Offshore mussel farm sites need to have the right temperature, food availability, and the right currents. According to a study, several suitable locations can be found off the Northeastern US.
Read moreScientists have put elite wheat varieties through a sort of 'Photosynthesis Olympics' to find which varieties have the best performing photosynthesis. This could ultimately help grain growers to get more yield for less inputs in the farm.
Read moreNative to South America, imported fire ants have now spread to parts of North America and elsewhere around the world. These invasive pests have painful stings that, in some cases, can cause serious medical problems, such as hypersensitivity reactions, infections and even kidney failure. Now, researchers have identified pyridine alkaloids that, along with other venom components, could contribute to these conditions.
Read moreResearchers have developed an affordable, reliable paper-based sensor that works with a cellphone app to detect levels of iron in fortified food products.
Read moreUsing optogenetic and chemogenetic techniques, researchers have identified brain circuits underlying hunger-induced changes in the preferences for sweet and aversive tastes in mice. These circuits involved Agouti-related peptide-expressing neurons, which projected to glutamate neurons in the lateral hypothalamus. From there, glutamate neurons projecting to the lateral septum increased sweetness preferences, and glutamate neurons projecting to the lateral habenula decreased sensitivity to aversive tastes.
Read moreThe 2019 Global Agricultural Productivity Report, shows agricultural productivity growth — increasing output of crops and livestock with existing or fewer inputs — is growing globally at an average annual rate of 1.63%.
Read moreViruses are non-living creatures, consisting of genetic material encased in a protein coat. Once the virus infects a living organism, it can replicate itself and continue on. But what happens if a virus lacks the proper tools to infect an organism? How can it propagate? Researchers have uncovered a novel virus that may help answer those questions.
Read moreFarmers in Colombia's maize-growing region of Córdoba had seen it all: too much rain one year, a searing drought the next. Yields were down and their livelihoods hung in the balance. To better deal with climate stress, farmers in Colombia's maize-growing region of Córdoba needed information services that would help them decide what varieties to plant, when they should sow and how they should manage their crops.
Read moreMuscadines are also known for being hearty grapes, with a tough skin that protects them from many fungal diseases. Bunch grapes are highly susceptible to damage from plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs), which affect their health, quality, production, and maintenance. Now we know that PPNs also affect muscadines.
Read moreResearchers have developed an improved assembly of the genome for the date palm using long-read sequencing technology. This improvement over the current versions of the genome will help advance further research, and also inform the propagation practices of this essential MENA region food source.
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