New Line of Bovine Embryonic Stem Cells Shows Promise for Lab-Grown Meat, Biomedical Applications

Cindy Tian of the Department of Animal Science in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources works in her lab in the Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratory (ABL). Oct. 19, 2022.
Photo Credit: Milton Levin/UConn

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary

• Main Discovery: Researchers have established a novel line of bovine embryonic stem cells (ESCs) derived from the blastocyst stage that maintain a stable, formative pluripotent state.
• Methodology: The cells were cultured using a specialized "cocktail" medium consisting of a commercial base supplemented with specific small molecules and mouse feeder cells to prevent natural differentiation.
• Key Data: This cell line is genetically "clean," containing zero foreign genes unlike induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and possesses the unique capacity to directly induce primordial germ cell-like cells.
• Significance: The absence of genetic engineering addresses critical safety and regulatory hurdles for cultivated meat production, offering a more efficient and consistent alternative to traditional reprogramming methods.
• Future Application: These cells are intended for the commercial scaling of lab-grown muscle and fat, the development of disease-resistant cattle, and the creation of large-animal models for human medical research.
• Branch of Science: Agricultural Science, Animal Science, and Biotechnology.
• Additional Detail: Ongoing research aims to eliminate the requirement for mouse feeder cells and develop a long-term maintenance medium to reduce environmental impact and production costs.

Removing livestock from grasslands could compromise long-term soil carbon storage

Langdale, England.
Photo Credit: Richard Bardgett

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary

• Main Discovery: Total removal of livestock from upland grasslands reduces mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC), the most stable form of soil carbon, despite increasing fast-cycling carbon in vegetation.
• Methodology: Researchers conducted a comparative analysis of 12 upland sites across an 800-kilometer gradient in the UK, matching areas ungrazed for over 10 years with neighboring grazed plots to assess carbon storage differences.
• Key Data: While grasslands store approximately one-third of global terrestrial carbon, the study reveals that ungrazed sites accumulate vulnerable, short-lived biomass at the expense of MAOC, which is capable of persisting for decades to centuries.
• Significance: Current carbon removal projects relying on "total carbon stocks" are potentially misleading, as they prioritize unstable surface carbon over the long-term security of soil-bound carbon essential for effective climate mitigation.
• Future Application: Land-use frameworks for net-zero targets should incorporate low-intensity grazing models rather than total exclusion to balance total carbon storage with the durability of soil carbon pools.
• Branch of Science: Ecology, Soil Science, Agricultural Science, and Environmental Science
• Additional Detail: The loss of stable carbon in ungrazed areas is driven by a vegetation shift to dwarf shrubs associated with ericoid mycorrhiza fungi, which accelerate the decomposition of older soil carbon to acquire nutrients.

Agricultural Science: In-Depth Description

Agricultural Science is a broad, multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic, and social sciences used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Its primary goal is to improve the efficiency, sustainability, and quality of agricultural production—ranging from soil management and crop cultivation to animal husbandry and food processing—to ensure global food security and economic stability.

Pesticides Significantly Affect Soil Life and Biodiversity

70 percent of European soils are contaminated with pesticides with a major impact on various beneficial soil organisms, such as mycorrhizal fungi and nematodes, impairing their biodiversity.
Image Credit: Scientific Frontline / AI generated (Gemini)

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary

• Main Discovery: A comprehensive European study reveals that 70% of soils are contaminated with pesticide residues, which significantly suppress beneficial soil organisms like mycorrhizal fungi and nematodes, thereby impairing essential soil biodiversity and function.
• Methodology: Researchers from 10 European institutions analyzed 373 soil samples collected from agricultural fields, forests, and meadows across 26 countries to measure the presence and impact of 63 common pesticides.
• Key Data: Fungicides accounted for 54% of detected active ingredients, followed by herbicides (35%) and insecticides (11%), with glyphosate being the most prevalent substance found.
• Significance: The presence of these chemicals drastically alters soil communities and disrupts key genes responsible for nutrient cycling (such as nitrogen and phosphorus recovery), potentially forcing a reliance on additional fertilizers to maintain crop yields.
• Future Application: These findings provide the first quantitative evidence of this scale and are intended to directly influence and tighten current pesticide regulations to better protect soil biodiversity.
• Branch of Science: Soil Ecology / Environmental Science / Agricultural Science
• Additional Detail: Contamination is not limited to treated agricultural land; residues were also detected in forests and meadows where pesticides are not applied, indicating widespread transport via spray drift.

