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?
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Nigeria endorses safety of GMO foods
The Director General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr. Rufus Ebegba, has restated that all approved Genetically Modified ...
Viewpoint: Why genetic engineering of livestock is compatible with sustainable and humane treatment of animals
Society faces challenges to feed a growing population with a reliable supply of wholesome food, produced to high standards of ...
‘Using insect biology against themselves’: New type of pesticide uses caterpillar pheromones to stop pests from mating
Scientists from the University of Missouri are on the edge of a new frontier in pest control: They are filling ...
Podcast: How gene editing can prevent devastating consequences from sharply rising temperatures
Propelled by climate change, future heat waves promise to increase in frequency and intensity, posing a dangerous threat to human ...
Study: How GMOs and crop gene editing can increase genetic diversity and help contain climate change
In this essay, we explore the potential of crop biotechnology to contribute to this diversification, especially in industrialized systems, by ...
Genetically-engineered disease-resistant potato eagerly awaited by farmers in Rwanda
Potato farmers have welcomed the government’s ongoing trials on the use of agricultural biotechnology in producing a new Irish potato ...
India debates new ways to make biofuels as sustainability threats rise
For many countries such as India, domestic biofuel production can reduce the consumption of imported fossil fuels, which provides economic gains, in ...
Once insulated from bee health crisis, Australia invaded by honeybee-killing Varroa mites. How have other countries adapted?
Just three short weeks ago the bee parasite Varroa destructor was detected in Newcastle, NSW. Beekeepers and government bodies have sprung into ...
Rice with longer roots, faster growth and up to 40% higher yields with just a gene editing tweak
By giving a Chinese rice variety a second copy of one of its own genes, researchers have boosted its yield ...
A yield-boosting wheat gene could help address growing climate and food insecurity crises
Wheat, one of the most important food rations, is an inbred crop with low genetic diversity and unique evolutionary constraints ...
The newest superfood: Environmentally-friendly seaweed may be a ‘one stop shop for our crucial nutrient needs’
Seaweed helps to support other marine life and to clean the water surrounding it. When out of the water, it ...
Viewpoint: Collapse of the organic-farming experiment in Sri Lanka has not shamed activist-philosopher Vandana Shiva and other GMO rejectionists
Sri Lanka ran an evil experiment on its citizens last year. Under the sway of nitwit organic-food activists, the government ...
Viewpoint: Europe’s Green Deal Farm to Fork strategy brings innovation possibilities — but economic trade-offs are costly
The European Green Deal is the name of the EU’s overarching policy that aims to make the EU climate neutral ...
Sri Lanka’s pro organic/no pesticide policy fiasco brings woes to country’s once-flourishing tea industry
With Sri Lanka in the throes of its worst ever economic crisis, its prosperous tea industry has taken a hit, ...
Synthetic biology is more than just cruelty-free meat. Here’s how it could address biodiversity concerns and pollution
Advances in synthetic biology will be just a part of the solution to some of the most severe threats to ...
Viewpoint: ‘20-years late’ — Why we need to confront agricultural biotechnology innovation regulatory roadblocks
A recent study contracted by CropLife International found that the current time for a new GM trait to go from R&D to ...
Viewpoint — Agriculture without labels: It’s time to end the false dichotomy between organic and conventional farming
The debate on methods and techniques of agricultural production is usually fought between two extremes: large-scale agriculture, made in a ...
Viewpoint: Algerian newspaper makes case for agricultural biotechnology as key to limit climate change impacts
Genetic engineering has already been successfully applied to plants and animals in research to address the effects of climate change ...
Viewpoint: ‘Agroecology has better marks for biodiversity and soil health’ – UN panel urges communities to consider adoption
“Some might say agroecology is catching on in the world, and it is true that the momentum is undeniable,” says ...
Rwanda uses biotech potato variety to fight same blight that caused Irish Potato Famine — saving 80% of potatoes
Late blight, a potentially devastating disease affecting potatoes and tomatoes, infecting leaves, stems, potato tubers and tomato fruits, spreads quickly ...
Barriers to take-off of lab grown meat market: Producing cultured food at scale
The problems are daunting. The cells of living organisms are evolved to live as part of a body — a ...
Viewpoint: Here’s the backstory on Sri Lanka’s organic experiment gone wrong
In an attempt to boost soil health and halt the progression of a kidney disease killing local farmers that was linked by ...
‘Unstoppable’ Varroa mites killing bees in Australia. Molecular keys may provide a way to protect the vulnerable honeybee
A University of the Sunshine Coast researcher is investigating whether spider and scorpion venoms have the potential to save Australia’s ...
Why meat and milk from gene-edited hornless cows are safe to eat
Scientists have known for many years that genetically engineered (GE) crops pose no greater risk to human health or the ...
Giving away free trees to address climate change? This company has plans to suck up CO2 with gene-edited forests
Living Carbon has developed a technique to genetically modify trees that can grow faster, and store more carbon. According to a ...
Viewpoint: What are key environmental trade-offs and advantages in transitioning to organic farming?
Producing enough food to provide adequate nutrition for the growing global population without wrecking the planet in the process is ...
Viewpoint: Why commercializing GMOs would help Ghana and the rest of Africa address food shortages
A research scientist, Dr. Richard Ampadu-Ameyaw, has indicated that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have played major roles in addressing challenges ...
