Science In Your Shopping Cart

Honey bees and their pollinating cousins are essential to human life. Without honey bees, we cannot grow a lot of the food we love. Honey bees have been around for millions of years, but they face many challenges in today’s environment, and their populations ebb and flow. So how do bees fit into this podcast, Science in Your Shopping Cart? Well, if it wasn’t for honey bees and their pollinator fri...

Humans have been breeding honey bees for centuries to help them adapt to new environments, and with technology improving at a rapid pace, breeders may now have the tools to build a perfect bee. Join us at the Honey Bee Lab in Baton Rouge, LA, where bee experts discuss the challenging and exciting art of bee breeding. Find out how you can help honey bees by clicking on the extension service link be...

Join us at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., where we talk with ARS researcher Matthew Buffington, who explains how a deadly predator to the honey bee recently arrived in the U.S.  Is the Norther Giant Hornet still a threat to our precious honey bee population? Listen to find out. Find out how you can help honey bees by clicking on the extension service link below. https:...

How many different types of bees can you think of?  Bumble bees, honey bees, mason bees. There’s actually a lot more bee diversity than you think, a lot more. Find out about the different types of bees and their need for diversity for survival, with Dr. Diana Cox-Foster, research leader at the Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research Unit in Logan, UT. Find out how you can help...

Pesticides are an important tool for managing hungry and destructive insects and invasive species. But there is little known how pesticides affect the bees that pollinate our crops. ARS researcher Dr. Julia Fine discusses how exposure to different pesticides may affect honey bee behaviors. Find out how you can help honey bees by clicking on the extension service link below. https://extension.org/f...

Being the queen bee may have its perks, but there’s a lot of stress to the job. Sure, you have worker bees bringing you food, grooming you, and caring for your babies. But you are responsible for the livelihood of your children – not just 3 or 4 or 5 babies but tens of thousands. That can put tremendous stress on anyone, queen bees included.  ARS researcher, Mohamed Alburaki explains what it is li...

The varroa mite is one of the biggest threats to honey bees around the world. Essentially, it’s a modern honey bee plague. Varroa is an invasive species that originated in Asia.  Learn what ARS researchers are doing to protect honey bees from varroa mites.  Click on the link below to get a step-by-step set of instructions to perform the test for amitraz resistance in Varroa destructor in honey bee...

Today, bees and other pollinators are facing many pressing issues, either directly related or amplified by extreme weather conditions and new weather patterns. And the big question is, can they adapt to these ever evolving conditions? Listen in and find out. Find out how you can help honey bees by clicking on the extension service link below. https://extension.org/find-cooperative-extension-in-you...

Take a trip with us to ARS’s Invasive Species and Pollinator Health Unit in Albany, CA, where researchers are looking at long-term factors affecting bee health and colony survival.  They want to better understand how factors such as nutrition, pesticides, extreme weather, and natural events impact colony performance and sustainability over multiple seasons. Find out how you can help honey bees by...

We sat down with one of the world's leading honey bee experts, Dr. Jay Evans to find out the state of honey bee populations. Are honey bees dying at an alarming rate? How are they handling a changing environment? What are their biggest threats? How resilient can they be? Listen and find out. Find out how you can help honey bees by clicking on the extension service link below. https://extension.org...

Here at ARS we love food as much as you do, and we’re also conscious of making healthy food choices. That’s why in this episode we’re going to show you a trio of new peaches, healthier margarines, new beer hops, tasty and healthy wraps, and even, get this, a self-fertilizing almond. Connect with us:   Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars

Yorizane is the first self-pollinating almond in the U.S., and it has the traits industry and consumers are looking for. It won’t be long before these delicious nuts are ready for your shopping cart. Connect with us:   Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars

Here at ARS, we are constantly researching ways to make the food in your shopping cart healthier and tastier, including for those who have to be careful about the food they ingest. Here are some recent creations that will get your mouth watering. Connect with us:   Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars

Americans spend millions, maybe billions, on clothes every year. It’s a huge industry. And when you think about clothes, do the words style, fit, and comfort come to mind? How about science and technology? Probably not, but science and technology play a major role in the textile industry. Connect with us:   Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars

Is hemp the plant of the future?  See if this crop, which has been around for thousands of years, will find its place in the US agricultural marketplace. Connect with us:   Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars

Learn about scientific breakthroughs from ARS.  Check out jeans that don’t scratch, insect repellents made from natural ingredients, and the Super Slurper! Connect with us:   Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars

ARS is showing its military might by developing insect-repellent treatments that could be applied to service member uniforms to protect our brave men and women from a mighty but tiny enemy. Connect with us:   Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars

What if your clothes were naturally flame-retardant, and that protection were durable enough to remain effective after multiple washes? Well, that’s just what ARS researchers are striving for, and they may have achieved half their goal with this groundbreaking finding. Check out this cool video comparing fire-resistant cotton vs regular cotton in flammability testing. https://youtube.com/shorts/aN...

Learn how ARS researchers in New Orleans are finding innovative ways to enhance masks, clothing, and other wearable materials that help protect against coronavirus. Connect with us:   Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars

Every part of a sport, from the clothing to the equipment, even to the playing field, has been enhanced by science.  In this podcast, we look at how agricultural science has impacted sports, like how hydration can affect an athlete, not only physically but psychologically; and how nanoparticles can help uniforms control sweat and odor. We’ll also look at improved natural grasses for playing fields...

The leather industry in the United States, while not as prosperous as in days past, is still a significant market in textiles, clothing, and sports.  ARS researchers have answered the bell time and time again over the years to make leather processing safer, more efficient, and more profitable. Connect with us:   Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars

Did you know ARS has been developing natural turf cultivars since the 1940s?  And this has led to improved playing surfaces on golf courses all across the country. Connect with us:   Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars

Are apples good for you to eat before or during an athletic event? How about bananas? When should you consume sports drinks. Find out these answers and more in our fun true or false episode. Connect with us:   Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars

The sport of baseball is woven into America’s culture like the uniforms worn by the players. Baseball has been around for nearly 150 years, and in that time we’ve seen plenty of home run sluggers, from Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron to Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey, Jr., to todays mashers like Aaron Judge and Mike Trout.   Did you know that most professional baseball bats are made from either maple or...

On this season of Science in Your Shopping Cart, we take a deep dive in to seafood production in the U.S.  Learn how research facilities across the country are developing new fish farming techniques, new strains of fish, are keeping fish healthy, and creating more sustainable methods for raising finfish and shellfish. Connect with us:   Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService Lin...