Research & Development

• Plants can Defy Biochemistry Rules & Make 'Secret Decisions' About Our Future: Study

  It implies that future plants could be designed to meet the world's food needs while also benefiting the environment." The process was discovered while working on thale cress, a classic plant model organism (Arabidopsis thaliana).…

• Scientists Developed Ultra-Thin Heteroprotein Films to Expand Their Applications in Food Packaging Industries

  Several modifications of these protein films using appropriate heteroprotein complexes have recently been reported by various research groups. These complexes were typically formed from bulk solutions.…

• New Research Suggests Plants Can Hold Key for Aquaponics Microbiome

  The role of the microbial community in fish and plant culture is often referred to as aquaponics' "black box." Despite widespread recognition that plants rely on their rhizosphere – the zone of chemical, biological, and physical influence generated by root growth and activity – little…

• Scientists Use CRISPR Technology to Modify Starches in Potatoes

  CRISPR technology can advance the uses of the world's largest vegetable crop, according to two articles recently published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences and Plant Cell, Tissue, and Organ Culture.…

• Cover Crops are Insufficient to Improve Soil after Decades of Continuous Corn

  "Our soils in the Midwest are healthy and resilient, but we shouldn't take them for granted. A soil that has been subjected to unsustainable practices for an extended period of time may reach an irreversible tipping point "Kim explains…

• Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation to work with Human Development Commissionerate to Improve Human Development Index in Vidarbha

  BRLF to implement ongoing HDC schemes in poor-performing areas to improve the living standard in tribal areas.…

• Reducing Air Pollution could Increase Crop Yields by up to 28%

  Nitrogen oxides have two major effects on crop yields. Nitrogen oxide is a phytotoxin, which means that it directly harms plant cells. However, it is also a major contributor to the formation of other pollutants, such as ozone, which are harmful to plants.…

• Scientists Discovered World’s Largest Plant at Shark Bay

  Shark Bay in Western Australia is a World Heritage Area known for its temperate seagrass meadows. Scientists from the University of Western Australia and Flinders University recently discovered the world's largest plant at Shark Bay.…

• India's Soil Organic Carbon Content Dropped From 1% To 0.3% in Last 70 Years: Report

  Intensive crop cultivation without proper compost to the soil is the cause of the fall in SOC content, adding that farmers should reduce their reliance on pesticides and fertilizers. Biofertilizers and compost can raise the soil's SOC level.…

• GM Tomatoes could be a New Source of Vitamin D

  When growing tomatoes, the leaves are usually discarded, but those from the edited plants could be used to make vegan-friendly vitamin D3 supplements or food fortification.…

• New 'CRISPR-Combo' Technique Improves Plant Genome Editing Power

  "The possibilities are truly limitless in terms of the traits that can be combined," said Yiping Qi, co-author of the study and an associate professor in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture. "But what's really exciting is that CRISPR-Combo brings a level of…

• Researchers Discovered a Way to Extract High-Value Rubisco Protein from Tomato Leaves

  The same technique could be used to extract Rubisco from the leaves of other food crops. Toxins are also present in the leaves of potato and cassava plants, making them unfit for direct consumption, as are tomato leaves.…

• Oat Reference Genome: Insights into a Nutritious Cereal Crop

  Oats are a worldwide crop. It currently ranks seventh in cereal production. In comparison to other cereals, cultivation requires fewer insecticides, fungicides, and fertilizer treatments. Oat has experienced a revival in recent years, particularly through oat milk.…

• Newly Discovered Enzyme May Allow Use of Agroindustrial Waste

  Brazilian researchers are looking to nature for guidance on how to improve depolymerization of these materials by increasing the availability of the sugars they contain.…

• These Mushrooms Can Help Our Ecosystem Survive in a Warming World! Read More About the Study Here

  Plants grew slower and performed less photosynthesis, reducing productivity that feeds the rest of the ecosystem's organisms. Pathogens can weaken plants and make them less resistant to environmental stresses.…

• Scientists Successfully Grow Plants in Lunar Soil for First Time

  Every seed germinated, and there were no visible differences in the early stages of growth between seeds sown in the regolith, which was mostly crushed basalt rocks, and seeds sown in volcanic ash from Earth, which had a similar mineral composition and particle size.…

• New Zealand Crops at Risk if Carbon Emissions aren't Reduced, says Research

  A lot of fruit crops require chilling to have a good flowering and fruit set and now they're having some problems in northern regions where the winters are too warm.…

• Plastic Pollution: Fertilizers are Converting Europe's Farms into Massive Microplastic Reservoirs

  For large-scale agriculture operations and home gardeners, sewage sludge is an appealing and sustainable source of fertilizer. However, studies are beginning to show that its contents may not be entirely safe for the environment or living organisms.…

