Globally, dairy producers face increasing challenges regarding sustainability, including declining numbers of workers in the agricultural sector, while continuing to meet increasing demand for nutritious and affordable food. Dairy systems must now focus on more sustainable production that reflects economic, environmental, and social goals. A new report in the Journal of Dairy Science®, published by Elsevier, explores labor time-use on Irish pasture-based dairy farms in the busy spring and summer seasons.

Researchers have developed a work-flow method, called Fanflow4Insects, that annotates gene functions in insects. In functional annotation, scientists collect information about a gene's biological identity. The team’s new method uses transcribed sequence information as well as genome and protein sequence databases. With Fanflow4Insects, the team has annotated the functional information of the Japanese stick insect and the silkworm, including gene expression as well as sequence analysis. The functional annotation information that their workflow provides will greatly expand the possibilities of entomological research using genome editing.

MIT researchers developed a biodegradable system based on silk to replace microplastics added to agricultural products, paints, and cosmetics. The processing method is simple and tunable, so the material could be adapted to work on existing manufacturing equipment.

Methane emitted from cows is a significant source of greenhouse emissions. Now, a collaborative project has used biomarkers to tell us more about the metabolic and nutritional characteristics linked to enteric methane emissions in Japanese Black cattle.