Animal-based foods have high social and climate costs.

Despite the importance of animal-based agricultural greenhouse gas emissions as drivers of climate change, the climate costs of such emissions have not yet been quantified in an integrated way. Using a macroeconomic-climate framework, we coupled global agricultural and industrial economies to estimate these costs at a regional level. To be consistent with end-of-century temperature increases of 1.5-3 °C, we found that every 10-percentage-point increase in agricultural emissions required a compensating 1.5-percentage-point reduction in industrial emissions-the 'emissions opportunity cost' of animal-based foods. Alternatively, if agricultural emissions were not offset in the industrial sector, diets high in animal protein contributed US$72 per person per year in additional climate damage-approximately half of the annual climate damage produced by the average passenger vehicle in the United States. Our analysis revealed geographic heterogeneity in climate costs by diet and food type, suggesting opportunities for mitigation policies while recognizing food insecurity risks.

A comparative proteomic analysis during urodele lens regeneration.

To examine underlying mechanisms of urodele lens regeneration we have employed a proteomic analysis of 650 proteins involved in several signaling pathways. We compared expression of these proteins between the regeneration-competent dorsal iris and the regeneration-incompetent ventral iris in the newt. After a series of screenings we selected several proteins to evaluate their expression quantitatively on immunoblots. We then used these selected proteins to compare their expression between the dorsal iris of the newt and the iris of the axolotl, another urodele, which does not regenerate the lens. In the newt we find that most proteins are expressed in both dorsal and ventral iris, even though there is differential regulation. Moreover, several of these proteins are expressed in the axolotl iris as well and for some of them their expression is consistent with the regeneration potential.

What do farmers' weed control decisions imply about glyphosate resistance? Evidence from surveys of US corn fields.

BACKGROUND: The first case of glyphosate-resistant weeds in the United States was documented in 1998, 2 years after the commercialization of genetically engineered herbicide-resistant (HR) corn and soybeans. Currently, over 15 glyphosate-resistant weed species affect US crop production areas. These weeds have the potential to reduce yields, increase costs, and lower farm profitability. The objective of our study is to develop a behavioral model of farmers' weed management decisions and use it to analyze weed resistance to glyphosate in US corn farms. RESULTS: On average, we find that weed control increased US corn yields by 3700 kg ha-1 (worth approximately $US 255 ha-1 ) in 2005 and 3500 kg ha-1 (worth approximately $US 575 ha-1 ) in 2010. If glyphosate resistant weeds were absent, glyphosate killed approximately 99% of weeds, on average, when applied at the label rate in HR production systems. Average control was dramatically lower in states where glyphosate resistance was widespread. CONCLUSION: We find that glyphosate resistance had a significant impact on weed control costs and corn yields of US farmers in 2005 and 2010. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.