Experts identify genome editing and other innovations to accelerate food system transition
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAN INTERNATIONAL team of almost 50 experts identified 75 emerging innovations and 8 action points that can help speed up the transition to a sustainable and healthy food system. Their recommendations are published in Nature Food. At present, 40 percent of global land is used for food production, which contributes to land-use change, biodiversity loss, and greenhouse gas […]
Peanut polemics!
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIN 2019, researchers from The University of Western Australia, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), and Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University sequenced the peanut’s complex genome. At the same time, researchers from the International Peanut Genome Initiative also made the breakthrough in sequencing the peanut genome. Soon after the two results were […]
NASA catches the extra-tropical ending of Mangga
Reading Time: 2 minutesBY SUNDAY, May 24, Tropical Cyclone Mangga had already transitioned to an extra-tropical storm and was affecting the southwestern coast of Australia. When a storm becomes extra-tropical, it means that a tropical cyclone has lost its “tropical” characteristics. The National Hurricane Center defines “extra-tropical” as a transition that implies both poleward displacement (meaning it moves […]
Warming climate is changing where birds breed
Reading Time: 2 minutesSPRING is in full swing. Trees are leafing out, flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing, and birds are singing. But a recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that those birds in your backyard may be changing right along with the climate. Clark Rushing, Assistant Professor in the Department of Wildland Resources […]
Bumblebees speed up flowering
Reading Time: 3 minutesSPRING has sprung earlier than ever before this year, accompanied by temperatures more typical of early summertime. Many plants were already in full bloom by mid-April, about three to four weeks earlier than normal. These types of seasonal anomalies are becoming increasingly frequent due to climate change, and the resulting uncertainty threatens to disrupt the timing […]
Mathematics can save lives at sea
Reading Time: 3 minutesHUNDREDS of people die at sea every year due to vessel and aeroplane accidents. Emergency teams have little time to rescue those in the water because of the probability of finding a person alive plummets after six hours. Beyond tides and challenging weather conditions, unsteady coastal currents often make search and rescue operations exceedingly difficult. New […]
Designing a flexible material to protect buildings, military personnel
Reading Time: 2 minutesSHAKE, rattle and roll. Even though they are miles from the epicenter of an earthquake, buildings can collapse due to how an earthquake energy makes the ground shake and rattle. Now, a team of engineers led by Guoliang Huang, a James C. Dowell Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of […]
Survey: Most Australians don’t know difference between bacterial and viral infections
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA survey conducted by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in March 2020 reveals that 92% of Australians don’t know the difference between bacterial and viral infections. The survey was carried out on 2,217 adults as part of “Outbreak”, a multi-agency project aiming to prevent outbreaks caused by antibiotic resistance and build community […]
Study: Coronavirus has two versions and one is not more harmful
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA STUDY published in Nature reports two major versions of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and confirms that the genetic difference does not contribute to disease severity. Host factors such as age, white blood cell levels, and overactive immune defenses contribute significantly to how people get the virus. Researchers from Fudan University and several other institutions in China examined the genetic makeup of the […]