USAID With Feed the Future Funding Awards UF/IFAS $2 Million To Strengthen One Health Research in East Africa
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) will lead a three-year, up to $2 million project to enhance understanding of the burden of brucellosis and main modes of disease transmission, as well as behavioral risk factors and gender dimensions in livestock and human populations in East Africa. Research results will help inform health policy options for disease prevention and control using a “One Health” approach. This initiative will target Rwanda and Kenya, with selected capacity to strengthen activities in Uganda.
‘Invisible Fence’ Keeps Cattle on Ranch, Helps Protect Environment
Jim Strickland, who manages Blackbeard’s Ranch in Myakka City, cares about cattle and believes in the value of science. Therefore, he’s partnered with Joao Vendramini, an agronomy professor at the University of Florida Range Cattle Research and Education Center (REC), on an invisible fence for his ranch — a first-of-its-kind project in the Southeast.
UF Awarded $5 Million in NIFA Grants to Battle Citrus Greening Disease
University of Florida scientists will elevate their efforts to control citrus greening, with about $5 million in grants from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
BioMérieux Receives CE Mark for Biomarker Assay for Mild TBI
BioMérieux, which signed an agreement in 2017 with Banyan Biomarkers to commercialize its TBI assay, has obtained the CE Mark for its assay to detect two biomarkers associated with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).
UF/IFAS Scientists Seek To Lure Mosquitoes, Build Better Surveillance System for Southeast Region With USDA-NIFA Grant
Mosquitoes’ sense of smell tells them when humans and wildlife are in biting distance, according to science. Over time, scientists have learned which types of scents and fragrances can lure mosquitoes best.
Over the next two years, a team of researchers from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) will develop a low-cost mosquito trap to lure mosquitoes and create a web-based dashboard to improve surveillance across the southeast United States.
UF/IFAS Research: On the Verge of Developing a Domestic Industry for One of the World’s Most Valuable Spices
University of Florida researchers in Homestead are on the verge of developing a domestic vanilla industry, poised to transform agriculture in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands for interested small growers and investors.
Study Uncovers Gut Bacteria Differences in Children Who Later Develop Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
For the first time, scientists have shown that gut bacteria differences are associated with later development of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, a debilitating rheumatic childhood disease, and that these differences are present years before the disease is diagnosed.
UF/IFAS Researchers To Train Workforce Preventing Mosquito-Borne Disease Transmission
Three faculty members at the UF/IFAS Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory (FMEL) recently received $8.5 million from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to manage mosquito-borne disease transmission. Increasingly prevalent diseases in the Southeast include West Nile fever and Zika, among others. New diseases are also likely to emerge in the future.
UF Scientists See Bright Future As They Seek Savory Strawberries – And High Yield
In a newly published paper, led by Mark Porter and co-authored by UF Innovate inventor Vance Whitaker, is helping outline the past, present and potential future of breeding flavor into strawberries.
Silver Nanoparticles Show Promise in Fighting Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
In a new study, scientists with the University of Florida found that a combination of silver nanoparticles and antibiotics was effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The researchers hope to turn this discovery into viable treatment for some types of antibiotic-resistant infections. Antibiotic-resistant infections kill more than a million people globally each year.