Africa
Will legal ‘assault’ on Bayer’s Roundup weedkiller in US, EU threaten Africa’s access to glyphosate?
A growing assault against glyphosate in the U.S. and Europe is threatening the future of the widely used weed killer ...
Podcast: How to build a coronavirus; alcohol doesn’t shrink your brain; and locusts threaten famine in East Africa
Kevin Folta and Cameron English break down four of the latest headlines from the world of genetics and biotech ...
Fighting blight with GMO potatoes
Dr. Eric Magembe is committed to using the tools of genetic engineering to fight the devasating potato late blight disease ...
Viewpoint: ‘Anti-insecticide crusade’ threatens food security of 20 million people as locusts swarm across East Africa
A plague of locusts has hit Africa. Massive swarms are devouring crops and other vegetation in their path, imperiling millions ...
African farmers helping to grow quality seed for ‘neglected’ crops
Though Uganda has some of the lowest agricultural productivity in the world, efforts to bring smallholder farmer groups into the ...
African science literacy: Ugandan teachers are being trained in agricultural biotechnology
In a bid to popularize technology in local schools, the Uganda Biosciences Information Center (UBIC) has begun training teachers and ...
Podcast: ‘How to argue with a racist’—geneticist Adam Rutherford challenges what he calls ‘pseudoscience’ in genetics and politics
Adam Rutherford explains how to argue with a racist, hunting for the ghosts in the human genome, and recreating the ...
CRISPR could help immunize Africa’s staple crop sorghum against destructive witchweed parasite
Sorghum crops in areas where the agricultural parasite striga, also known as witchweed, is common are more likely to have ...
Scientists call for innovation in fight against destructive locust pests
Cautioning the current dependence on chemical pesticides is harming the environment, scientists are calling for innovation, including the use of ...
Zimbabwe lifts GMO corn import ban to avert famine amid worst drought in 40 years
Zimbabwe has quietly lifted a ban on imports of genetically modified corn for the first time in 12 years as ...
A Rwandan farmer’s son: Why I advocate for GMO crops in Africa
Being raised in a family where all income came from my mother’s farm is something hard to forget. My mother ...
DNA from 4 ancient children shed light on diversity of humankind’s African origins
Four ancient youngsters, one pair from around 8,000 years ago and another from about 3,000 years ago, have opened a ...
Nigeria’s biotech regulator urges farmers to embrace GMO Bt insect-resistant cotton and cowpea to grow nation’s economy
The National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), on [Jan. 20], urged Nigerian farmers to embrace Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and technology-driven ...
Scientists and farmers dispute ag minister’s claim that Ghana doesn’t need GMOs
Scientists and farmers warn that Ghana’s agricultural sector will struggle if the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMO) is delayed ...
Burkina Faso ‘farmer of the year’ calls for return of Bt cotton
Wiledio Naboho, the 2019 Alliance for Science Farmer of the Year, is mounting fresh pressure on the Burkina Faso government ...
Extinct human ancestor Homo erectus evolved in Africa—not Asia—new fossil study suggests
Homo erectus reached the Indonesian island of Java at some point between 1.3 million to 1.5 million years ago, according ...
Famine in Africa and the Middle East? Devastating stem rust fungus threatens global staple crop, but genomic solution may finally be on the horizon
These tools could give wheat, one of our most important staple crops, some much-needed relief ...
GMOs, biosensors and biopreservation: Tools that can fight global hunger by reducing food spoilage
We're feeding an ever-increasing number of people. Getting the rest of the way by 2030 will require every innovation we ...
Nigeria commercializes its first GMO food crop
Nigeria has reached a major food security milestone with the commercial release of insect-resistant cowpea — its first genetically modified ...
Millennials turn to tech to solve African farming challenges
For generations our farmers were told that they will be the next richest people of the world, due to a ...
Zambian food makers directed to label GMO products
Zambia’s National Biosafety Authority (NBA) has directed food producers to clearly label products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) so that ...
Kenya demonstration plots show GMO maize resists insects, increases yields
Demonstration plots in Kenya show that genetically modified (GM) maize varieties are more effective in controlling insect attacks than their ...
If Africa adopts biotech crops, will anti-GMO Europe retaliate against the continent’s most important trading partner?
How would Europe react if GMO crops became commonplace in Africa? ...
Ghana’s parliament gives GMO crops a boost
Ghana’s parliament has approved regulations that open the door for the country to commercialize genetically modified (GMO) crops. The regulations ...
Can TELA maize solve the acute food shortages in sub-Saharan Africa?
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most food-insecure region in the world, with an estimated 237 million throughout the region suffering from ...
Video: ‘What will I eat today’ vs. ‘will I eat today?’ – It’s time to trust African scientists (on access to GMO and gene edited crops)
It is time African governments take action ...
Kenya needs to overcome inhibitions about GMOs, official says
Efforts to “put technologies in the hands of farmers that protect against drought and insects cannot be taken lightly.” ...
