OARDC'S answer to the energy problem
Energy-hungry Ohio has enough biomass resources--livestock manure, food-processing waste, crop residue, etc., to supply 65 percent of its residential electricity needs. The question is: How do you turn all this stuff into usable energy in an efficient manner?
Researchers at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center are looking for an answer. Or rather several of them.
In one effort, OARDC agricultural engineers have found that, if harnessed properly, some bacteria can be used to generate electricity from manure. "We are simply tapping into the normal metabolism of the microbes' cells and turning that chemical energy into electrical energy. It has the potential to be a cheaper, more environmentally friendly way of serving people's alternative energy needs," said Ann Christy, who heads an OARDC microbial fuel cell project.
Christy and colleagues have been able to produce enough electricity to power a lamp or Christmas tree lights. The low voltage has applications in remote areas where electricity is not easily accessible, as well as in the medical field.
In another project, OARDC researchers Clay Sneller and Fred Snyder are evaluating technologies to convert millfeed into bioenergy. A byproduct of the milling industry (6.8 million tons a year nationwide), millfeed contains 30 percent starch and other carbohydrates that can be converted to ethanol.
And then there's animal scientist Floyd Schanbacher's Third Frontier-funded project to convert food processing and other wastestreams into biogas and then use that biogas to generate energy. This system utilizes biodigesters to produce the gas and solid-oxide fuel cells to store the energy. -- By Mauricio Espinoza
Chow that cures: Center focuses efforts on functional foods, effect on disease
Despite improved medical care and the virtual elimination of nutritional deficiency disorders, Americans are suffering epidemics of chronic illnesses, including obesity, cancer, diabetes, and vascular disease.
An interdisciplinary group of researchers at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center is addressing such critical societal needs by concentrating
on the preventative and curative properties of functional foods--those with health-promoting and/or disease-preventing properties beyond their basic nutritional function.
Led by food science and technology professor Steven Schwartz, the Center for Advanced Functional Foods Research and Entrepreneurship (CAFFRE) was created to develop functional foods and components that promote health by bringing together a diverse group of scientists, from plant breeders, food scientists,
and human nutritionists to clinical researchers and market economists.
Several products that CAFFRE has developed are currently in clinical trials. One is a soy bread rich in phytonutrients and high in protein that is being tested for its effectiveness in preventing heart disease.
Another product, soy-tomato juice, is being studied for its effectiveness against prostate cancer. This juice is made with tomatoes specially bred by OARDC researchers for high lycopene content and was tested extensively to assure that people liked its sensory characteristics, including flavor and texture.
A CAFFRE-sponsored project that has garnered lots of attention is the use of berries in the fight against several types of cancer. Berry derivatives, including a lozenge made from freeze-dried black raspberries, have been developed to evaluate their anti-carcinogenic properties, particularly against oral, esophageal, and colon cancers. -- By Mauricio Espinoza
Researcher: Storing carbon could slow carbon change, keep soils fertile
Research has found that loss of soil carbon into the atmosphere has an impact on global warming, and as temperatures increase, the potential for carbon loss becomes even greater.
"Soils in the permafrost regions of the world hold 40 percent of the world's carbon pool. If temperatures increase and those soils thaw, we'll lose a major stock of carbon to the atmosphere," said Rattan Lal, a world-renowned Ohio State University soil scientist with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. "Furthermore, for every 10 degrees Celsius the temperature goes up, the rate of decomposition of carbon doubles. So it's possible that many soils around the world will lose more carbon with the projected global warming."
The key to offsetting carbon emissions, said Lal, is to sequester, or store, carbon in the soil. Through a five-year, $12 million university-wide effort called the Climate, Water and Carbon Targeted Investment in Excellence program, OARDC researchers are studying ways to manage carbon in terrestrial systems (agricultural, forestry, and pastoral land uses along with biofuel plantations and wetlands). -- By Candace Pollock
Tomato gene discovery means breakthroughs in applied vegetable research
Esther van der Knaap's unique discovery of a gene that controls fruit shape in tomatoes landed this Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center researcher's work on the March 14, 2008, cover of the prestigious journal Science. But even more importantly, the process of cloning this gene is contributing to important advances in plant development studies and vegetable breeding programs that impact agriculture in Ohio and beyond.
A geneticist in OARDC's Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, van der Knaap and colleagues cloned a gene, dubbed SUN, which plays a significant role in the elongated shape of different tomato varieties. In addition to explaining how tomatoes evolved from a round, berry-sized fruit into the wide array of shapes and sizes known today, SUN could also help unravel the mystery behind the huge morphological differences among edible fruits and vegetables such as peppers, squash, and others.
In terms of practical applications, being able to control and modify fruit shape could lead to the development of new varieties, helping growers to serve specialty markets and processors to reduce costs (the tomato industry alone is worth over $100 million a year in Ohio).
"This discovery will tell us, too, how we can influence the process of fruit formation and facilitate the development of 'designer fruit,'" van der Knaap explained. "The design or control of fruit shape is especially useful when introducing new varieties. Depending on the goal of the breeding project, the creation of niche markets may require an unusual shape of the product so that consumers are curious to check it out." -- By Mauricio Espinoza
New initiative advances university green efforts
A new initiative launched at The Ohio State University will attempt to advance the university's efforts in solving global energy issues while promoting environmental sustainability.
The Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE), developed last summer, is an outgrowth of the university's Targeted Investment in Excellence program. The IEE is supported by the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences; the College of Biological Sciences; the College of Engineering; the College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences; and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Jerry Bigham, chair of CFAES' School of Environment and Natural Resources, said that the IEE was formed to act as a center for energy and environment-related educational efforts, programs, and research taking place at the university.
"We wanted to create a place where people can go to get information on renewable energy, sustainability movements, and environmental stewardship efforts," said Bigham, who is on the IEE advisory committee. "IEE is the external window to all of Ohio State's energy and environmental research and programs. It's meant to leverage and promote what we are already doing."
Bigham said that the development of the IEE fits in with CFAES' strategic plan, as it supports high-priority opportunities within the college dealing with environmental sustainability, renewable/green resources and products, climate change, and renewable energy.
Some of the goals of the IEE include increasing energy and environment-related research by $50 million over the next five years, facilitating efforts to reduce Ohio State's carbon footprint and advocate for campus sustainability, and build a state-of-the-art energy center on the Columbus campus. -- By Candace Pollock