Forest soils increasingly extract methane from atmosphere

The data on methane uptake comes from soils in beech and spruce forests, like the typical Central European beech forest shown here.
Photo Credit: Martin Maier

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary

• Main Discovery: Long-term monitoring reveals that forest soils in south-western Germany are increasingly extracting methane from the atmosphere, contradicting previous international meta-analyses that predicted a climate-driven decline in this function.
• Methodology: Researchers analyzed the world's most comprehensive dataset on methane uptake, utilizing soil gas profiles from 13 forest plots collected bi-weekly over a period of up to 24 years and validated via airtight surface chamber measurements.
• Key Data: The study observed an average annual increase in methane absorption of 3%, a stark contrast to a major US study that reported a decline of up to 80% under conditions of increasing rainfall.
• Significance: These findings challenge the assumption that climate change universally exerts a negative impact on soil methane sinks, demonstrating instead that drier and warmer conditions can enhance the capacity of forest soils to filter greenhouse gases.
• Future Application: The results highlight the indispensability of long-term, region-specific monitoring programs for accurately calibrating climate models and assessing the real-world effects of environmental shifts on soil processes.
• Branch of Science: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Soil Physics.
• Additional Detail: The increased uptake is mechanically attributed to drier soils possessing more air-filled pores for gas penetration, combined with higher temperatures that accelerate the microbial breakdown of methane.

Manganese Helps Reduce Agricultural Nitrogen Pollution in Air, Water

Photo Credit: Dylan de Jonge

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary

• Main Discovery: The addition of manganese to agricultural soil significantly lowers plant-available nitrogen forms (ammonium and nitrate), resulting in reduced nitrous oxide (\(N_2O\)) emissions and decreased nitrate leaching into waterways.
• Methodology: Researchers conducted a laboratory experiment comparing soil treated with nitrogen fertilizer for 27 years against soil with no nitrogen input, applying three distinct manganese levels (0, 50, and 250 mg/kg) to assess effects on nitrogen cycling under agronomically relevant conditions.
• Key Data: Applying 250 mg/kg of manganese yielded a 42% reduction in nitrous oxide emissions, while 50 mg/kg resulted in a 32% reduction after 51 days; additionally, expression of the amoA gene, responsible for converting ammonia to nitrate, decreased by 2.5 times.
• Significance: This approach mitigates two major agricultural pollutants: nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and nitrate runoff, which causes toxic algal blooms and contaminates drinking water.
• Future Application: Field experiments are currently underway to determine optimal manganese application rates that reduce pollution without inducing toxicity in crops, potentially establishing manganese as a standard tool for emission and runoff control.
• Branch of Science: Soil Science / Environmental Science / Agricultural Science
• Additional Detail: The study highlights that while manganese is an essential micronutrient, its application requires careful balancing to avoid plant toxicity, necessitating further research into the complete manganese-nitrogen cycling gene interactions.

What Is: Invasive Species

Image Credit: Scientific Frontline / stock image

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary

The Core Concept: Invasive species are non-native organisms that, upon introduction to a new environment, escape the evolutionary checks of their native ranges to cause significant ecological, economic, or human health harm. This phenomenon represents a systemic disruption of biophysical systems rather than merely the presence of an unwanted plant or animal.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: The defining characteristic separating "invasive" from "non-native" is impact; while many non-native species (like agricultural crops) are beneficial, invasive species actively dismantle native ecosystems. They often succeed via the Enemy Release Hypothesis, flourishing because they have left behind natural predators and diseases, or through Priority Effects, such as leafing out earlier than native flora to monopolize resources.

Origin/History: While natural translocation has occurred for eons, the current crisis is driven by the "relentless engine of human globalization" in the Anthropocene. The concept is underscored by the "Ten Percent Rule," a statistical filter noting that roughly 10% of transported species survive, 10% of those establish, and 10% of those become destructive invaders.

Long-term pesticide exposure accelerates aging and shortens lifespan in fish

Notre Dame biologist Jason Rohr
Photo Credit: Barbara Johnston/University of Notre Dame

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary

• Main Discovery: Chronic exposure to low levels of the pesticide chlorpyrifos accelerates biological aging and reduces lifespan in fish, occurring at concentrations previously considered safe and distinct from acute toxicity.
• Methodology: Researchers combined field studies of over 20,000 lake skygazer fish (Culter dabryi) across lakes with varying contamination levels in China with controlled laboratory experiments that exposed fish to chronic low doses (10 and 50 ng/L) over 16 weeks to verify causal links.
• Key Data: Fish exposed to these low concentrations exhibited significantly shortened telomeres (protective chromosome caps) and increased lipofuscin (cellular waste) accumulation; notably, these aging markers appeared at levels below current U.S. freshwater safety standards.
• Significance: This research challenges the prevailing regulatory assumption that chemicals are safe if they do not cause immediate death, revealing that "silent" cumulative damage can drive population declines through accelerated aging rather than acute poisoning.
• Future Application: Regulatory frameworks for chemical safety assessments may need to be overhauled to include long-term markers of biological aging rather than relying solely on short-term lethality tests.
• Branch of Science: Environmental Toxicology and Ecology
• Additional Detail: As telomere biology and aging mechanisms are highly conserved across vertebrates, the findings suggest that chronic low-level pesticide exposure could pose similar aging-related health risks to humans.