• ‘Extreme' Plants Grow Much Faster Under Stressful Conditions

  ‘Extremophytes’ are plants that have evolved to survive in harsh environments. Schrenkiella parvula, a scraggly, branching member of the mustard family, not only survives but thrives in conditions that would kill most plants. It grows on the shores of Lake Tuz in Turkey, where the…

• Water Scarcity Expected to Worsen More than 80% of Croplands Globally

  Water demand has increased twice as fast as the human population over the last century. Water scarcity is already a problem in agriculture on every continent, posing a serious threat to food security. Despite this, most water scarcity models have failed to include both blue…

• Researchers Develop Wearable Sensor for Plants to Detect Water Loss

  Previously, researchers developed metal electrodes for this purpose, but the electrodes had issues staying attached, reducing data accuracy. Renato Lima and colleagues wanted to find an electrode design that would be reliable for long-term monitoring of plant water stress while also remaining stationary.…

• Bean Cultivation Promotes Bees and Increases Crop Yields, Says Research

  More bumblebees were found in bean fields in landscapes with a high proportion of semi-natural habitats and landscapes with a high proportion of faba beans, according to the researchers. Furthermore, bean yields were higher here.…

• African Experiment Shows Maize Crops May Benefit from Rising CO2 Levels

  CO2 is an important resource for photosynthesis, and its scarcity in the atmosphere has been a major impediment to plant growth for millennia. As a result, some plant groups, particularly grasses, have evolved a photosynthetic pathway that concentrates CO2 and increases photosynthesis efficiency in low-CO2…

• Climate Change & Intensive Use of Agricultural Land Reduces Insect Populations

  Losing insect populations may be harmful not only to the natural environment, where insects frequently play key roles in local ecosystems, but it may also harm human health and food security, particularly with pollinator losses.…

• Study Gives Clues on How to Reduce Food Loss & Waste in Perishable Supply Chains

  According to Boiteau and Pingali, while loss occurs throughout the supply chain, the majority of it occurs after tomatoes are harvested but before they leave the farm. Lower levels of loss were found to be associated with peak season harvesting, indicating the potential importance of…

• Decoding Leaf Angle Genetics: Larger Slant for a Better Crop Yields

  Crop architecture, or the design of the crop plant, has a significant impact on its yield. Identifying crop architecture patterns and the biology that underpins them could thus aid in increasing agricultural productivity.…

• Wildlife Doesn’t Always Benefit from Protected Areas, as per a Global Study

  The study, which was published today in the journal Nature, has significant implications for the movement to protect 30% of the Earth for wildlife by the end of the decade, according to the researchers. The findings show that park management is critical for protecting species…

• Number of Cactus Species at Risk is Likely to Rise Due to Global Warming

  Cacti are one of the world's most endangered plant species, according to the researchers, owing in large part to human activities. They were concerned about the plants' prospects as the planet warmed in this new effort.…

• ISRO & IISc Scientists Develop a Method to Make ‘Space Bricks’ from Martian Soil

  This method makes the bricks less porous, which was a problem with previous Martian brick-making methods. "The bacteria seep deep into the pore spaces, using their own proteins to bind the particles together, decreasing porosity and resulting in stronger bricks," said Aloke Kumar, associate professor…

• Many Small Farmers Want Their Children to Take up Salaried Jobs: Study

  Agriculture labour, MNREGA, dairy and livestock, and income from other family members are the farmers' other sources of income. While MNREGA contributes 4% to 12% of income depending on the number of days worked, most farmers preferred it because they thought it was a simple…

• How Plants Activate their Immune Systems in Rain to Fight Dangerous Pathogens

  Plants, like humans and other multicellular organisms, have their own immune systems. When plants detect pathogens, they express immune-related genes in order to avoid infection. Raindrops contain pathogens like bacteria, filamentous fungi, and viruses, which can cause plant disease.…

• Researchers Develop a New Polymer Membrane Tech to Remove CO2 More Efficiently From Mixed Gases

  These CO2-filtering membranes can also be used in any situation where CO2 must be removed from mixed gases, such as a biomedical application or scrubbing CO2 from the air in a submarine.…

• Microplastics in Cauvery River could be Harming Fish, as Per IISc Study

  Nongthomba's lab conducted a thorough investigation into pollution at the KRS Dam and its potential consequences for fish. They took water samples from three different locations with different water flow speeds – fast, slow, and stagnant – because water flow speed is known to affect…

• Thousands of New Viruses Found in Ocean: New Study

  The diversity of the newly discovered viruses was so great that the researchers proposed doubling the number of taxonomic groups required to classify RNA viruses from five to ten. (In biology, a phylum is a broad classification that comes after "kingdom."…

• Wildflowers & Pollinators Face a Fragile Future Due to Climate Crisis

  This ground-breaking study, conducted in the United Kingdom, discovered that the abundance of wildflowers across Northern Europe would likely decline by up to 40%. The researchers simulated the warmer, wetter conditions predicted for the region as a result of climate change in the experimental study.…

• One of World's Biggest Sea Snails- ‘Horse Conch’ is on Verge of Extinction

  Horse conchs are one of the most visually appealing species on the beaches of the southeastern United States, with spindle-shaped shells that can grow to be more than a foot long and red-orange bodies as bright as traffic cones.…

• Bioplastic can be Broken Down by Earthworms, For Better or Worse

  Bioplastics have been promoted as a possible solution to the problem of disposable packaging because they offer a transition away from petroleum-based plastics, faster decomposition, and potential fertilizing material. But are there any drawbacks to releasing them into the environment?…

• Textile 'Plant Armor' that Forces Insects to Navigate a Maze- Like Path

  Previously, plant covers were designed to exclude insects based solely on size – similar to a window screen, according to the researchers. That strategy, however, can be problematic when attempting to keep out insects as small as tobacco thrips, which are about the size of…

• A Toxic, Invasive Weed Discovered to be Useful as an Organic Fertiliser

  Kalamdhad claims that statistical analysis revealed a close relationship between biodegradation and nutritional products after composting. "As a result, the study suggests that A. conyzoides compost can be used in a variety of farming applications that require a nutrient-rich, non-toxic, environmentally acceptable product," he continued.…

• Protected Tropical Forest Witnesses Significant Bird Decline Over 40 Years: Study

  Pollock claims that the extinction of birds in any habitat can jeopardize the ecosystem's integrity. These birds are important seed dispersers, pollinators, and insect eaters in the Neotropics.…

• A Single Gene in One Species can Lead to Extinction of Other Species

  The researchers created several miniature ecosystems in the lab, each with four species. Arabidopsis thaliana, a small annual plant that is a favourite study organism among biologists, was at the bottom of the food chain (its genome was sequenced more than 20 years ago). The…

• Human Genome- ‘Finally Fully Decoded’ by Researchers

  With the help of powerful new sequencing technology, a loose collaboration of about 100 scientists announced Thursday that they'd filled in the gaps, completing a single human genome from beginning to end and opening up new, promising lines of research in areas where scientists had…

• Urgent Need for Greener Growing Solutions, says Vegetable Oil Emissions Study

  This new study includes nearly 6,000 producers from 38 countries, accounting for more than 71% of global vegetable oil production. The median GHG emissions from all oil crop systems were 3.81 kg CO2e per kg refined oil. Per kg refined oil, crop-specific median emissions ranged…

• External Environment has a Strong Influence on Fungal Communities in Primate Guts: Study

  The research team was led by computational biologist Ashok Kumar Sharma, a postdoctoral researcher who previously worked at the University of Minnesota and is now at Cedars-Sinai. To profile the fungal and bacterial community composition, the researchers sequenced ITS2 and 16S rRNA gene markers in…

• Soil Microbes Sacrifice Ribosomes in Response to High Temperature

  The researchers used high-throughput shotgun sequencing of total RNA to understand how bacterial communities respond to warming from a functional standpoint.…

• Flowers' Unseen Colours Can Aid in Pollination & Survival

  The researchers studied silverweed at various elevations in southwestern Colorado to better understand the roles of the various UV-absorbing chemicals in the plants' petals and how these chemicals work to aid in pollination and, thus, reproduction.…

• Scientists Create Material that is Stable, Efficient & Eco-Friendly

  The material in question is a shape-stabilized phase change material. It can absorb a large amount of heat by converting from a solid to a liquid state. When the material hardens, the stored heat is released.…

• Seaweed Cultivation Enhanced by Residual Water from Food Industry

  We already know that algae grow better near fish farms in the sea because of nutrients in fish faeces that spread in the water. Process water from food industries is frequently high in nitrogen and phosphorus.…

• India's Forest Loss due to Climate Change is 'Worse than Expected'

  The new study contradicts official reports that show only minor decreases in forest coverage in recent years. It warns that the rapid changes in climate observed in some regions will necessitate targeted preservation action and funding to reduce the risk to India's biodiversity.…

• NASA Researchers Develop Bone-Stimulating Hormone in Lettuce

  Transgenic lettuce could be a game-changer, according to NASA, which plans to launch a three-year mission in the 2030s. It's significant because astronauts lose more than 1% of their bone mass each month they spend in space.…