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Doctor holding a bowl of assorted fruit.

Medical Schools Commit To Expanded Nutrition Training For Future Doctors

United States Capital Building

IFPA Urges Congress To Boost Fruit And Vegetable Consumption To Improve Health And Strengthen U.S. Agriculture

Reese's Cups

Hershey Faces Backlash From Reese Family Over Chocolate Quality

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Assorted Taylor Farms Protein Products

Taylor Farms Launches New Protein-Forward Product Line

WTFCF Staff | March 10, 2026

Fertilizer being applied to farm field

Farmers Face Fertilizer Crisis Due To War With Iran

WTFCF Staff | March 10, 2026

Plate of assorted healthy foods including grilled chicken, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, quinoa and olives.

Tufts Research Shows Healthy Habits Before College Can Shape Your Weight For Decades

Tufts University | March 8, 2026

Closeup of crispy french fries

Researchers Find Microwave Frying Can Help Lower Oil Content For Healthier French Fries

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | March 8, 2026

Squash and Cucumber holding a sign.

Healthy Family Project Highlights $348,000 Impact At SEPC Southern Exposure

WTFCF Staff | March 6, 2026

U.S. Organic Marketplace Achieved Significant Growth In 2025

WTFCF Staff | March 5, 2026

Tractor spraying pesticides in commercial field.

MSU Unveils AI Model Predicting U.S. Cropland Nitrous Oxide With Over 80% Accuracy

Michigan State University | March 5, 2026

Blurred portrait image of person holding in-focus peanut.

McMaster Study Finds Oral and Gut Microbes Could Break Down Peanut Allergens Before Causing Reactions

WTFCF Staff | March 4, 2026

Assorted Taylor Farms Protein Products

Taylor Farms Launches New Protein-Forward Product Line

WTFCF Staff | March 10, 2026

Fertilizer being applied to farm field

Farmers Face Fertilizer Crisis Due To War With Iran

WTFCF Staff | March 10, 2026

Plate of assorted healthy foods including grilled chicken, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, quinoa and olives.

Tufts Research Shows Healthy Habits Before College Can Shape Your Weight For Decades

Tufts University | March 8, 2026

Closeup of crispy french fries

Researchers Find Microwave Frying Can Help Lower Oil Content For Healthier French Fries

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | March 8, 2026

Squash and Cucumber holding a sign.

Healthy Family Project Highlights $348,000 Impact At SEPC Southern Exposure

WTFCF Staff | March 6, 2026

U.S. Organic Marketplace Achieved Significant Growth In 2025

WTFCF Staff | March 5, 2026

Tractor spraying pesticides in commercial field.

MSU Unveils AI Model Predicting U.S. Cropland Nitrous Oxide With Over 80% Accuracy

Michigan State University | March 5, 2026

Blurred portrait image of person holding in-focus peanut.

McMaster Study Finds Oral and Gut Microbes Could Break Down Peanut Allergens Before Causing Reactions

WTFCF Staff | March 4, 2026

More News

Researchers in a lab.

Solving Two Crises At Once: Binghamton Team Converts Food Waste Into Eco-Friendly Plastic

WTFCF Staff | July 27, 2025

Food is as medicine poster

You Can’t Make America Healthy Again Without Produce: IFPA’s Bold Call To Action

WTFCF Staff | July 27, 2025

Cocoa pod being trimmed off a cocoa tree.

Cocoa In Crisis Or Climb? Expert Judy Ganes On Shortages, Soaring Prices, And What’s Next For The Industry

WTFCF Staff | July 27, 2025

Lallemand Animal Nutrition Scholarship Apply Now Poster

Lallemand Opens 2025 Scholarship Applications For Agriculture And Veterinary Students

