The UMass Stockbridge School of Agriculture was established in 1918 to provide practical science-based education – and the tradition continues today … learn more→

For a century, scientists have assumed that the Earth has the same chemical make-up as the sun. But this belief has been challenged by scientists at The Australian National University. Professors Ian Campbell and Hugh O’Neill from the Research School of Earth Sciences at ANU said their research shakes up our understanding of the Earth’s […] … learn more→

A project running almost 10,000 climate simulations on volunteers’ home computers has found that a global warming of 3 degrees Celsius by 2050 is ‘equally plausible’ as a rise of 1.4 degrees. The study, the first to run so many simulations using a complex atmosphere-ocean climate model, addresses some of the uncertainties that previous forecasts, […] … learn more→

Ecologists in New Zealand have shown for the first time that Marine Protected Areas – long advocated as a way of protecting threatened marine mammals – actually work. Their study, based on 21 years\’ monitoring and published today in the British Ecological Society\’s Journal of Applied Ecology, reveals that a marine sanctuary off the coast […] … learn more→

A new interactive Equality and Diversity eLearning programme (LEAD) will allow staff in the university sector to consider their role in building an inclusive environment. The LEAD programme was launched by Minister Fergus O’Dowd (Wednesday March 21) at a joint Irish Universities Association (IUA) Equality Network and Equality Authority event supported by the Workplace Diversity […] … learn more→

Developments in evolutionary biology have a significant impact on the way we look at the world and ourselves in it. … learn more→

One in three older people who have difficulty reading and understanding basic health related information may be at increased risk of death, concludes a UCL study. The findings have important implications given rising levels of long term conditions and the UK government’s plans for patients to become responsible and active partners in their care. ‘Health […] … learn more→

The moment when the hunter-gatherers laid down their spears and began farming around 11,000 years ago is often interpreted as one of the most rapid and significant transitions in human history – the ‘Neolithic Revolution’. By producing and storing food, Homo sapiens both mastered the natural world and took the first significant steps towards thousands […] … learn more→

Diseases such as kidney failure and endocrine tumors are among the suspects causing high blood pressure — but could the common pain relievers in your medicine cabinet be the culprit? According to Prof. Ehud Grossman of Tel Aviv University\’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Sheba Medical Center, many common over-the-counter and prescription medications are […] … learn more→

Shoppers will continue to see the Fresh Local Produce sign in supermarkets, but stores will increasingly require growers to show proof of good agricultural practices, according to Penn State\’s College of Agricultural Sciences researchers. Good agricultural practices — GAPs — are food-safety standards that reduce the risk of on-farm produce contamination, according to Daniel Tobin, […] … learn more→