Meal kit maker Blue Apron has bought Bill Niman’s BN Ranch, a provider of sustainable, responsibly raised beef, lamb, and poultry in the United States, the company said in a news release. Niman will join the Blue April executive team as president and founder of BN Ranch. [node:read-more:link]
From tackling cancer to eradicating single-gene mutations, the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing tool is often portrayed as the eighth wonder of the world by many. We look to CRISPR regarding how it affects us as a species, but the implications of the CRISPR Cas-9 system extend far beyond just humanity. [node:read-more:link]
An estimated $5.8 billion in cuts to the National Institutes of Health in President Donald Trump’s proposed budget has universities and medical institutions sounding the alarm. Trump’s spending plan — running into opposition from Republicans and Democrats alike — would cut about 20 percent of the roughly $30 billion budget of the nation’s medical research agency that supports research on cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Zika and other conditions. [node:read-more:link]
The ease of relapsing into opioid addiction has led a growing number of states to help residents make it clear to medical professionals they do not want to be prescribed the powerful painkillers. Connecticut and Alaska are two of the latest considering legislation this year that would create a "non-opioid directive" patients can put in their medical files, formally notifying health care professionals they do not want to be prescribed or administered opioid medications.Legislators in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania last year voted to create similar voluntary directives.
Zaro Bates operates and lives on a 5,000-square-foot farm on Staten Island, which may make her the city’s only commercial farmer-in-residence. But instead of a shingled farmhouse surrounded by acres of fields, Ms. Bates lives in a second-floor studio in a midrise apartment complex built on the site of a former naval base overlooking New York Bay. The farm itself sits in a courtyard between two buildings at Urby, a development with 571 rental apartments that opened in Stapleton last year. Ms. [node:read-more:link]
Owners of pets killed on the road will get a chance to provide them with a proper burial under a new program in LaPorte County.LaPorte County Animal Control officer Jane Bernard said the effort is about providing closure and peace of mind for owners wondering about the fate of their missing dog or cat."We just thought that as a good community we want to take care of people's pets," she said.For years, the LaPorte County Highway Department has taken deceased cats and dogs found along roadsides directly to a composting pile containing wild animals that suffered a similar death at its main loc [node:read-more:link]
South Dakota's animal disease research lab is in line for much-needed upgrades after Gov. Dennis Daugaard approved creative funding to provide it with $50.1 million.Daugaard signed legislation Friday to upgrade and expand the Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory at South Dakota State University in Brookings.The lab performs daily food safety tests and also tests for disease in pigs, cattle and other livestock. It's used by many farmers and veterinarians in the state and was a key player in the bird flu outbreak of two years ago. [node:read-more:link]
A state lawmaker is working to help Minnesota farmers grow a popular protein: shrimp. A bill written by Rep. Chris Swedzinski (R-Ghent) would provide short-term tax incentives for entrepreneurs who want to jump into the shrimp farming business.“We’re looking to build a whole new industry of agriculture in Minnesota, one that uses local commodities and creates very good jobs,” the southwest Minnesota lawmaker said.His bill was positively received Wednesday by the House Agriculture Policy Committee, his office said, adding that it’ll continue to be in the legislative mix this session. [node:read-more:link]
An eastern Idaho sheriff says he’s investigating after a cyanide trap placed by federal authorities to kill coyotes injured a 14-year-old boy and killed his dog. Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen tells the Idaho State Journal that the device activated Thursday near the Eastern Idaho city of Pocatello.Nielsen says the boy was taken to a hospital to be tested for cyanide poisoning but was not seriously injured and was released. The dog, a 3-year-old Lab named Casey, died. [node:read-more:link]
We discovered that organic farming does matter – just not in the way most people think. What’s good: Organic farms provide higher biodiversity, hosting more bees, birds and butterflies. They also have higher soil and water quality and emit fewer greenhouse gases. What’s not-so-good: Organic farming typically yields less product – about 19-25% less. Once we account for that efficiency difference and examine environmental performance per amount of food produced, the organic advantage becomes less certain (few studies have examined this question). [node:read-more:link]