Ticking time bomb: Some farmers report as many as 70 tick encounters over a 6-month period

Some outdoor workers reported as many as 70 tick encounters over a 6-month period, according to new research led by Binghamton's Tick-borne Disease Center. Image Credit:
Photo Credit: Pablo Tapia Ossa
(CC BY-NC 4.0)

Finding one tick on your body is scary enough – tick-borne diseases are serious – but what if you found more than 10 on yourself in just one month? That’s the plight of some farmers as the threat of ticks and tick-borne diseases grows, according to new research featuring experts at Binghamton University, State University of New York.

New research led by Mandy Roome, associate director of the Tick-borne Disease Center at Binghamton University, State University of New York, reveals that farmers and outdoor workers in the Northeast are facing an escalating threat of tick-borne diseases, which could be devastating to their livelihoods.

Ticks are surging and spreading throughout the United States, causing alarm for all who fall within their path, especially those in the Northeast. Farmers, who spend a substantial amount of time outdoors, in habitats ideal for ticks, face an even greater threat.

Sublethal antibiotic levels found to boost spread of resistance genes in the environment by up to 45 times

Photo Credit: Daniel Quiceno M

A new study has found that exposure to sublethal levels of antibiotics, amounts too low to kill bacteria, can increase the spread of antibiotic resistance genes of Escherichia coli (E. coli) found in the environment by up to 45 times.

The study led by researchers from the University of Nottingham and Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial research (IOI) analyzed 39 E. coli strains from a UK dairy farm that were resistant to a group of widely used human critical antibiotics called cephalosporins.

Their findings published in Frontiers journal, showed that all 39 cephalosporin resistant E. coli strains carried the same resistance gene- blaCTX-M-15, which protects bacteria from penicillin and cephalosporin antibiotics

Genetic testing showed the bacteria were almost identical, suggesting a single strain had spread across the farm. Researchers also found that the resistance gene wasn’t fixed in place- it could jump from the bacterial chromosome onto separate small circular double-stranded DNA molecules called plasmids, which can move between bacteria.

Research Finds Dairy Farmers Receptive to Methane-Reducing Seaweed Feed

New research led by the University of New Hampshire examines the receptiveness of organic dairy farmers across Maine to pay an average of 64 cents more per cow per day to use methane-reducing seaweed-based feed to their cows, similar to those shown here.
Photo Credit: University of New Hampshire

New England’s dairy industry continues to evolve in response to significant market challenges that include a decreased demand for milk and higher production and land costs. However, there is also ongoing evidence that organic dairy farming can provide environmental benefits — such as reducing methane emissions — which could further differentiate their products as well as help qualify farms for new government initiatives to reduce methane through innovative management practices. Researchers from the University of New Hampshire collaborated with researchers in Maine to find evidence that nearly half of organic dairy farmers would be willing to pay a little extra for methane-reducing seaweed feed but would only consider if it was cost effective, aligned with existing feeding practices and would qualify them for government policies and subsidies.     

“Dairy farmers aim to run their farms as lucrative enterprises,” said Andre Brito, associate professor of dairy cattle nutrition and management and a scientist at UNH’s New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station. “The additional cost would require serious considerations, as well as more data and an effective implementation of carbon markets in the future.” 

Product that kills agricultural pests also deadly to native Pacific Northwest snail

Pacific sideband snail.
Photo Credit: William P. Leonard

A product used to control pest slugs on farms in multiple countries is deadly to least one type of native woodland snail endemic to the Pacific Northwest, according to scientists who say more study is needed before the product gains approval in the United States.

Dee Denver of the Oregon State University College of Science led a 10-week laboratory project that showed the effect of a biotool marketed as Nemaslug on the Pacific sideband snail. The study was published today in PLOS One.

Nemaslug is based on the organism Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita, a species of tiny, parasitic worm known as a nematode.

The speed of the Pacific sidebands’ demise depended on the concentration of Nemaslug exposure and the size and maturity of the snails, but by the end of the study all 90 were dead, whereas all 30 snails in a control group were still alive.

