Dangerous bacteria ‘chat’ to avoid antibiotics
Reading Time: 2 minutesA BACTERIAL infection is not just an unpleasant experience – it can also be a major health problem. Some bacteria develop resistance to otherwise effective treatment with antibiotics. Therefore, researchers are trying to develop new types of antibiotics that can fight the bacteria, and at the same time trying to make the current treatment with […]
FAO Chief introduces innovation agenda to Council
Reading Time: 2 minutesROME: FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu vowed on Dec 2 to boost transparency across the Organization and proposed new institutional structures to achieve stronger results in two key focus areas – innovation and the interests of vulnerable people in Small Island Developing States, Less Developed Countries and Landlocked Developing Countries. In his opening address to FAO’s […]
New England fishermen losing jobs due to climate fluctuations
Reading Time: < 1 minuteNEW ENGLAND has a proud tradition of commercial fishing. But will it survive as the planet warms? For decades the biggest threat to the industry has been overfishing, but it is no longer the only threat. According to new research at the University of Delaware, fluctuations in the climate have already cost some New England […]
Wildlife in tropics hardest hit by deforestation
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTROPICAL SPECIES are six times more sensitive to forests being broken up for logging or farming than temperate species, says new research. A team led by Oregon State University and including Imperial College London scientists found that sensitivity to forest fragmentation – the breakup of forests by human activities like logging or farming – increased […]
How much will we eat in the future?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE AMOUNT of food needed to feed the world’s population in the future is of vital importance. To date, scientists have only considered this question from the perspective of how much food people can afford to buy, how much food is healthy or what can be sustainably produced. However, researchers at the University of Göttingen […]
Drought-tolerant, disease-resistant chickpea from India
Reading Time: < 1 minuteINDIAN farmers may soon take hold of two new chickpea varieties with improved drought tolerance and disease resistance traits. The varieties were developed by the Agricultural Research Institute of India and Raichur (Kartanaka) University of Agricultural Sciences using molecular methods and genomic innovations, which enabled a short time of research and development. The researchers searched […]
Lights on fishing nets save turtles and dolphins
Reading Time: < 1 minutePLACING LIGHTS on fishing nets reduces the chances of sea turtles and dolphins being caught by accident, new research shows. LED lights along the top of floating gillnets cut accidental “bycatch” of sea turtles by more than 70 per cent, and that of small cetaceans (including dolphins and porpoises) by more than 66 per cent. […]