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Engineered tomatoes kill whiteflies by ‘silencing’ gene that protects them from pesticides
A pernicious agricultural pest owes some of its success to a gene pilfered from its plant host millions of years ...
‘Their lungs are full of bees’: Largely hidden from the public, the last days of a dying COVID patient are excruciating
“Most of what I’m seeing is behind closed curtains, and the general public isn’t seeing this side of it,” says ...
Honey without bees? A synthetic version that mimics the ‘real thing’ could be available in 2021
MeliBio, the Berkeley-based startup claiming to make real honey without bees, has closed $850,000 in pre-seed funding as it gears ...
UK sugar beet farmers could be growing gene-edited, disease-resistant crops within 5 years
[British Sugar] is investigating gene-edited beet seed as a long-term solution to [virus yellows] disease, which devastated crops across eastern ...
‘No shortage of dangers’ and no easy answers for the monarch butterfly
North America’s monarch butterfly population is in trouble. That much has been clear for decades but scientists have found that ...
Viewpoint: Biden Interior Secretary’s opposition to pesticides and GM crops puts endangered species in jeopardy
Deb Haaland’s nomination to head the Interior Department has advanced to the full Senate, but the New Mexico representative weathered ...
Viewpoint: USDA data show the predicted ‘Beepocalypse’ has been postponed another year
The latest numbers on honeybee colonies have been released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and they show that the ...
EU pitches 23 ‘actions’ to achieve Farm 2 Fork targets, including promoting organic food in schools
The European Commission is counting on a suite of measures including new procurement schemes, promotional funds and research initiatives to ...
French court upholds sugar beet grower exemption from neonicotinoids insecticide ban
Condemned as "bee killers," [neonicotinoid pesticides] have been officially banned in France since 2018. However, faced with the jaundice crisis ...
Viewpoint: Evidence or ‘junk science’—Will the Biden Administration ban essential pesticides experts say are safe?
Within days of being sworn in, President Joe Biden elevated the science adviser to the president to Cabinet rank, with ...
Viewpoint: France’s anti-GMO Green Party committed to a dying breed of ‘radical’ environmentalism
[The French Green Party is] well on their way to becoming the last dinosaurs of a ridiculous and radical ecologism ...
‘Realistic’ exposure to insecticide sulfoxaflor poses no notable risk to honeybees, study shows
Recent evidence suggests that one of the most prominent replacements of the banned neonicotinoids – the insecticide sulfoxaflor - harms ...
Mosquito massacre: Can we safely tackle malaria with a CRISPR gene drive?
CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing quickly decimated two caged populations of malaria-bearing mosquitoes (Anopheles gambiae) in a recent study, introducing a new ...
Already blamed for ‘widespread insect declines,’ neonicotinoid insecticides may threaten mammals, too
On an overcast January day in Estelline, South Dakota, Jonathan Lundgren zips his quilted jacket over a fleece, pulls down ...
Viewpoint: Why you shouldn’t be worried about potential reactions to COVID vaccines
Anaphylaxis — a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction — is nothing to be ignored. It’s most commonly associated with allergies to ...
Viewpoint: Pesticides can be harmful—but they’re also ‘vital to human health and global food security’
As much as pesticides are a threat to certain ecosystems, they’re also responsible for providing the planet with food in ...
Gene editing could produce more flavorful decaf coffee — and combat public’s anti-GMO sentiment
Coffee is one of the world’s most popular drinks, but that cup can come with a price of jitters or ...
Beepocalypse Myth Handbook: Assessing claims of pollinator collapse
After a decade of debate, the causes of the mid-2000s spike in bee deaths is coming into focus. Culprits are ...
Viewpoint: UK decision to rescind neonics pesticide restrictions a welcome win for science
Activists like George Monbiot and Dave Goulson are parroting their environmental allies when it comes to neonics, but the science ...
With sugar beet production dropping, UK approves emergency neonicotinoids pesticide use to combat beet yellows virus
In 2018 the [UK] government supported new rules which prohibit the outdoor use of 3 neonicotinoids - clothianidin, imidacloprid and ...
RNA technology gave us a COVID vaccine. It could also help control plant pests without insecticides
With the development of Pfizer’s COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, RNA technology has been dominating the news cycle. … A decade ago, ...
Decoded locust genome could help develop ‘intelligent pesticides’ that only kill crop-ravaging insects
The complete set of genetic information for the desert locust could have major international implications for countries in regions such ...
French Constitutional Council temporarily rescinds neonic pesticide ban, ‘much to the chagrin of environmentalists’
The Constitutional Council on [Dec 10] gave the green light to the law re-authorizing for three years the use of ...
With sugar output down nearly 25%, UK beet farmers pressure government to lift ban on neonic pesticides
Sugar beet processor British Sugar said that just over two months into the beet harvesting campaign, white sugar production is ...
EU Court of Justice tosses Brussels lawsuit seeking to ban glyphosate weedkiller
Europe’s highest court on [Dec. 3] tossed out a challenge from Brussels to the European Commission decision that lets Europeans ...
Bt insect toxin in GM crops ‘has no negative effects on honey bees,’ study confirms
Cry78Ba1 is Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bacillales: Bacillaceae) (Bt) protein found with high insecticidal activity against the piercing–sucking insect Laodelphax striatellus Fallén (Homoptera: ...
Viewpoint: ‘Misguided enthusiasm’ to save honeybees threatens wild pollinators
The rise in hobby beekeeping, now a trendy activity for hundreds of thousands of Americans, followed strong awareness campaigns to “save the bees.” ...
Viewpoint: Swayed by anti-GMO groups, biotech pioneer Mexico lurches toward GM crop ban
“There is currently enough food in the world to feed 10 billion people,” writes the anti-GMO environmental group Green America ...
