sustainability
‘Next industrial revolution’: How synthetic biology will transform manufacturing and improve sustainability
To create sustainable cities, we need to use synthetic biology ...
Controversial GMO American chestnut could provide blueprint for saving endangered species
To those who are fearful of GMOs, it is the most dangerous tree in the world. To the rest of ...
12 technologies that will help feed 9 billion people without wrecking the planet
There is a big challenge not just to produce food in a more sustainable way for the sake of our ...
Infographic: Eliminating synthetic fertilizer won’t solve agriculture’s nitrogen pollution problem
The proposed solution is worse than the problem it hopes to solve ...
Podcast: Farming without chemicals: Pesticide-carrying bees poised to revolutionize agriculture?
While the GMO controversy rages, a handful of companies are taking another innovative approach to crop protection ...
Viewpoint: GMO Impossible Whopper can help save the planet—and lots of cows
[In September] I stepped inside a Burger King for the first time in three years. I wanted to try out ...
Viewpoint: Paper straws, vegan diets won’t stop climate change—but sustainable ‘bioproducts’ might
Are you slurping through a paper straw, searching for the next green product that will save the planet? Sorry to ...
Pesticide-carrying bees help cut synthetic chemical use on farms
Bees are great at retrieving tiny cargo: their main job is to visit flowering plants in order to gather pollen ...
Sequenced pea genome aids effort to improve global nutrition, boost sustainable farming
An international team of researchers has assembled the first genome of the field pea, providing insight into how Mendel's original ...
We need phosphorus to fertilize crops and feed the world—can we mine it sustainably?
If you wanted to really mess with the world's food production, a good place to start would be in Morocco ...
Climate change’s silver lining? Longer growing seasons boost farm productivity in some regions
Depending on your side of the aisle, climate change either elicits doomsday anxiety or unabashed skepticism. Jason Hubbart, director of ...
New biosensor technology may help breed plants more resilient to harsh environments
Researchers have developed a method with which they can further investigate an important messenger substance in plants -- phosphatidic acid ...
‘Teaching plants new tricks’: How synthetic biology is reshaping agriculture
Aug 7-9, San Jose, California – the American Society for Plant Biology (ASPB) showcased the latest research in Plant Synthetic Biology ...
Microorganisms could help rid soil of lingering pesticides
Pesticides have been widely used after the Second World War in management of weeds, diseases and pests of plants. Most ...
‘Homo gluttonous’: Could the history of our meat-eating, over-consuming species threaten the planet?
During our hunter-gatherer past, which constitutes 99 per cent of our history as a species, ... omnivorous tastes served us ...
Viewpoint: Why CRISPR-edited crops should be allowed in organic agriculture
A University of California, Berkeley professor stands at the front of the room, delivering her invited talk about the potential ...
Demand for sustainable farming fuels growth of ‘GMO-free’ gene silencing tools to combat pests
Since its discovery more than 20 years ago, RNA interference (RNAi) has been extensively used in crop protection platforms. So ...
‘Smart’ fertilizers help feed booming global population while cutting pollution, slowing climate change
To feed the world’s growing population, farmers need to increase crop yields. Applying more fertilizer could help. But standard versions ...
Want a more sustainable food system? Convince young westerners to eat insects
The rapidly changing climate and an expanding global population are serious risks for worldwide food security. Edible insects have a ...
Podcast: As more US farmers retire, here’s how to recruit a new generation of growers to feed us
Is farming for the aging? While Paul McCartney ponders, “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when ...
Bees with access to diverse flowering plants are healthier pollinators, USDA study shows
Everyone wants healthy, thriving honey bee colonies. One-third of the food we eat requires pollinators, and commercial beekeepers transport honey ...
Varroa mites central driver of uptick in overwinter honeybee colony losses according to 2018-2019 survey, worrying entomologists
Beekeepers across the United States lost 40.7% of their honey bee colonies from April 2018 to April 2019, according to ...
High-yielding wheat boosts chemical use? Study busts popular farming myth
The myth that modern wheat varieties are more heavily reliant on pesticides and fertilizers is debunked by new research published ...
Land use for meat production slashed by 140 million hectares since 2000. Intensive agriculture could keep the decline going
Pastureland is by far the single largest human land use on the planet. Globally, we use twice as much land ...
Impossible Foods defends use of GMO soy in plant-based burger to stand out from competitors
As ingredient choices made by ‘next-generation’ plant-based meat brands attract more scrutiny, with some making a virtue of using peas ...
Dannon Yogurt accused of misleading consumers about its sustainability commitment with ‘non-GMO’ claim
Dannon announced with great fanfare last year a “sweeping commitment for sustainable agriculture, more natural ingredients, and greater transparency,” with ...
Plant extinction occurring up to 500 times faster than naturally expected, study claims
Almost 600 plant species have been lost from the wild in the last 250 years, according to a comprehensive study ...
