Latest and Breaking Agriculture News

Deep sea animals stowaway on submarines and reach new territory
24 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Wiley-Blackwell) Marine scientists studying life around deep-sea vents have discovered that some hardy species can survive the extreme change in pressure that occurs when a research submersible rises to the surface. The team's findings, published in Conservation Biology, reveal how a species can be inadvertently carried by submersibles to new areas, with potentially damaging effects on marine ecosystems.

DNA evidence shows that marine reserves help to sustain fisheries
24 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Cell Press) Researchers reporting online on May 24 in the Cell Press journal Current Biology present the first evidence that areas closed to all fishing are helping to sustain valuable Australian fisheries. The international team of scientists applied a forensic DNA profiling approach to track the dispersal pathways of fish larvae throughout a network of marine reserves on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Tracking endangered elephants with satellite technology
24 May 2012, 4:00 am
(University of Nottingham) GPS and satellite technology is helping experts develop a long term strategy to protect the endangered Malaysian elephant.

Newly modified nanoparticle opens window on future gene editing technologies
24 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Iowa State University) Iowa State University researchers are using nanoparticles originally developed by the late Victor Lin to simultaneously deliver proteins and DNA into plant cells. The technology could allow more sophisticated and targeted editing of plant genomes. And that could help researchers develop crops that adapt to changing climates and resist pests. The discovery has been published online by the journal Advanced Functional Materials.

Nuisance seaweed found to produce compounds with biomedical potential
24 May 2012, 4:00 am
(University of California - San Diego) A seaweed considered a threat to the healthy growth of coral reefs in Hawaii may possess the ability to produce substances that could one day treat human diseases, a new study led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has revealed.

Minister announces £250M strategic investment in UK bioscience
24 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, will today announce substantial funding that will ensure the UK's bioscience research base remains globally competitive and at the forefront of meeting the grand challenges faced by society in the coming decades. The announcement will be made by the Minister during a visit to the Babraham Research Campus, near Cambridge, and highlighted again during a major speech at the University of East Anglia in Norwich.

Beetle-infested pine trees contribute to air pollution and haze in forests
24 May 2012, 4:00 am
(National Science Foundation) The hordes of bark beetles that have bored their way through more than six billion trees in the western United States and British Columbia since the 1990s do more than kill stately pine, spruce and other trees.

The secret to good tomato chemistry
24 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Cell Press) There is nothing better than a ripe, red, homegrown tomato, and now researchers reporting online on May 24 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, have figured out just what it is that makes some of them so awfully good (and your average supermarket tomato so bland).

Commonly used pesticide turns honey bees into 'picky eaters'
24 May 2012, 4:00 am
(University of California - San Diego) Biologists at UC San Diego have discovered that a small dose of a commonly used crop pesticide turns honey bees into "picky eaters" and affects their ability to recruit their nestmates to otherwise good sources of food.

Beetle-infested pine trees contribute more to air pollution and haze in forests
23 May 2012, 4:00 am
(American Chemical Society) The hordes of bark beetles that have bored their way through more than six billion trees in the western US and British Columbia since the 1990s do more than damage and kill pine, spruce and other trees. A new study finds that these pests can make trees release up to 20 times more of the organic substances that foster haze and air pollution in forested areas. It appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology.