rice

Study Provides Critical Tools To Unravel Diversity Of Rice

harminka — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:51:59 -0500

By looking at what different types of rice have in common, a team of international scientists is unlocking rice’s genetic diversity to help conserve it and find valuable rice genes to help improve rice production.

Red Yeast Rice, a Natural Cholesterol-Lowering Substance?

Michael Santo — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:26:39 -0500

For most people, cholesterol problems mean its time for statin drugs. But if you would prefer to avoid prescription drugs, there's been an unproven alternative: red yeast rice.

Gene's past could improve future of rice

harminka — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 03:06:28 -0600

In an effort to improve rice varieties, a Purdue University researcher was part of a team that traced the evolutionary history of domesticated rice by using a process that focuses on one gene.

Southeast Asian nations endorse rice action plan

harminka — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 10:52:22 -0500

The world's biggest rice-exporting and -importing nations have collectively endorsed a new Rice Action Plan trageting many of the problems that triggered this year's rice price crisis.

New tool probes function of rice genes

harminka — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:02:46 -0500

A new tool for investigating the rice genome has been developed by researchers at UC Davis led by Pamela Ronald, professor of plant pathology. The inexpensive, publicly-available rice DNA microarray covers nearly all the 45,000 genes in the rice genome. Details are published this week in the open-access journal PLoS ONE.

Gene that may contribute to improved rice yield

harminka — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 02:18:01 -0500

A team of scientists, including Penn State Distinguished Professor of Biology Hong Ma, has identified a gene in rice that controls the size and weight of rice grains. The gene may prove to be useful for breeding high-yield rice and, thus, may benefit the vast number of people who rely on this staple food for survival.

Secret ingredients behind germinated rice

harminka — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:23:23 -0500

A team of researchers has identified the active compounds that contribute to the health benefits of pre-germinated brown rice; the healthy components are a related set of sterol-like molecules known as acylated steryl-beta-glucosides (ASGs).

Water-stingy agriculture reduces arsenic in rice markedly

harminka — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 07:47:56 -0500

A new farming method first developed to conserve precious irrigation water may have the added benefit of producing rice containing much less arsenic than rice grown using traditional rice-farming methods, researchers in the United Kingdom report.

Boosting biofuel production from rice straw

harminka — Mon, 26 May 2008 08:39:00 -0500

Researchers in China are reporting a discovery that could turn rice straw into an inexpensive new renewable source of biofuel. Their new study, scheduled for the July 16 issue of ACS' bimonthly journal Energy & Fuels, describes a way to boost production of biofuel from rice straw by almost 65 percent.

African farmers gaining access to disease-resistant rice varieties

harminka — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 07:10:25 -0500

As concern builds around the impact of rising food prices and new restrictions on rice exports from Asian countries hit by adverse climate conditions, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) announced today that African rice breeders have made critical steps towards ensuring self-sufficiency and boosting African rice production.

A built-in strategy for transgene containment

harminka — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 02:44:38 -0500

A method of creating selective terminable transgenic rice was reported by the scientists of Zhejiang University in this week’s PLoS ONE. Unintended spreading of transgenic rice by pollen and seed dispersal is a major concern for planting transgenic rice, especially transgenic rice expressing pharmaceutical or industrial proteins.

Rice that ‘Snaps, Crackles and Pops’ with Protein

harminka — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:53:52 -0600

Scientists in the United States and India are reporting development of a high-protein variety of rice, dietary staple for half the world’s population. The study is scheduled for the Jan. 23 issue of ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a biweekly publication.