Colorado drafts bill to save its bees
Did you know that bees and other insects like them pollinate nearly three-quarters of the plants that produce 90 percent of the world’s food? Bees are a small insect that play a big role in their environments. They work to improve plant life, biodiversity, and even our own food supply. A Read More...
Scientists improve crops without genetic modification
The verdict on genetically modified crops is still not settled globally, with some countries allowing their use and some wary of their potential environmental impact. A new process might make the promise of scientific advancement in food production more digestible. Scientists from the RIKEN Read More...
Even in deserts, this system can generate water and electricity
The extreme heat of the world’s deserts makes maintaining a water supply and a steady supply of electricity difficult. At The Optimist Daily, we’ve written about optimizing solar panels with agricultural systems before. However, this experimental hybrid system from King Abdullah University of Read More...
Ammonia-making bacteria could replace polluting fertilizers in the future
Ammonia fertilizers have been effective at helping farmers grow their commercial crops. However, they’re also one of the major sources of nitrogen pollution, contaminating waterways and threatening biodiversity. A recent study, published in the American Society for Microbiology, however, suggests Read More...
This is how old batteries could help plants grow
Properly recycling our used batteries is key to preventing toxic waste from polluting the environment. With that said, recycling rates in Australia are quite discouraging, with about 97 percent of alkaline batteries ending up in landfills. A company called Envirostream wants to change that by Read More...
DNA mutations are not so random after all
A first of its kind study has added some evidence to challenge the widely accepted theory about genetic mutations: that they are completely random. The findings, published in Nature, could reshape evolutionary theories and our understanding of DNA forever. "We always thought of mutation as Read More...
Saving America’s citrus fruits
Citrus Greening Disease Citrus Greening Disease, or Huanglongbing (HLB), is a life threatening plant disease that has already destroyed many of Florida's crops and is on its way to ruining California’s also. Asain citrus psyllids are the tiny culprits causing the disease by transmitting deadly Read More...
When bees can't get to crops, these robots step in
Colony collapse disorder, harmful pesticides, and climate change have all contributed to the global decline of bee species. This is not only an urgent biodiversity problem but also an issue for our global food systems since a lot of our crops rely on these little insects for pollination. Produce Read More...
Study: Start of season metrics provide strong insights into future famine risks
Researchers from UC Santa Barbara’s Climate Hazards Center have released a new study that identifies how the start of season indicators could predict potential famines. Two key metrics are used to determine famine risk: availability and accessibility. Availability refers to yields, while Read More...
This technology allows plants to communicate with farmers
Scientists at the Swiss deep tech company Vivent have created technology that allows us to know exactly what our plants need. Before this, farmers have relied on secondary indicators for finding problems with their crops, looking, for example, for signs of drought by checking out their roots. But Read More...