New Evolutionary Theory: The Human Brain Grew as a Result of the Extinction of Large Animals
A new paper by Dr. Miki Ben-Dor and Prof. Ran Barkai from the Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University proposes an…
Agriculture
931 Million Tonnes of Food Available at Consumer Levels Is Wasted per Year
Wasted in 2019: 931 million tonnes of food sold to households, retailers, restaurants and other food services; Study finds food waste is a global, not…
A Silver Swining: “Destructive” Wild Pigs Actually Help Build Rainforests
Wild pigs are often maligned as ecosystem destroyers, but a University of Queensland study has found they also cultivate biodiverse rainforests in their native habitats….
Common Weed Killers Can Increase the Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria
The use of weed killers can increase the prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in soil, a new study from the University of York shows. Herbicides…
Breeding Better Seeds: Sustainable, More Nutritious Food Production Under the Specter of Global Warming
Your morning cereal or oatmeal. The bread on your sandwich. The corn chips for your snack, and the cookies for dessert. Not one would be…
Making Wheat/Gluten and Peanuts Less Allergenic
The United States Department of Agriculture identifies a group of “big eight” foods that causes 90% of food allergies. Among these foods are wheat and…
“See Through Soil” to Study Hydrogels’ Hidden Workings Could Help Farmers Deal With Future Droughts
In research that may eventually help crops survive drought, scientists at Princeton University have uncovered a key reason that mixing material called hydrogels with soil…
COVID-19 Pandemic Caused “Staggering” Economic, Human Impact in Developing Countries
Falling incomes, smaller meals, educational setbacks among the consequences. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year led to a devastating loss of jobs and…
Plants Control the Genetics of Microbes With Which They Live in Symbiosis
Researchers from the University of Ottawa have discovered that plants may be able to control the genetics of their intimate root symbionts – the organism…
Polluted Water as a Source of Fertilizer
It may well be possible to remove nitrate from polluted groundwater and at the same time produce ammonia in a sustainable way, according to PhD…
Development of Next-Generation Crops: Research Catches Up to World’s Fastest-Growing Plant
Salk researchers discover that miniature aquatic plant provides insight into genome design principles that could enable development of next-generation crops. Wolffia, also known as duckweed,…
Making Meals More Nutritious (Micronutrients and Shortfall Nutrients): Just Add Mushrooms
Understanding the nutritional impact of adding a serving of mushrooms on usual intakes and population nutrient adequacy using NHANES 2011-2016 data. Researchers have identified another…
Rebooting 50 Years of Plant Advice to Solve One of Nature’s Biggest Challenges
Scientists from the University of Portsmouth and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, have come up with a formula to help plant breeders and farmers around the…
Making Protein “Superfood” From Single-Cell Marine Algae
Marine microalgae-based cellular agriculture is a promising new way to sustainably produce plant-based ‘meat’ and healthy ‘superfoods’ for the future. Researchers at Flinders University’s Centre…
UN Warns: Aging Dams Pose Growing Threat – Most of Humanity Could Be at Risk
By 2050, most of humanity will live downstream of large dams built in the 20th century; Increasingly expensive to maintain, experts foresee a trend to…
New Form of Lab-Made Meat Promises More Natural Flavor and Texture + Customized Marbling to Your Taste
Layered Sheets of Cells Stack Up to Slabs of Lab-Made Meat McMaster researchers have developed a new form of cultivated meat using a method that…
A Lurking Threat: Beating the “Billion-Dollar Bug” Is a Shared Burden
Study shows how individual farming practices associated with greater corn rootworm damage can have farther-reaching effects. A lurking threat that has stymied US corn growers…
Climate Change Reduces the Abundance and Diversity of Wild Bees
Wild bees are more affected by climate change than by disturbances to their habitats, according to a team of researchers led by Penn State. The…