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Scientific Discoveries Impact Our Everyday Lives

April 05, 2019 Nancy Vanatta, USDA Agricultural Research Service

Every day, some 2,000 ARS scientists go to work at over 90 research locations across the United States and abroad. Their job? To deliver scientific and innovative solutions to agricultural challenges affecting our Nation. As part of that job, ARS scientists frequently collaborate with research...

Research and Science

New Cotton Gauze Stops Bleeding Fast

February 21, 2019 Sue Kendall, Writer/Editor, ARS Office of Communications

Uncontrolled bleeding is the main cause of preventable death in people who experience traumatic injury. This can happen in 5 to 10 minutes if severe blood loss from the injury site isn’t slowed or stopped. Now, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in New Orleans, Louisiana, have helped...

Research and Science

The Makings of a Good Sweet Potato

November 06, 2018 Sandra Avant, Public Affairs Specialist, Agricultural Research Service

Sweet potatoes, which are native to the Americas, sustained our founding pioneers with beneficial nutrients like beta carotene, calcium, fiber, and a host of vitamins. No wonder it’s a holiday favorite, especially during Thanksgiving. But what makes a good sweet potato?

Research and Science

A Bacterial Reboot for Penicillin

October 09, 2018 Jan Suszkiw, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA Agricultural Research Service

The next time you stroll outside after the rain, thank the soil bacteria below for the sweet, earthy smell that fills the air.

Research and Science

Using Energy from the Sun to Dry Pomace

September 11, 2018 Sandra Avant, Public Affairs Specialist, Agricultural Research Service

Pomace, the heavy puree left over after fruits and vegetables are juiced and processed, is used mostly as a feed additive for livestock. The rest of the wet puree is discarded in landfills.

Energy Research and Science

Employing Wheat's Bacterial Partners to Fight a Pathogen

August 07, 2018 Briana K. Whitaker, Indiana University Graduate Student and ARS Intern

Fusarium head blight is a devastating fungal disease affecting wheat and barley crops worldwide. According to the American Phytopathological Society, this disease has cost U.S. wheat and barley farmers more than $3 billion since 1990. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists, together with...

Research and Science

If She Can See It, She Can Be It: Girl Scouts Learn STEM at USDA

April 26, 2018 Sally Gifford, USDA Communications Coordinator

“It felt a little buzzy,” said Lily Meritt, 7, a Daisy Girl Scout from Montgomery County, Maryland. She watched hungry mosquitoes through a plexiglass container as a USDA research scientist talked about pests that love to bug people. Lily and other D.C.-area Girl Scouts visited USDA headquarters to...

Initiatives Research and Science Technology

Join USDA at the 5th USA Science and Engineering Festival

March 26, 2018 Damon Thompson, Communications Director, USDA Research, Education, and Economics Mission Area

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is a proud partner of the th USA Science & Engineering Festival (USASEF). USDA will be among more than 750 of the world's leading professional scientific and engineering societies, universities, government agencies, and high-tech corporations that...

Research and Science

USDA Charts Course for Strengthening World Aquaculture

February 06, 2018 Jan Suszkiw, Public Affairs Specialist, Agricultural Research Service

Charting a course ahead for the conservation and sustainable farming of freshwater and marine species is a chief focus of the first State of the World’s Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report that will contain subsections from 89...

Research and Science

USDA Agencies Work Together to Eradicate an Old Foe: the Screwworm

January 09, 2018 Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, Administrator, Agricultural Research Service

Early in October 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was faced once again with New World screwworm, which had been eradicated from the United States more than three decades ago. Infestation of this flesh-eating parasite was confirmed in deer from the National Key Deer Refuge in the...

Research and Science
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