Internacional

Following a new methodology, the JRC assessed a list of quarantine pests for their potential economic

Though scientists are optimistic that CRISPR could help, they also emphasize caution and community engagement in order to get it right.

‘All kinds of fermentation beverages start out with just some sugar solution,’ said Professor Ursula Bond, a molecular biologist at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. ‘The yeast converts those sugars into alcohol.’ Whether it’s grape juice or liquid malt, yeast is...

In the next five years, no alternative to glyphosate is going to “magically” appear in the market,  Dr Bob Reiter, a high-ranking official from Bayer, told EURACTIV.com, referring to the controversial herbicide that has been the subject of heated debates...

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Biting into a fresh, sweet berry might be a simple pleasure, but the berries’ genomes are surprisingly complex. The strawberry genome has eight copies of its genes, compared to pea plants — and even humans — which only have two....

Studies conducted at the Australian Plant Phenomics Facility (APPF) showed experimental genetically modified (GM) wheat lines the potential to significantly increase yields. These lines ‘overexpress’ three wild-type plant genes, either individually or in combination, and were developed to test whether targeting individual wheat genes...

For the past two years, researchers at the University of California, Davis, have been studying six offspring of a dairy bull, genome-edited to prevent it from growing horns. This technology has been proposed as an alternative to dehorning, a common...

Action for agritech to more fully contribute to UN's SDGs will need to be taken by all stakeholders from governments to financial institutions and the farmers themselvesSpecial Contributions Although technology is transforming just about every area of life we care...

Above a Saskatchewan field, a line of drones rises in formation, sensors primed to pick out enemy targets below. But this isn’t the latest Terminator movie. This is Daniel McCann’s brainchild for green-on-green spot spraying, an offshoot of precision spraying...

Genome editing could be a ‘key tool’ in improving the efficiency of UK pig production and could help in tackling devastating diseases such as African swine fever. … In 2017, scientists used the method to create male pigs that could be...

Weeds are thieves. They steal nutrients, sunlight and water from our food crops. In the case of sugarcane, yield refers to the amount of biomass and the sucrose concentration of the cane, which ultimately determines the amount of sugar produced....

El maíz fue modificado con genes de un tomate del desierto de atacama y mantiene un 80% del rendimiento bajo condiciones de extrema sequía. La investigación se lleva a cabo en la Universidad de Talca con fondos públicos. La inminencia...

Researchers are using the gene-editing tool to boost the fruit’s defences and prevent the extinction of a major commercial variety. The race to engineer the next-generation banana is on. The Colombian government confirmed last month that a banana-killing fungus has...

For centuries, seed varieties and seed production techniques have required continued improvement to meet the critical challenges of growing populations, climate change and depletion of natural resources. Many plants themselves developed defensive mechanisms, such as ability to instantly irritate skin...

Situações de estresse para o animal de produção impactam diretamente no bem-estar e na produtividade, com redução na produção de carne e leite. Avaliar as práticas de manejo em uma fazenda é uma atitude importante para garantir qualidade de vida...

As a growing population and climate change threaten food security, researchers around the world are working to overcome the challenges that threaten the dietary needs of humans and livestock. A pair of scientists is now making the case that the...

Early this year, 85-year-old Bonipak Produce unleashed an orange, 8,000-pound autonomous robot upon its California vegetable fields. It was one of the first farms to begin using the machinery to take over their farm’s weeding responsibilities. Today, the company behind...

Washington State University researchers have for the first time grown the bacteria in a laboratory that causes Citrus Greening Disease, considered the world’s most harmful citrus disease. Being able to grow the elusive and poorly understood bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus...

In South Korea, the National Center for GM Crops (NCGC) aims to enhance national food security and to turn agriculture into a major national leading industry by utilizing technological pipelines. NCGC has been developing GM crops that have been enhanced by agricultural useful traits...

Researchers from the University of Cambridge's Sainsbury Laboratory (SLCU) and Department of Plant Sciences have discovered that drought stress can trigger the activity of a family of jumping genes (Rider retrotransposons) previously known to contribute to fruit shape and color in...

Wild relatives of food crops, such as wheat, host an abundant array of genetic material to help the plants cope with a changing climate. In a study over 28 years showed that populations of wild wheat accumulated "beneficial mutations" such...