“This finding is a big deal because there are strong efforts to bring this commercialized nematode to U.S. markets to control invasive pests, such as the gray field slug, that cause damage to a variety of agricultural crops,” said Denver, who heads OSU’s Department of Integrated Biology and directs the university’s School of Life Sciences.

Invasive weed could be turned into a viable economic crop

Prof Rahman and Dr Karim collecting paddy melons for urease enzyme extraction.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of University of South Australia

One of the most invasive Australian weeds is being touted as a potential economic crop, with benefits for the construction, mining and forestry industries, and potentially many First Nations communities.

The prickly paddy melon weed, which costs the agricultural industry around $100 million a year in lost grain yields, cattle deaths, and control measures, could turn into an unlikely money spinner as a source of urease enzymes to create bio cement and prevent soil erosion.

In a world-first study, researchers at the University of South Australia (UniSA) screened 50 native plants and weeds to find a cheaper and more environmentally friendly source for bulk producing of urease enzymes to strengthen soil.

Among the weeds tested, paddy melon ticked all the boxes and was almost as effective as soybean enzymes, which are more expensive and used primarily for food.

UniSA geotechnical engineer Professor Mizanur Rahman and his students collected the paddy melon weed from roadsides in Port Pirie in South Australia. After crushing the seeds and extracting enzymes in a liquid form, they freeze-dried them to create a powdered, high-concentration cementation agent.

Red nets signal “stop” to insect pests, reduce need for insecticides

Field test in Kyoto, Japan. The type of Welsh onions used in the experiment were a variety called Kujo leek, or Kujo negi in Japanese. These onions are a traditional vegetable of the Kyoto region and a staple part of local cooking.
Photo Credit: © 2024 Tokumaru et al./Scientific Reports

Red nets are better at keeping away a common agricultural insect pest than typical black or white nets, according to a new study. Researchers experimented with the effect of red, white, black and combination-colored nets on deterring onion thrips from eating Kujo leeks, also called Welsh onions. In both lab and field tests, red nets were significantly better at deterring the insect than other colors. Also, in field tests, onion crops which were either partially or fully covered by red netting required 25-50% less insecticide than was needed for a totally uncovered field. Changing agricultural nets from black or white to red could help reduce pesticide use and the related negative impact it can have on the environment, while supporting more sustainable and effective agricultural practices.

Insect pests can be a nightmare for any gardener. No sooner do fresh buds appear than they are covered in aphids, beetles and other bugs looking for a tasty snack. While synthetic insecticides are widely used to control pests in gardens and on agricultural crops, many are known to cause damage to the natural environment by leaching into the soil and water supplies, and poisoning plants, wildlife and harmless insects. Some pests are also becoming resistant to the chemicals, so farmers are running out of options for what to use and needing to apply more often.

Electronic “soil” enhances crop growth

Alexandra Sandéhn, PhD student, one of the lead authors, and Eleni Stavrinidou, Associate Professor, and supervisor of the study, connect the eSoil to a low power source for stimulating plant growth.
Photo Credit: Thor Balkhed

Barley seedlings grow on average 50% more when their root system is stimulated electrically through a new cultivation substrate. In a study published in the journal PNAS, researchers from Linköping University have developed an electrically conductive “soil” for soilless cultivation, known as hydroponics.

Alexandra Sandéhn, PhD student, one of the lead authors, and Eleni Stavrinidou, Associate Professor, and supervisor of the study, connect the eSoil to a low power source for stimulating plant growth. Thor Balkhed

“The world population is increasing, and we also have climate change. So, it’s clear that we won’t be able to cover the food demands of the planet with only the already existing agricultural methods. But with hydroponics we can grow food also in urban environments in very controlled settings,” says Eleni Stavrinidou, associate professor at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at Linköping University, and leader of the Electronic Plants group.

Her research group has now developed an electrically conductive cultivation substrate tailored to hydroponic cultivation which they call eSoil. The Linköping University researchers have shown that barley seedlings grown in the conductive “soil” grew up to 50% more in 15 days when their roots were stimulated electrically.

Research offers a reason why diversity in plant species causes higher farming yield, solving 'a bit of a mystery'

Co-author Peggy Schultz collects data on plots with undergraduate workers.
Photo Credit: KU Marketing

A study appearing in Nature Communications based on field and greenhouse experiments at the University of Kansas shows how a boost in agricultural yield comes from planting diverse crops rather than just one plant species: Soil pathogens harmful to plants have a harder time thriving.

