Report: GMOs, gene editing can help feed the world
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA NEW REPORT, Creating a Sustainable Food Future, published by the World Resources Institute (WRI) suggests ways of feeding the planet’s almost 10 billion people by 2050 when food demand is set to rise by over 50 per cent, and demand for animal-based food products (meat, dairy, and eggs) likely to grow by almost 70 per cent. The report states that the world must boost food production […]
Japan may allow genome-edited food sale
Reading Time: < 1 minuteJAPAN’S MINISTRY OF HEALTH Labour, and Welfare Expert Committee announced their proposal to allow most of the genome-edited currently under development to be marketed without safety screening by the state. It is expected that the proposal that would accelerate the creation of more nutritious and improved crops. In the draft report of the Committee, the method to destroy target genes, including livestock products and fishery products, as well as […]
US requires labeling of GMO foods as “bioengineered”
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA RECENT ruling by the USDA exempts certain biotech foods from bioengineered labeling requirements, including highly refined products such as candies, cooking oils and sodas with levels of bioengineered foods too low for the genetic modifications to be detected. The Biotechnology Innovation Organisation, an industry group, says the regulation “provides a mechanism for consumers to access clear, consistent and truthful information about food in a way that does not […]
Study: Anti-GMO sentiment has repercussions for developing world
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA STUDY conducted at the Iowa State University analysed dozens of previous scientific studies on the safety of Bt corn and provides an overview of the risk assessment process applied to genetically modified (GM) crops. Walter Suza, an adjunct assistant professor of agronomy at Iowa State and a co-author of the study, said that Bt corn could help farmers in Africa to combat an emerging pest capable […]
Scientists engineer shortcut for photosynthetic glitch
Reading Time: < 1 minutePLANTS convert sunlight into energy through photosynthesis; however, most crops on the planet are plagued by a photosynthetic glitch, and to deal with it, evolved an energy-expensive process called photorespiration that drastically suppresses their yield potential. Researchers from the University of Illinois and US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service report in the journal Science that crops engineered with a photorespiratory shortcut are 40 per cent more productive […]
Artificial fly brain can tell who’s who
Reading Time: 2 minutesDESPITE the simplicity of their visual system, fruit flies are able to reliably distinguish between individuals based on sight alone. This is a task that even humans who spend their whole lives studying Drosophila melanogaster struggle with. Researchers have now built a neural network that mimics the fruit fly’s visual system and can distinguish and […]
New Peruvian potato variety to help in fight against child anemia
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIN DECEMBER last year, the Agriculture Minister in Peru publicly presented a new purple flesh potato variety with higher than normal concentrations of iron and zinc. The potato is believed to become an important help in the fight against child anemia in the Andes. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] Agriculture Minister Gustavo Mostajo told Peruvian radio station RPP that the new potato was bred and developed […]
Researchers develop self-contained planters that grow in space
Reading Time: 2 minutesFRESH food is so attractive to astronauts that they toasted with salad when they were able to cultivate a few lettuce heads on the International Space Station three years ago. In 2021, beans are on the menu to be grown in space, planted in high-tech planters developed at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology […]
Why humans cannot digest cellulose?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteHumans cannot digest cellulose as the digestive system of humans do not have cellulase, the enzyme which digests the cellulose. Cellulose is composed of long chains of polymeric polysaccharide carbohydrate. Cellulose is the main constituent of the cell in most plants and it is used in the manufacture of plant based products such as paper, textiles and organic pharmaceuticals. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ]Herbivorous animals digest cellulose and hemicellulose in […]
How can you change TV channels at the speed of light?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteRemote controls are a perfect indulgence for couch potatoes everywhere—but have you ever stopped to wonder how they work? How come your TV remote doesn’t trigger the video? Why do you have to point it directly at the TV? And when you aim your remote at a neighbour’s house, does their TV channel change too? Remote control has no wires, […]