Fewer Rainy Days and Earlier Springs Linked in Northern Climates

Mar 30, 2022

By Pam Knox

A recent article from the National Science Foundation describes the result of a study on when new leaves appear on plants in spring by scientists at Ohio State University and published in Nature Climate Change. The study shows that while warmer temperatures are the primary cause of earlier leaf occurrence, the number of days of rain (not the amount of precipitation) also makes a difference, and as the number of rainy days per year has been decreasing in many areas north of 30 degrees latitude, this is also affecting how early the leaves come out. The researchers calculated that a decline in rainfall frequency will lead to spring arriving an additional one to two days earlier each decade through 2100. What would cause this? The researchers think that fewer rainy days means fewer cloudy days, too, and that more sunlight reaching the plants in spring stimulates them to produce leaves earlier in the year.

Source : uga.edu

Video: Sweetener Effects on Gut Health - Dr. Kwangwook Kim

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Kwangwook Kim, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, discusses the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in nursery pig diets. He explains how sucralose and neotame influence feed intake, gut health, metabolism, and the frequency of diarrhea compared to antibiotics. The conversation highlights mechanisms beyond palatability, including hormone signaling and nutrient transport. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Receptors responsible for sweet taste are present not only in the mouth but also along the intestinal tract.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Kwangwook Kim / kwangwook-kim is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, specializing in swine nutrition and feed additives under disease challenge models. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from the University of California, Davis, where he focused on intestinal health and metabolic responses in pigs. His research evaluates alternatives to antibiotics, targeting gut health and performance in nursery pigs.