In this Q&A, Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Dan Jacobson talks about his team’s work on a genomic selection algorithm, his vision for the future of environmental genomics, and the space where simulation meets AI.
Scientists located in Fort Lauderdale and Gainesville at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are conducting research into specific diseases depleting tree canopies throughout the state. The Florida Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) has announced it is awarding grants in the amount of $320,000 to two scientists for their continued research designed to save the tree canopy.
Although nitrogen is essential for all living organisms -- it makes up 3% of the human body -- and comprises 78% of Earth's atmosphere, it's almost ironically difficult for plants and natural systems to access it.
A study co-led by researchers at Indiana University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has pushed back the first-known physical evidence of insect flower pollination to 99 million years ago, during the mid-Cretaceous period.
KINGSTON, R.I. – November 6, 2019 – Saffron is the world’s most expensive spice, selling for about $5,000 per pound at wholesale rates, and 90 percent of the global saffron harvest comes from Iran. But University of Rhode Island agriculture researchers have found that Ocean State farms have the potential to get a share of the market as demand for saffron in the United States grows.
In one of the most diverse studies of the non-random medicinal plants selection by gender, age and exposure to outside influences from working with ecotourism projects, researchers worked with the Kichwa communities of Chichico Rumi and Kamak Maki in the Ecuadorian Amazon. They discovered a novel method to uncover the intracultural heterogeneity of traditional knowledge while testing the non-random selection of medicinal plants and exploring overuse and underuse of medicinal plant families in these communities.
Consumers were more willing to buy unlabeled produce after being shown food tagged as “genetically modified” in a new Cornell University study that comes two months before a new federal law, requiring genetically modified organism disclosure labels on food products, goes into effect.
Taking into account the target species, their interactions with existing species and the site’s environmental conditions may increase the success of restoration projects.
For grape growers, accurately predicting each season’s yield is key to a successful harvest. Underpredict, and you won’t have enough labor on hand or you’ll run out of storage space; overpredict, and you could fall through on promises to your distributors.
Peppers are popular. Consumers eat all kinds, including jalapenos, habaneros, chilis and more. But like all crops, peppers face diseases that threaten to reduce their production. So, a University of Florida scientist is leading a multi-state effort to lessen the risk of diseases eating away at pepper harvests. With new data, scientists plan to help farmers increase their pepper production.
Unchecked climate change could drive Britain's crop growing north and west, leaving the east and south east unable to support crop growing, new research suggests.
An Iowa State University scientist is coordinating experiments across more than a dozen states to determine how the timing of cover crop termination affects the susceptibility of corn to disease. The experiments are part of a USDA-funded initiative that includes 100 scientists and 35 institutions to develop a suite of new tools to help farmers.
Researchers will use a $2.25 federal grant to study how cells communicate within plants, and between plants and pathogens, to develop crops that are resilient to disease and other stresses. The work also could play a role in reengineering plants and microbes to improve biofuel production.
Tricking fungi into thinking they're starving could be the key to slowing down our evolutionary arms race with fungal pathogens, as hungry fungi don't want to have sex.
Cannabis flowers with the most mushroom-shaped hairs pack the biggest cannabinoid and fragrance punch, according to new research from the University of British Columbia.
Two grants awarded to Boise State researchers to create, corral and control the elusive molecular exciton. The research team is pioneering the use of DNA as a programmable, self-assembling architecture to organize dye molecules for creating and controlling room temperature exciton quantum entanglement.
The Eastern Broccoli Project began in 2010 with the goal of growing a $100 million broccoli industry in the Eastern U.S. in 10 years. Currently, the industry is valued at around $90 million and, with two remaining years of funding, Cornell University researchers say they are on schedule to meet their goal.
Gene sequences for more than 1100 plant species have been released by an international consortium of nearly 200 plant scientists who were involved in a nine-year research project, One Thousand Plant Transcriptomes Initiative (1KP).
Irvine, Calif., Oct. 21, 2019 – The next time a river overflows its banks, don’t just blame the rain clouds. Earth system scientists from the University of California, Irvine have identified another culprit: leafy plants. In a study published today in Nature Climate Change, the UCI researchers describe the emerging role of ecophysiology in riparian flooding.
Like many farmers nationwide, citrus growers are looking for any edge in their fight against weeds, and they’d rather use fewer chemicals to control the plants, says a University of Florida scientist. That’s because chemicals can get into groundwater, surface water and plants themselves.
A group of 46 scientists from around the world, led by Joseph Veldman, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University, are urging caution regarding plans to address climate change through massive tree planting.
Bourbon isn’t bourbon without the mighty white oak. Distillers have been aging bourbon in oak barrels as far back as the Roman Empire. Oak barrels give bourbon its unique caramel, vanilla, nutty and toasted flavors. Kentucky distillers rely especially on the white oak. But what if disease hits the species? How would industry professionals protect it? The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is partnering with Maker’s Mark Distillery Inc. in Loretto, Kentucky, and Independent Stave Company to research the DNA of the white oak.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given the green light to ultra-low gossypol cottonseed, ULGCS, to be utilized as human food and in animal feed, something Texas A&M AgriLife researchers have been working on for nearly 25 years.
Figuring out the genetic underpinnings of hornworts’ weird biology could help researchers boost agricultural output, use less fertilizer, and gain new insights into plant evolution.
Iowa State University researchers have received a grant to look at innovative ways that allow organic fruit and vegetable growers to combat pests, weeds and disease. Much of the research centers on mestotunnels, or material used to create a physical barrier to protect plants from certain pests. The practices to be analyzed could help organic growers with management challenges without the use of conventional or organic pesticides.
Scientists from Rutgers University and around the world have discovered an antibiotic produced by a soil bacterium from a Mexican tropical forest that may help lead to a “plant probiotic,” more robust plants and other antibiotics. Probiotics, which provide friendlier bacteria and health benefits for humans, can also be beneficial to plants, keeping them healthy and more robust. The new antibiotic, known as phazolicin, prevents harmful bacteria from getting into the root systems of bean plants, according to a Rutgers co-authored study in the journal Nature Communications.
ust read the daily headlines to find them — cybersecurity breaches of healthcare organizations both large and small. Even the popular medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy” turned to ransomware when choosing a storyline plucked from real life.
The massive underground infrastructure that allows farmers to cultivate crops on much of the world’s most productive land has outlived its design life and should be updated, according to a new study. Installing higher-capacity pipes and conservation practices would yield a wide range of production and environmental benefits.
Elver Hodges blazed trails as the first scientist hired at the University of Florida/IFAS Range Cattle Research and Education Center. He introduced improved forages and management techniques for pastures.