Across southeastern US, weedy rice steals herbicide resistance from crop rice
Weedy rice is a close relative of cultivated rice that infests rice fields worldwide and drastically reduces yields. To combat this agricultural pest, rice growers in the southeastern United States have been planting rice cultivars that were tweaked.....»»
Spraying rice with zinc oxide nanoparticles protects yields during heat waves, study finds
A small team of horticulturists in China and the U.S. has found that spraying rice plants with a zinc oxide nanoparticle solution helps them better handle the stress of a heat wave. In their study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of.....»»
Latest space station science reveals news for astronaut health and telescope longevity
Recent findings from the International Space Station address wound healing, fine motor control in space, and radiation resistance by the station's Glowbug gamma-ray telescope......»»
Svalbard Global Seed Vault evokes epic imagery and controversy because of the symbolic value of seeds
Two-thirds of the world's food comes today from just nine plants: sugar cane, maize (corn), rice, wheat, potatoes, soybeans, oil-palm fruit, sugar beet and cassava. In the past, farmers grew tens of thousands of crop varieties around the world. This.....»»
Not the usual suspects: Research reveals novel genetic basis of pest resistance to biotech crops
If left unchecked, insect pests can devastate crops. To minimize damage and reduce the need for insecticide sprays, crops have been genetically engineered to produce bacterial proteins that kill key pests but are not harmful to people or wildlife. Ho.....»»
Genome sequencing of all four Macadamia species unlocks new potential for crop improvement
A research team has successfully sequenced and assembled the genomes of all four Macadamia species, marking a significant advance in crop improvement efforts for this commercially valuable nut. The findings reveal key genetic traits that could enhanc.....»»
Advanced AI techniques enhance crop leaf disease detection in tropical agriculture
Researchers have made significant progress in the field of artificial intelligence by applying deep learning techniques to automate the detection and classification of crop leaf diseases......»»
Nitric oxide treatment preserves fresh walnuts, reduces decay and maintains quality
New research reveals that sodium nitroprusside (SNP) treatment significantly reduces decay and maintains the appearance of walnuts, enhancing both disease resistance and overall quality. This breakthrough offered a practical solution for extending th.....»»
Green shoots spring from ashes in Brazil"s fire-resistant savanna
The huge wildfires that ripped through Brazil recently did not spare its vast tropical savanna, but green shoots are already emerging from the ashes there, proof of the vast grasslands' rare gift for fire resistance......»»
Ancient mud reveals Australia"s burning history over the past 130,000 years—and a way forward in current fire crisis
Increased land management by Aboriginal people in southeastern Australia around 6,000 years ago cut forest shrub cover in half, according to our new study published in Science of fossil pollen trapped in ancient mud......»»
Better understanding of Indigenous cultural burning may lead to improved forest management in Australia
Ancient cultural burning practices carried out by Indigenous Australians limited fuel availability and prevented high intensity fires in southeastern Australia for thousands of years, according to new research from The Australian National University.....»»
Advances in taro research: New gene silencing system enables rapid gene function verification
A research team has established a virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) system in taro, enabling researchers to rapidly verify gene functions in this underutilized crop. Utilizing a tobacco rattle virus (TRV)-based vector, the study paves the way for s.....»»
Government interventions can reduce deadly air pollution in South Asia, study finds
Air pollution, driven in large part by practices like crop burning, contributes to 2 million deaths a year in South Asia and persists as a public health emergency. But a new study co-led by Brown University researcher Gemma Dipoppa found that governm.....»»
How open-source MDM solutions simplify cross-platform device management
In this Help Net Security interview, Mike McNeil, CEO at Fleet, talks about the security risks posed by unmanaged mobile devices and how mobile device management (MDM) solutions help address them. He also discusses employee resistance to MDM and how.....»»
Variations in scientific ethics: Chinese scientists prioritize government service more than global peers
In a new study of physicists from the U.S., U.K. and China, Rice University and Santa Clara University researchers found that Chinese scientists feel a greater obligation to serve their government with research efforts than international counterparts.....»»
Colonialism, starvation and resistance: How food is weaponized, from Gaza to Canada
For more than a year, the Israeli state has been engaged in a massive incursion into Gaza following the October 2023 Hamas attack against Israel......»»
Using machine learning to identify bacterial resistance genes and the drugs to block them
Antibiotic resistance is a growing public health problem around the world. When bacteria like E. coli no longer respond to antibiotics, infections become harder to treat......»»
Discovery challenges existing theories of magnetism in kagome metals
A discovery by Rice University physicists and collaborators is unlocking a new understanding of magnetism and electronic interactions in cutting-edge materials, potentially revolutionizing technology fields such as quantum computing and high-temperat.....»»
New study explores adoption of robotic weeding to fight superweeds
Most corn and soybean fields in the U.S. are planted with herbicide-resistant crop varieties. However, the evolution of superweeds that have developed resistance to common herbicides is jeopardizing current weed management strategies. Agricultural ro.....»»
Scientists describe how mycobacteria evade the effects of antibiotics
One of the main challenges of contemporary medicine is posed by the resistance of pathogens to antibiotics. An important step in countering it has now been made by researchers from IOCB Prague, in collaboration with colleagues from the Institute of M.....»»
Beehive fences prove effective against elephant raids in Kenya
A groundbreaking, nine-year study has revealed that elephants approaching small-scale farms in Kenya avoid beehive fences housing live honey bees up to 86% of the time during peak crop seasons, helping to reduce human-elephant conflict for local farm.....»»