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786. Improving Soybean Functionality by Developing Soybean with High α-Tocopherol

Tocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as vitamin E. It has physiological functions in the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases such as cancer and atherosclerosis, as well as cardiovascular disease. Among the tocopherols, α-tocopherol has the highest vitamin E activity. However, the α-tocopherol content in soy is low, which limits the exploitation of the functional properties of soy. JIRCAS was able to identify the DNA regions and candidate genes that regulate the tocopherol biosynthetic pathway in soy. Modification of the tocopherol biosynthetic pathway may lead to the development of soybean with higher α-tocopherol content.
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785. Getting to the Root of Plastic Pollution

Once hailed as a "miracle material," plastic is now a source of pollution due to our irresponsible use. Today, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) released its latest report, "Turning off the Tap: How the world can end plastic pollution and create a circular economy".
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784. Impact of Simultaneous Occurrence of Extreme Weather Events on Crops

Extreme weather events have been observed in all regions of the world. The impact on crop yields when these extreme events occur simultaneously is still unknown. An international team led by researchers at Aalto University used global weather data and yield data for major crops to estimate the impact of simultaneous extreme weather events and published their findings in Scientific Reports.

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783. Record High Temperatures Observed in Asia in April Linked to Climate Change

According to World Weather Attribution, record high temperatures were observed in Bangladesh, India, Thailand, and Laos in late April 2023. A collaboration of scientists from India, Thailand, France, Australia, Denmark, Germany, Kenya, the Netherlands, the United States, and the United Kingdom assessed the occurrence of climate change-related heat waves for the four countries where temperature records were broken and loss of life was reported.

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782. Global Temperatures in the Next 5 Years Likely to be 1.5°C Above Pre-industrial Level for One Year

On May 17, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced that the average temperature is likely to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in at least one year during the five-year period 2023-2027. The increasing likelihood of exceeding 1.5°C, even temporarily, is feared to have enormous impacts on human health, food security, water and the environment.

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781. International Day for Biological Diversity

Our lives depend on a healthy ecosystem for water, food, medicine, clothing, fuel, shelter, and energy. However, human economic activities have destroyed biodiversity. May 22 is the International Day for Biological Diversity, a day established by the United Nations to raise public awareness of biodiversity loss and related issues.

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780. Extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative for 60 Days

Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February raised fears of supply chain disruptions from major grain producers and exporters, which could lead to a spike in food prices in 2022. The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed last July to guarantee Ukrainian grain exports, was extended for 120 days in November to address the situation, but the Russian side refused to budge when the initiative was extended again in March, making it valid for only 60 days. On May 17, the day before the deadline, Russia reportedly agreed to a 60-day extension.

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779. Global, Regional and National Animal Source Food Intake of Children by Age Group

Today’s Pick up features an article that quantify global, regional and national animal source foods intake of children by age group in 185 countries.

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778. Health and Sustainability Impact of Daily Meals

In a sustainable food system transformation, what we eat and how we cook should be part of the solution, but we also need insight into culturally and economically realistic diets in different parts of the world. A recent paper in Nature Food analyzed 600 dinner recipes from online and popular cookbooks for Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and showed that this approach could be an entry point for understanding food-related habits.

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777. Nature Food: The Food-Climate Nexus

Food systems are highly vulnerable to climate change, but they also contribute negatively to climate change by emitting greenhouse gases through excessive fertilizer use and land-use change. On the other hand, innovations in the food system can contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. This bidirectional link between food systems and climate change is sometimes referred to as the nexus, and we present here a discussion of the nexus between food and climate, food systems and climate change, published in Nature Food.

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776. Global Commodity Market Price Trends

According to the World Bank's Global Commodity Market Outlook released in April, overall commodity prices in 2023 are projected to be 21% lower than in 2022, with energy prices, agricultural commodity prices, food prices, and fertilizer prices, among others, expected to decline by 26%, 7%, 8%, and 37%, respectively. Despite the general decline in these commodity prices, the fertilizer and food price indices remain above pre-pandemic levels.
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775. International Day of Plant Health

May 12 is International Day of Plant Health (IDPH). The purpose of International Day of Plant Health (IDPH) is to raise global awareness of the importance of preventing the spread of plant pests and diseases. JIRCAS also promotes international collaborative research to control plant pests, which are a global problem.

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774. Global Report on Food Crises 2023

According to the Global Report on the Food Crises 2023 (GRFC 2023), more than 250 million people were acutely food-insecure in 2022, the highest level in the last seven years.

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773. El Niño Phenomenon Outlook for 2023

On May 3, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its outlook for the possible increasing impact of an El Niño event later this year. The El Niño event will have a contrasting effect to the weather and climate patterns caused by La Niña events in recent years and could push global temperatures even higher.
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772. Reducing Food Loss and Waste Benefits the World

One third of the food produced in the world is lost without being consumed, causing enormous damage not only to human health and nutrition, but also to the economy and the environment.

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771. April 2023 World Food Price Index

After three years of COVID-19 influencing trends in the food supply chain, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on May 5 the end of its global emergency declaration for COVID-19. Also on May 5, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization FAO) released its monthly World Food Price Index, which showed a slight increase of 0.6% in April compared to the previous month, reflecting a reversal in the meat price index and a sharp increase in the sugar price index.

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770. Impact of Extreme Weather in Vulnerable Areas

Climate change is making extreme events more frequent in many parts of the world, and a paper published in Nature Communications shows that regions that have never experienced extreme temperatures may be more vulnerable when exposed to risk. The more vulnerable regions need to reassess their ability to adequately adapt.

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769. Are Animal Products Friend or Foe?

There has been much debate about the health and environmental benefits and risks of animal products. Today we present a review article from the Journal of Nutrition.

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768. Overcoming the Interlinked Crises of Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss

Climate change and biodiversity loss are having a huge impact on our societies and ecosystems. In April, researchers from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) published a paper in Science on the need to address both the interlinked climate change and biodiversity crises.

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767. JIRCAS Mango Genetic Resources Site Now Available in English

The JIRCAS Mango Genetic Resources website has been open to the public since 2017, providing information on mango genetic resources to researchers, producers, and consumers in Japan. In recent years, we have received many visits and inquiries from overseas, and in response to this, we have reorganized the information on the current site and launched an English version of the site with content specifically for overseas users.