When Hennig Brandt discovered the element phosphorus in 1669, it was a mistake. He was really looking for gold. But his mistake was a very important scientific discovery. What Brandt couldn’t have realized was the importance of phosphorus to the future of...

Achieving an adequate, healthy diet in most low- and middle-income countries will require a substantial increase in greenhouse gas emissions and water use due to food production, according to new research from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future...

Pesquisadores desenvolveram um novo fertilizante à base de hidrogel modificado, capaz de reunir em um único produto água e nutrientes e fazer a liberação de forma gradual. Seu uso racionaliza o emprego dos nutrientes, que são disponibilizados às plantas paulatinamente,...

As they leave their hives, the bees get coated with a beneficial fungus that they spread to plants, which protects things like strawberries from disease. Bees are great at retrieving tiny cargo: their main job is to visit flowering plants...

A Organização das Nações Unidas para Alimentação e Agricultura (FAO) lançou, na última semana, um manual com diretrizes sobre o uso da água nos sistemas de produção animal e nas cadeias produtivas pecuárias. A publicação contou com a participação da...

The EU is well aware of the situation and is committed to act against it. Just recently the European Commission has published its Communication “on stepping up EU Action to Protect and Restore the World’s Forests”, in which it calls...

These resilient plants can use nanoparticles to build their own defences against radiation and more This is one in a series presenting news on technology and innovation, made possible with generous support from the Lemelson Foundation. Plants typically endure long, blazing-hot days to produce the fruits and vegetables that growers desire. The incoming sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays...

Honey bees forage across a large area, continually scouting the local landscape for ephemeral food resources. Beekeepers often rely on flowering plants in and around irrigated farmland to maintain their colonies during dry seasons, despite the potential risk of pesticide...

The bacterium Erwinia amylovora, the causal agent of fire blight disease in apple, triggers its infection through the DspA/E effector which interacts with the apple susceptibility protein MdDIPM4. In this work, an MdDIPM4 knock‐out has been produced in two Malus...

If you wanted to really mess with the world’s food production, a good place to start would be in Morocco. They don’t grow much here, but it is home to mines containing most of the world’s known reserves of phosphate...

Diante da dificuldade para avaliar o bem-estar de animais a pasto, sem interferência, a pesquisadora da Embrapa Gado de Corte (MS) Fabiana Villa Alves idealizou um equipamento não invasivo com essa finalidade. O dispositivo mede alguns parâmetros fisiológicos associados a dados ambientais,...

Scientists working on a genetically modified grass which could help reduce on-farm greenhouse gas emissions say results from field-trials are encouraging. Work is being carried out by a team of scientists, led by AgResearch, into genetically modified High Metabolisable Energy...

In insects, rapidly evolving primary sex-determining signals are transduced by a conserved regulatory module controlling sexual differentiation. In the agricultural pest Ceratitis capitata (Mediterranean fruit fly, Medfly) we identified a Y-linked gene, Maleness-on the-Y (MoY), encoding a small protein that...

We asked six experts in land use for their thoughts on priorities for the future. We need circular fertilisers - Professor Erik Meers, Ghent University, Belgium After the Second World War, the increasing world population has made it more and...

A mastite também é um problema na ovinocultura de corte. Apesar do foco não ser produção comercial de leite, a redução da qualidade e quantidade afeta o ganho de peso dos cordeiros. Ainda, há prejuízos com medicamentos, abate prematuro, desvalorização...

INTERVIEW - Le Dr Caroline Semaille, directrice générale déléguée à l’Anses, explique comment les scientifiques enquêtent sur la nocivité des pesticides et dresse un bilan de l’état actuel des connaissances. Une expertise collective de l’Inserm a mis en évidence, en 2012,...

In dry places, photovoltaic shade can even reduce water use. Solar panels might seem like they’re in direct competition with plants. One is catching sunlight to do photosynthesis, the other wants to take it to push electrons. Surely Highlander rules...

INFOGRAPHIE - Une très grosse étude élucide les mouvements de populations qui ont accompagné l’émergence de l’agriculture. Comment connaître le quotidien des hommes et des femmes vivant il y a plus de cinquante siècles? L’Égypte se préparait à édifier ses...