“It’s commonly observed that diverse plant communities can be more productive and stable over time,” said corresponding author James Bever, senior scientist with the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research and Foundation Distinguished Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at KU. “Range lands with numerous species can show increased productivity. But the reason for this has been a bit of a mystery.”

While crop rotation and other farming and gardening practices long have reflected benefits of a mix of plants, the new research puts hard data to one important mechanism underpinning the observation: the numbers of microorganisms in the soil that eat plants.

“Diverse agricultural communities have the potential to keep pathogens at bay, resulting in greater yields,” Bever said. “What we show is that a major driver is the specialization of pathogens, particularly those specific to different plant species. These pathogens suppress yields in low-diversity communities. A significant advantage of rangeland diversity is that less biomass is consumed by pathogens, allowing more biomass for other uses, such as cattle. The same process is crucial for agricultural production.”

New strategies needed to help banana farmers recover from climate shocks

Photo Credit: Jonas Von Werne

Extreme weather events and the globalized nature of food production puts smallholder farmers at risk of ‘double exposure’ of production and market loss, according to a new study.

Researchers including from the University of Exeter, University of Oxford and ETH Zurich, examined the Global Food Value Chain (GFVC) – an international network of stakeholders involved in food production, processing, distribution, retailing and consumption – of bananas grown in the Dominican Republic, the UK’s most important supplier of organic bananas.

They found that smallholder farmers hit by hurricane-induced flooding faced not only the loss of production but also a loss of market access for their undamaged produce, and called for new strategies to tackle the aftermath of climate shocks.

The researchers integrated satellite, household survey and trade data to investigate the impacts of two consecutive hurricanes (Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017) and subsequent flooding on smallholder banana farmers in Dominican Republic and what factors determined their recovery from such events.

Cut emissions and improve farming to protect wilderness

Photo Credit: Dave Willhite

Humanity must cut carbon emissions and use farmland more efficiently to protect our planet’s remaining wilderness, new research shows.

Climate change is making some wilderness areas more suitable for crop growing, heightening the risk of agricultural expansion, especially in northern areas including Canada, Scandinavia and Russia.

By assessing “future climate suitability” for more than 1,700 crop varieties, the study projects 2.7 million square kilometers of wilderness will become newly suitable for agriculture over the next 40 years.

This is 7% of the world’s total remaining wilderness outside Antarctica.

The study, by the University of Exeter, also projects that the variety of crops that can be grown will decrease on 72% of currently cultivable land worldwide – further driving pressure to expand farming into wilderness.

Land use: produce more food and store more carbon at the same time

Optimized land use could still significantly increase yields taking climatic conditions into account, keeping land use within limits.
Photo Credit: Anita Bayer

Double food production, save water and at the same time increase carbon storage - that sounds paradoxical, but would be theoretically possible, at least according to the biophysical potential of the earth. However, a radical spatial reorganization in land use would be necessary. Researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology (HeiGIT), an affiliated institute of Heidelberg University, found this out. They have their results in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

How people use the surface of the earth, including for the production of food, has changed a lot in the past centuries. Today, more and more people live on earth, more food is needed and food can be transported around the world in a short time. However, as the study shows, the historically grown systems of food production do not reflect the biophysical potential of our ecosystems. Food is therefore not produced where there is area, water and CO2- would be the most efficient in terms of technology. Instead, according to the authors of the study, forests for arable and pasture land continue to be cleared and fields in arid areas irrigated - measures that have a massive negative impact on water availability and carbon storage.

Soil bacteria prevail despite drought conditions

ClimGrass, the field experiment in Styria, in which drought is simulated in combination with future climate conditions.
Photo Credit: Markus Herndl, HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein

Recent research uncovers the resilience of certain soil microorganisms in the face of increasing drought conditions. While many bacteria become inactive during dry spells, specific groups persist and even thrive. This study, conducted by the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS) at the University of Vienna, offers ground-breaking insights into bacterial activity during drought periods, with implications for agriculture and our understanding of climate change impacts. The study has been published in the renowned scientific journal Nature Communications.

The images of the parched Po Valley in 2022 and this year's forest fires in Greece underscore the reality of extreme droughts – not just as news headlines but as immediate threats. The repercussions for humans and plant life are evident: crop failures, withered meadows, and water rationing. However, the impact of drought on soil microorganisms remains hidden from the naked eye.

Soil microorganisms play a pivotal role in ecosystems. They contribute to soil fertility, assist plants in nutrient absorption, and determine whether soils store or release CO2, thereby influencing climate change trajectories. Until now, measuring the activity of microorganisms in dry soils and identifying which species remain active was challenging. Thanks to a novel method developed by scientists at the University of Vienna, bacterial activity during drought periods can now be observed.