Sustainability/Climate Change
Food production needs are expected to roughly double over the next 35 years as the world population grows and people in under developed countries become more affluent and demand more calories. Healthy ecosystems are vital to the survival of all organisms. How can we grow crops without harming the environment? How can we balance technology and global food security? What is the right balance of organic and conventional farming? What role can genetics and biotechnology play without compromising the needs of tomorrow?
Below is the complete archive of related articles sorted by date.
Video: Space-inspired ‘speed breeding’ fast tracks improvements in food crops
Technology first used by NASA to grow plants extra-terrestrially is fast tracking improvements in a range of crops. Scientists at ...
Vitamin-fortified Golden Rice moves one step closer to commercialization in the Philippines
A variety of Oryza sativa (rice) genetically engineered using recombinant DNA technology, Golden Rice contains beta carotene, an antioxidant which ...
Talking Biotech: As demand for food rises, the world needs more plant scientists
The world needs plant scientists. Two experts explain how you can join the field ...
New GMO rice variety could cut arsenic exposure in food
Arsenic accumulation in rice grains is one of the serious agricultural issues in India. To address this, researchers at Lucknow-based ...
Argentina could be first country to plant GMO wheat, engineered for drought resistance—if regulators approve
“We mustn't do what other countries have already done; we must do what no other country did," the CEO of ...
Plants engineered to ‘recycle’ toxins could boost crop yields nearly 50 percent
Can you imagine the entire population of the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom and France going hungry? ...
8 pressing questions about GMOs, human health and the environment
[W]hen the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) sent ... its latest report, stating that, “Biotech crops ...
Can genetic engineering deliver a natural microbial fertilizer for crops?
At the turn of the previous century, German scientists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch got all the credit for finding ...
Lab-grown fish? How biotechnology might save the endangered bluefin tuna
For several years, biotech companies have been promising “clean” meat, “cell-based” meat, “cultured” meat — whatever you want to call ...
Soil salinity cuts crop yields worldwide, but salt-tolerant crops are on the horizon
Soil salinity [affects] large areas in the world and millions of farmers are faced with decreasing yields and many are ...
New plant breeding strategy could counter blight pathogen that wreaked havoc during Irish potato famine
Scientists .... have shed further light into the mechanisms through which the potato blight pathogen interacts with plant cells to promote disease ...
How GMO crops can be engineered to ‘rehydrate’ after intense drought
Scientists at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science in Japan have found that the protein NGA1 is critical for ...
How plants have shaped the course of human history
Quinine (Scientific name: Cinchona) is a plant that has influenced the course of human history. Used for centuries by the indigenous ...
Genetic engineering is changing our food. An expert explains everything you should know
SCIENTISTS CONTINUE TO find new ways to insert genes for specific traits into plant and animal DNA. A field of promise—and ...
Gene silencing could ‘fool’ plants into surviving harsh environments
By temporarily silencing the expression of a critical gene, researchers fooled soybean plants into sensing they were under siege, encountering ...
How scientists are using CRISPR to create non-GMO crops
To feed the burgeoning human population, it is vital that the world figures out ways to boost food production. Increasing ...
Epigenetic changes in plants could help produce food crops better suited to harsh environments
The sequence of genes passed on to daughter cells or offspring isn't the only factor that determines the traits of ...
Gene sequencing could help researchers breed cold-resistant crops
When temperatures fall below 32 degrees, crops exposed to the elements undergo biochemical changes designed to protect cells from cold ...
We should stop saying biotechnology can ‘change the world,’ expert argues
It is common to hear claims that biotechnology will solve many of the world’s most perplexing problems. For example, a ...
‘Transcontinental pollination’: How migrating insects enable plants to mix
Metabarcoding, a technique of mass DNA sequencing, allows for tracing migratory routes of insects, an understudied subject due to technical ...
Identifying genetic basis for plant biodiversity could help boost crop yields
Diverse communities of plants and animals typically perform better than monocultures. However, the mechanisms that are responsible for this have ...
‘Politics, money and fear’ have kept GMO salmon out of American grocery stores
AquaBounty Farms of Indiana is a land-based fish farm designed to raise the revolutionary AquAdvantage salmon. Scientists created the fish ...
Edible GMO cotton could supply protein to 600 million people daily
It turns out cotton seed is a great source of protein, except it’s currently toxic for humans. Cotton naturally produces gossypol, ...
Why monocultures might be the most sustainable option when choosing cover crops
It's long been believed, without much empirical evidence, that biodiversity in crop cover mixtures increases crop productivity, improves soil ecosystems ...
‘Precision farming’ could slow climate change and unlock $250 billion in profits for farmers
There is a long list of global problems to combat, including hunger, drought, poverty, bad health, polluted water and poor ...
Health and environmental dangers of copper-based natural pesticides spark division among French organic winemakers
The vice-president of the CIVB (Conseil interprofessionnel du vin de Bordeaux) Bernard Farges launched a bomb on October 15, announcing that ...
Earth-friendly GMOs: How Bt crops eliminated 6 million tons of pesticides
[W]hen I first heard about genetic engineering when visiting my eventual graduate school home, I was really excited about the ...
