Bountiful surprise
Reading Time: < 1 minuteThe US Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, which surprised agricultural analysts. It was anticipated that yields for corn and soybeans would decrease, but USDA reported “a slightly higher production, reduced food, seed, and industrial use, larger feed and residual use, lower exports, and smaller ending stocks” for […]
FAO hails Europe’s forest restoration ambitions
Reading Time: 2 minutesFAO Director-General Qu Dongyu recently hailed the European Union’s pledge to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and praised commitments to protect and restore the world’s forests. “We very much welcome the European Green Deal”, the Director-General said, noting that the European Commission’s blueprint plans involve reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving biodiversity and making the continent’s […]
The way you dance is unique, and computers can tell it’s you
Reading Time: 2 minutesA RECENT discovery shows that our dance style is almost always the same, regardless of the type of music, and a computer can identify the dancer with astounding accuracy. Studying how people move to music is a powerful tool for researchers looking to understand how and why music affects us the way it does. Over […]
EU Parliament declares climate emergency
Reading Time: 3 minutesTHE European Parliament declared a climate emergency recently, in a largely symbolic move that nonetheless increases pressure on member states to pass more decisive legislation to curb emissions. In recent months, hundreds of similar declarations have been passed – most of them by regional or local administrations. EU’s vote is significant because it was passed […]
Astronomers find wandering massive black holes in dwarf galaxies
Reading Time: 2 minutesASTRONOMERS seeking to learn about the mechanisms that formed massive black holes in the early history of the Universe have gained important new clues with the discovery of 13 such black holes in dwarf galaxies less than a billion light-years from Earth. These dwarf galaxies, more than 100 times less massive than our own Milky […]
China announces plan for biosafety certs
Reading Time: < 1 minuteThe Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced their plan to release biosafety certificates to domestically grown, genetically modified (GM) soybean and corn, as they move forward to commercializing GM grain production in the global market. The announcement was released after no objections were received by the Ministry during the 15-day period for soliciting […]
Board supports newly approved enriched rice
Reading Time: 2 minutesTHE Golden Rice Humanitarian Board, through their Executive Secretary Dr Adrian Dubock, has expressed support to regulators in the Philippines and lauded them for their approval of GR2E Golden Rice for direct use as food and feed, or for processing (FFP) on December 18, 2019. Dubock expressed their support through a statement released to ISAAA […]
Climate change could unlock new microbes and increase heat-related deaths
Reading Time: < 1 minuteThe Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) recently published “Viewpoint” articles by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine professors who warn that global climate change is likely to unlock dangerous new microbes, as well as threaten humans’ ability to regulate body temperature. Ahima, director of Johns Hopkins’ Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, wrote in the […]
African grey parrots spontaneously ‘lend a wing’
Reading Time: 2 minutesPEOPLE and other great apes are known for their willingness to help others in need, even strangers. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology on January 9 have shown for the first time that some birds — and specifically African grey parrots — are similarly helpful. “We found that African grey parrots voluntarily and spontaneously help […]
Prolonged breath-holding helps in radiotherapy treatment of heart arrhythmias
Reading Time: 2 minutesA TECHNIQUE that enables patients suffering from heart conditions to hold their breath safely for over 5 minutes could have potential as part of a new treatment for cardiac arrhythmias, say researchers at the University of Birmingham. In a new study, published in Frontiers in Physiology, researchers initially proposed the technique as a new means […]