WTFCF Staff | July 20, 2025

N.C. A&T Interdisciplinary Team Uses Agricultural Byproduct for New Wound Dressing By Kenwyn Caranna, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (July 17, 2025) – A conversation over a meal at Panera Bread with one of her best friends led Mahshid Eghbali, a food and nutritional sciences master’s student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, on an unexpected journey into the medical supply field. Her friend, Hoda Motaghed, a doctoral student at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN), was talking about her project using biodegradable polymers, large molecules bound together into a plastic or resin that decompose as natural substances, like water, carbon dioxide and organic matter. Motaghed, who became fascinated with skin products as a teen, was working to create a wound dressing that would promote healing and was environmentally friendly. Motaghed’s use of an agricultural byproduct caught Eghbali’s attention. As a second-year master’s student studying food and nutritional sciences at the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Eghbali was interested in how to improve the antimicrobial properties of the agricultural byproduct (which is not being disclosed because of its proprietary nature). “(Motaghed) was talking about all those antimicrobial properties about this (byproduct), and I was thinking to myself that, what if you could add a little bit of details to this (byproduct), so that you would kind of reinforce this and make some improvements into the whole project?” Eghbali said. Ultimately, Eghbali joined Motaghed’s research team at JSNN. The team focuses on using cellulose-based hydrogels. Team members include doctoral students Kayla Morgan and Vaishnavi Kandula and is mentored by Demetrius Finley, Ph.D., and Niya King, Ph.D. “Cellulose is a very abundant, very natural polymer that that you can find anywhere in nature," said Michael Curry, Ph.D., graduate curriculum coordinator for nanoengineering. “If you go outside and you look at the trees, you're looking at cellulose.” Hydrogels are a network of hydrophilic polymer chains that can absorb and retain large amounts of water or biological fluids, forming a soft, gel-like substance. The team’s work culminated in an innovative wound dressing called Woundra, a material engineered for controlled antimicrobial release, cellular safety and environmental safety. See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXePuEaoHXM “It’s going to be a sustainable material that can … promote wound healing, hopefully without infections, and then also it will lessen the impact of the carbon footprint on the environment, because it's all enewable,” Curry said. Once perfected, it could be included in home first-aid kits and made available to injured farmers, who can't get to a hospital immediately, and to parents, whose children might have suffered a cut or a burn, Curry said. Emergency responders in the field could also carry it, he said. The team presented Woundra at the 2025 Innovation Venture Expo, hosted by Delaware State University, the 1890 Center of Excellence for Emerging Technologies and sponsored by Capital One. The event is designed to foster collaboration among industry leaders, researchers, entrepreneurs, and policymakers, with a focus on advancing scientific innovation and economic development. Eghbali said the team added two other natural agricultural byproducts, both of which are normally discarded, to the first agricultural byproduct in making Woundra. Working together, those three things can boost the body’s immune system, improve skin hydration and increase the wound dressing’s antimicrobial effects, helping to combat bacteria that can cause infection. “I was looking for agricultural products that are currently wasted that could be used to elevate the beneficial properties of the base product we’re using for Woundra,” she said. Overall, Woundra aims to increase the speed at which the wound heals, she added. Using materials often wasted in agriculture allows the team “to decrease the price of the product and we have the opportunity to help the planet stay more safe,” Eghbali said. She’s grateful to be part of the interdisciplinary team and to her advisor, Jianmei Yu, Ph.D., a Google Scholar in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. “I really appreciate the opportunities that my advisor has given me to be a part of this project,” Eghbali said. Photo cutline: Hoda Motaghed, front, holds vials of the new hydrogel prototype wound dressing, Woundra. Other members of the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University research team.

From Farm To First Aid: N.C. A&T Students Turn Farm Waste Into Smart, Eco-Friendly Wound Dressing

WTFCF Staff | July 20, 2025

Purple passion fruit in the palm of a hand.

Getting Passionate About Passion Fruit

University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) | July 20, 2025

Popular

Closeup of sugar free gum pieces on a table.

Another Sugar Substitute Linked To Increased Risk Of Heart Attack And Stroke By Cleveland Clinic-led Study

WTFCF Staff | June 9, 2024

Closeup of sugar free gum pieces on a table.

Another Sugar Substitute Linked To Increased Risk Of Heart Attack And Stroke By Cleveland Clinic-led Study

WTFCF Staff | June 9, 2024

Cartoon image of doctorchecking brain with stethoscope.

Study Links Long-Term Consumption Of Reused Deep-Fried Oils With Increased Neurodegeneration

WTFCF Staff | March 24, 2024

Cartoon image of doctorchecking brain with stethoscope.

Study Links Long-Term Consumption Of Reused Deep-Fried Oils With Increased Neurodegeneration

WTFCF Staff | March 24, 2024

Bluegill infected with the Haplorchis pumilio trematode parasite.

Study Finds Dangerous Parasites In Popular U.S. Freshwater Fish

WTFCF Staff | June 3, 2025

Bluegill infected with the Haplorchis pumilio trematode parasite.

Study Finds Dangerous Parasites In Popular U.S. Freshwater Fish

WTFCF Staff | June 3, 2025

Legacy Stories

Aerial view produce section in grocery.

Doctors Sending Patients Home With Prescription Vegetables

Chip Carter | July 23, 2018

Aerial view produce section in grocery.

Doctors Sending Patients Home With Prescription Vegetables

Chip Carter | July 23, 2018

Vintage image: People shopping at a banana market.

Bye Bye Bananas? Lunchbox Favorite Is One Of Many Crops Threatened In A Changing World

Chip Carter | May 31, 2018

Vintage image: People shopping at a banana market.

Bye Bye Bananas? Lunchbox Favorite Is One Of Many Crops Threatened In A Changing World

Chip Carter | May 31, 2018

Is China Buying Up Worldwide Agriculture Interests? USDA Says Yes…

Chip Carter | April 26, 2018

Is China Buying Up Worldwide Agriculture Interests? USDA Says Yes…

Chip Carter | April 26, 2018