Address
Description
LabTech in your Life: https://www.federallabs.org/successes/labtech-in-your-life
USDA Annual Reports in Technology Transfer: https://www.ars.usda.gov/office-of-technology-transfer/tt-reports
USDA ARS Media: https://www.ars.usda.gov/news-events/news-events
Mission
ARS conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority and provide information access and dissemination in order to:
- Ensure high-quality safe food and other agricultural products;
- Assess the nutritional needs of Americans;
- Sustain a competitive agricultural economy;
- Enhance the natural resource base and the environment;
- Provide economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and society as a whole.
- Provide the infrastructure necessary to create and maintain a diversified workplace.
Research in the Northeast addresses these goals.
Technology Disciplines
ARS constructed a new type I interferon gene expression system to increase interferon production and antiviral potency. This DNA construct can be inserted into gene-expressing vectors to be used as an antiviral biotherapeutic in pigs. The construct can be modified to be used in other animals.
Benefits
• Uses the most potent porcine interferon gene to increase antiviral activity
• Uses a strong porcine promoter for high gene expression
• Includes another porcine gene to extend the duration of interferon production
Applications
• Use alone for inducing rapid protection against virus infection
• Combine with vaccines for inducing rapid and long-lasting immune protection
| Internal Lab Reference ID | 115.17 |
A system for monitoring ruminant animal foraging that utilizes a piezoelectric film sensor in communication with a computer processor to record and characterize jaw movement data for the foraging ruminant animal. The processor applies pattern algorithms to categorize the jaw movement data so that the jaw movements are categorized as at least chewing, biting, ruminating, and/or idling. Knowledge about livestock behavior and resource use can inform management decisions that influence outcomes in agricultural production, the environment, and rural prosperity.
Benefits
• The system quantifies grazing behavior, including grazing time, ruminating time, resting time, bites/min and bites/day
• It has GPS tracking at a fix frequency of 5 minutes. It can track time spent in sensitive areas (e.g. riparian) and time spent in forage patches (diet selection)
• Other metrics can be added, including tail switch to track nutrient deposition, activity monitor for # of steps, and bites/feeding station
• Remote data access and troubleshooting
Applications
• This product would be of interest to grazing-based animal researchers
• It could be adapted for use for rangeland livestock, confinement livestock and for wildlife to monitor movement and grazing behavior
| Internal Lab Reference ID | 125.17 |
A bio-based epoxy curing agents has been developed that gives the final cured epoxy polymer good antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The manufacturing process involves mixing this curing agent with commercial epoxy resins and hardening the mixture at certain temperatures. The resulting polymer coating doesn’t contain any small molecular biocides embedded, but instead inhibits the bacteria by mere contact without releasing any reactive agents.
Benefits
• Renewable
• Inhibit both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.
• Non-volatile and non-migratory
• Good water-resistance
Applications
• Antimicrobial coatings for public sanitations like public bathroom wall coating, flooring or toilet seat coatings
• Coatings for reception desks, countertop, dining tables or biological lab benches
• Medicine or food packaging materials
• Cosmetics additives to prevent microbial proliferation
• Polymeric disinfectants used for water treatment
| Internal Lab Reference ID | 107.19 |
Benefits
Applications
| Internal Lab Reference ID | 49.15 |
An isolated and purified bacteriocin, thermophilin 110, produced by Streptococcus thermophiles strain 110 that kills and/or inhibits the growth of Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus mutans, and/or Propionibacterium acnes. Thermophilin 110 is the first bacteriocin identified with this activity.
Benefits
• Natural, antimicrobial peptides
Applications
• Applied topically, orally, or parenterally to an animal to prevent the growth of or kill S. pyogenes, S. mutans, and/or P. acnes and thus prevent or treat diseases caused by the bacteria
• Potential for food and non-food applications
• Biopreservative
| Internal Lab Reference ID | 102.14 |
A berry catcher that has an elastic catcher sheet sandwiched between upper and lower hollow rims. A protector sheet is stretched across the lower rim. The system is structured so that as a harvester moves across a field, falling berries are caught by the catcher sheet as the protector sheet simultaneously protects the underside of the catcher sheet.
Benefits
• System is designed to reduce berry bruising in machine-harvested fruit
• The system could be incorporated into existing commercial over-the-row harvesters and platform-based harvest-aid systems
Applications
• Machine-harvesting berries such as blueberries, raspberries and blackberries destined for fresh-market packaging
| Internal Lab Reference ID | 50.15 |
Boron derivatives that are stable at ambient conditions and capable of releasing 1-methyl cyclopropene (1-MCP) gradually when in contact with water.
Benefits
Applications
| Internal Lab Reference ID | 47.14 |
Chromobacterium phragmitis is a newly discovered species of bacteria that has insecticidal activity against immature stages of both fly and moth pests. These bacteria are not insect pathogens, but produce compounds in culture that are toxic to the insects. This means that it is not necessary to maintain the viability of the bacteria in a product, and that the toxic compounds can be concentrated in post-fermentation processing.
Benefits
• Cultures of C. phragmitis are more toxic to moth species than C. subtsugae
• An alternative to Bacillus thuringiensis with a broader activity spectrum
Applications
• Cultured C. phragmitis can be used as an organic insecticide with activity against lepidopteran and dipteran insect pests such as cabbage looper, diamondback moth, and seedcorn maggot
| Internal Lab Reference ID | 109.15 |
A novel species of Chromobacterium that selectively kills lepidopteran insect larvae (such as, gypsy moth, diamondback moth, tobacco hornworm larvae, and cabbage looper larvae). Compositions containing Chromobacterium spagni sp. strains and the use of these compositions to kill insect larvae are covered by the U.S. and PCT patent applications. These compositions kill the indicated larvae at least as well as or better than some C. subtsugae biocontrol agents.
Benefits
• Biocontrol agent
• Some species of lepidoptera have become resistant to currently used pesticides. Thus a need exists for new biocontrol agents
Applications
• This invention covers an insecticidal bacterium that can be used to kill lepidopteran insect larvae without harming non-target insect larvae
| Internal Lab Reference ID | 33.15 + 58.19 |
A process for synthesizing biologically-derived coke from a byproduct of bio-oil distillation. The process entails fast pyrolysis, atmospheric distillation and vacuum distillation to remove liquid and volatile products.
Benefits
Applications
| Internal Lab Reference ID | 126.14 + 118.18 |
Pages
ARS research is organized into National Programs. These programs serve to bring coordination, communication, and empowerment to approximately 690 research projects carried out by ARS. The National Programs focus on the relevance, impact, and quality of ARS research. Check out the National Programs' website here:
