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Coronavirus and research: Closed labs, empty fields and major worries
While workers and businesses the world over hope for a return to normal in coming weeks, many agricultural scientists fear that a whole year or more of research will be lost to the coronavirus outbreak. Even in the face of a pandemic, crops still must be tended, livestock must be…
Science to the rescue? How modern genetics could help save the world from coronavirus
Humanity really has only two options to confront the coronavirus pandemic currently sweeping the planet. The first is to mount a rolling program of lockdowns and other drastic social distancing strategies to restrain the pace of the virus epidemic, with a view to gradually building up natural herd immunity among…
Mozambique sees GMO crops as way to reduce poverty, achieve food security
Mozambique is exploring the use of biotech crops to boost food security following its successful field trials of genetically modified (GM) corn. Since 2017, Mozambique has been conducting field trials of GM corn under the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project. Known now as TELA maize, the drought-tolerant,…
Beneficial bugs can co-exist with Bt crops, new studies show
Genetically modified, insect-resistant Bt crops do not have harmful effects on beneficial bugs in farmers’ fields, two new scientific papers published this week have shown. These add to the environmental case for GM technology, because by controlling crop pests in a very targeted way using insecticidal proteins (Bt) expressed in…
Scientists call for innovation in fight against destructive locust pests
Cautioning the current dependence on chemical pesticides is harming the environment, scientists are calling for innovation, including the use of genetic engineering, to find a sustainable, long-term solution to the plague of destructive locust pest. “Something we can think about is genetically engineering the biological control agents to be more…
World’s first release of genetically engineered moth pest brings hope for reducing insecticide use on crops
The successful results of the first-ever open-field release of a genetically engineered, self-limiting insect pest were published today, offering new hope for reducing insecticide use in crops. The study, conducted by scientists at Cornell University, aimed to assess the field behavior of a new strain of diamondback moth developed by…
Hungry locusts threaten food security in sub-Saharan Africa
Lessons learned from controlling the fall armyworm invasion in Kenya are being employed to fight the swarms of desert locusts devouring crops and threatening food security in sub-Saharan Africa, said Professor Hamadi Mboga, principal secretary in the ministry of agriculture. The first swarm crossed the border from Somalia into Kenya…
A Rwandan farmer’s son: Why I advocate for GMO crops in Africa
Being raised in a family where all income came from my mother’s farm is something hard to forget. My mother told me that farming is not easy, but if you have skills, tools and passion, farming will be easy and profitable. Even if I was quite small during that time,…
China moves toward commercialization of GMO corn and soy
Chinese officials this week announced that genetically modified (GM) corn and soybean species have passed biosafety evaluations, moving the world’s most populous country closer to the commercialization of those two GM crops. According to reports in Chinese state-run media, two GM corn…