as a useful additive in silage production to lower greenhouse gas emissions. The findings also suggest that the N2O emissions from silage are primarily produced by denitrifying bacteria, not nitrifying bacteria, as shown by experiments with chlorate and varying oxygen levels as well as molecular studies. The authors propose that further research into the use of denitrification inhibitors like chlorate in silage could significantly reduce emissions from what appears to be the third largest source of N2O in agriculture.

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Greenhouse gas emissions from silage fed to livestock

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

The impact of AI on specific jobs

The impact of AI on specific jobs
2024-09-24
Artificial intelligence (AI) may reshape many industries, but the impact of the nascent technology on various jobs remains unclear. Daniele Quercia and colleagues used machine learning to investigate itself, by identifying patents for AI technologies that may impact various occupational tasks. The model used a dataset of 17,879 task descriptions from O*NET, a US government-run occupations database, as well as 24,758 AI patents filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office between 2015 and 2022 and measured semantic similarity between occupation task descriptions and patent descriptions. The analysis was not merely an exercise ...

Diagnosing respiratory infections with breath

Diagnosing respiratory infections with breath
2024-09-24
A proof-of-concept study promises the speedy diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infections through analysis of human breath. Lower respiratory tract infections, such as bronchitis, pneumonia, and bronchiolitis, are currently diagnosed by culturing bacteria from respiratory specimens, but the procedure is invasive, laborious, and time intensive. Molecular sequencing techniques cannot differentiate between clinical infection and mere colonization, in which bacteria are benignly present in the respiratory tract. Dapeng Chen and colleagues have designed a medical device that measures the protease activity ...

Well-being as student success

Well-being as student success
2024-09-24
In a Perspective, Holly C. White and colleagues argue that student well-being should be a goal of pedagogy, along with traditional metrics such as GPA and student retention. Despite evidence linking certain academic experiences with well-being outcomes, few students report having had such experiences. Well-being is defined as a sense of belonging, agency, purpose, identity, civic engagement, and financial well-being. The authors summarize data-backed teaching practices that support elements of student well-being, including supportive mentorships and experiential or authentic learning opportunities. Six exceptional initiatives are described, which can act as models ...

Spinning artificial spider silk into next-generation medical materials

Spinning artificial spider silk into next-generation medical materials
2024-09-24
It’s almost time to dust off the Halloween decorations and adorn the house with all manner of spooky things, including the classic polyester spider webs. Scientists reporting in ACS Nano have made their own version of fake spider silk, but this one consists of proteins and heals wounds instead of haunting hallways. The artificial silk is strong enough to be woven into bandages that helped treat joint injuries and skin lesions in mice. Spider silk is one of the strongest materials on Earth, technically stronger than steel for a material of ...

Low-temperature conversion of ammonia to hydrogen via electric field-aided surface protonics

Low-temperature conversion of ammonia to hydrogen via electric field-aided surface protonics
2024-09-24
Hydrogen gas, owing to its high energy density and carbon-free nature, is gaining much attention as the energy source for a green and sustainable future. Despite being the most abundant element in the universe, hydrogen is mostly found in a bound state as chemical compounds such as ammonia, metal hydrides, and other hydrogenated compounds. Among all the hydrogen carriers, ammonia stands out as a promising candidate owing to its wide availability, high hydrogen content with hydrogen making up 17.6% of its mass, and ease of liquefaction as well as transportation. A major drawback that hinders its exploitation as an ...

Challenges in availing reproductive health services experienced by migrant Nepalese men and women in Japan

Challenges in availing reproductive health services experienced by migrant Nepalese men and women in Japan
2024-09-24
Despite a substantial Nepalese community in Japan many Nepalese women face significant challenges in accessing essential sexual and reproductive health services (SRHSs) due to language barriers and differences in healthcare laws and services between Nepal and Japan. In Nepal, women have free access to a wide range of contraceptive and abortion services, while Japan places more restrictions on certain contraceptives and does not provide free abortion services. These limited options make women more reliant on their male partner to use contraceptives for birth control. These challenges in accessing contraceptives, especially female-oriented contraceptives, lead them to acquire contraceptives ...

A risky business: Why do some Parkinson’s disease treatments affect decision making?

A risky business: Why do some Parkinson’s disease treatments affect decision making?
2024-09-24
Parkinson’s disease (PD), also known simply as Parkinson’s, is a disorder of the nervous system that affects millions of people worldwide. The nerve cell damage associated with Parkinson’s can cause tremors, slowed movements, problems with balance, and many other symptoms which worsen gradually over time. Although there is no cure, there are medications available that can treat PD symptoms. Some of these medications, however, have previously unexplained side effects – including impaired decision-making that leads to potentially harmful behaviors such as pathological gambling, binge eating and compulsive shopping. Now, in ...

New species of flatworm invading the United States

New species of flatworm invading the United States
2024-09-24
A new species of flatworm has been discovered and has already invaded several states in the southern United States. The particularity of the new species is that it looks a lot like Obama nungara, a species that has invaded much of Europe. The new species has been named Amaga pseudobama in reference to this resemblance. An international team reports the discovery of a new species of flatworm. The team includes researchers from National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France, Drexel University and North Carolina State ...

First observation of ultra-rare process that could uncover new physics

2024-09-24
Scientists at CERN have discovered an ultra-rare particle decay process, opening a new path to find physics beyond our understanding of how the building blocks of matter interact.  Today the NA62 collaboration presented at a CERN EP seminar the first experimental observation of the ultra-rare decay of the charged kaon into a charged pion and a neutrino-antineutrino pair (K+ → π p+νν).   This is an ultra-rare occurrence - the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics, which explains how particles ...

New indoor vertical farming research could help future-proof food demand for a changing planet

New indoor vertical farming research could help future-proof food demand for a changing planet
2024-09-24
To make sure everyone eats well in our crowded world, we need to innovate. Vertical farming systems, which grow plants intensively in an indoor setting, could be part of the answer – but to use them on a large scale we need to overcome key problems, especially the management of the energy-intensive, expensive light the plants need to grow. Now scientists show how manipulating light according to the needs of specific crops could make them grow stronger and healthier while minimizing energy use. “The biggest benefit of vertical farming systems is that healthy food can be grown ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Are lifetimes of big appliances really shrinking?

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission

UTA-backed research tackles health challenges across ages

In pancreatic cancer, a race against time

[Press-News.org] Greenhouse gas emissions from silage fed to livestock