Seed Daily - Land Seed Water Food

April 18, 2014

China says massive area of its soil polluted
Beijing (AFP) April 17, 2014
A huge area of China's soil covering more than twice the size of Spain is estimated to be polluted, the government said Thursday, announcing findings of a survey previously kept secret. Of about 6.3 million square kilometres (2.4 million square miles) of soil surveyed - roughly two thirds of China's total area - 16.1 percent is thought to be polluted, the environmental protection ministry said in a report. The study, which appeared on its website, blamed mining and farming practices among othe ... read more

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Pioneering findings on the dual role of carbon dioxide in photosynthesis Researchers at Umea University have found that carbon dioxide, in its ionic form bicarbonate, has a regulating function in the splitting of water in photosynthesis. This means that carbon dioxide ha ... more		Water users can reduce the risk of spreading invasive species Foreign species that are devastating water ecosystems could be "hitchhiking" around Britain on canoeists' and anglers' kit, according to a new study. Invaders like the killer shrimp, zebra mus ... more		Danone says China recall weighs on first-quarter sales French dairy food giant Danone reported on Wednesday a slide in first quarter sales as it struggles to turn around its Chinese business amid volatility in currency markets. ... more
				Oyster aquaculture could significantly improve Potomac River estuary water quality Oyster aquaculture in the Potomac River estuary could result in significant improvements to water quality, according to a new NOAA and U.S. Geological Survey study published in the journal Aquatic G ... more		GM crops under the microscope at international debate One of the world's most contentious food issues - Genetically Modified (GM) crops - will be debated by some of the world's leading authorities on the subject at Queen's University Belfast today (Wed ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Farming for improved ecosystem services seen as economically feasible By changing row-crop management practices in economically and environmentally stable ways, US farms could contribute to improved water quality, biological diversity, pest suppression, and soil ferti ... more		Japan culls 112,000 chickens after bird flu outbreak Japan has finished slaughtering 112,000 chickens after confirming its first bird flu infections for three years, with authorities stepping up efforts to swiftly contain the latest outbreak, officials said Tuesday. ... more		AALTO plans Zephyr stratospheric hub in northern Australia and seeks local payload partners Ancient guano drove Chincha coastal power UAH lands first DARPA award for biological sciences department		Camels emit less methane than cows or sheep Ruminant cows and sheep account for a major proportion of the methane produced around the world. Currently around 20 percent of global methane emissions stem from ruminants. In the atmosphere methan ... more
				Unity is strength in the marketing of smallholder farm produce Smallholder farmers often face the challenge of accessing markets and selling their produce at competitive prices because they produce in small quantities that may not be commercially viable. ... more		Climate: Farming emissions to rise 30% by 2050 Greenhouse gases emitted by agriculture are on track to rise by 30 percent by mid-century, driven especially by livestock and use of fertiliser, a UN agency reported on Friday. ... more

UAV Payloads 2014, 24 - 25 June - London, UK

International Conference on Protection of Materials and Structures From Space Environment

Nuclear Supply Chain Summit - April 28-29 Greenville SC

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Chinese man covered with 460,000 bees for honey stunt A Chinese beekeeper covered his semi-naked body in more than 460,000 bees for a publicity stunt aimed at selling more of his honey, he told AFP Thursday, using a technique known as "bee bearding". ... more		UC Geographers Develop a System to Track the Dynamics of Drought University of Cincinnati researchers are at work tracking drought patterns across the United States. Qiusheng Wu, a doctoral student and research assistant for the UC Department of Geography, and Ho ... more		Sidekick autonomy software guides YFQ-42A test mission for CCA program Infleqtion lists shares on NYSE as neutral atom quantum firm Top Chinese gaming companies continue to challenge		Tracking Sugar Movement in Plants A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by scientists at the University of Queensland, Australia, overturns a long-held theory in plant science. Researchers at t ... more
				Chinese pork firm $5.3 bn IPO set to be the biggest in a year Chinese pork producer WH Group hopes to raise more than $5 billion in what would be the world's biggest initial public offering for a year as it plans to list in Hong Kong, giving a boost to the city's IPO market. ... more		Field study shows why food quality will suffer with rising CO2 For the first time, a field test has demonstrated that elevated levels of carbon dioxide inhibit plants' assimilation of nitrate into proteins, indicating that the nutritional quality of food crops ... more

Egyptian sensing satellite placed in orbit

First radar vision for Copernicus

NASA Highlights Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission at Local Fair

Facebook rolls out 'nearby friends' feature

Fifth Boeing GPS IIF Satellite Joins Global Positioning System

Satellite Navigation Failure Confirms Urgent Need for Backup

Forest fires and warming planet could accelerate deforestation in Amazon

Warming Climate Has Consequences for Michigan's Forests

Nutrient-rich forests absorb more carbon

Genetically modified tobacco plants as an alternative for producing bioethanol

U.S. to fund cutting-edge renewable energy programs

Stanford scientists discover a novel way to make ethanol without corn or other plants

	The tiniest greenhouse gas emitters Climate feedbacks from decomposition by soil microbes are one of the biggest uncertainties facing climate modelers. A new study from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) ... more		UN warns of drought crisis in Syria The UN's food aid agency warned on Tuesday that Syria was facing a drought that could put millions of people's lives at risk, compounding the impact of years of war. ... more		Cyprus opens sewage plant in rare cross-communal effort The mayors of north and south Nicosia opened a new sewage plant for Europe's last divided capital on Tuesday, renewing a rare joint infrastructure project between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities. ... more		Not so dirty: Methane fuels life in pristine chalk rivers Scientists from Queen Mary University of London have found that naturally high concentrations of the greenhouse gas methane contributes to energy production in chalk rivers, in a new study published ... more

Small-Body Robot Review Charts Path From Module Design to System-Level Co-Design

Drone Radar Over Alaska and Wyoming Points Way to Buried Ice on Mars

Sub-Neptunes Vanish Around Red Dwarf Stars in McMaster Exoplanet Survey

Taking action to deliver agriculture growth, jobs, food security in face of climate change		Urban gardeners may be unaware of how best to manage contaminants in soil		Scientists say new computer model amounts to a lot more than a hill of beans		Ancient nomads spread earliest domestic grains along Silk Road		Crop feasibility should be investigated before promoted to farmers
US diners gorge on oysters as polluted bay revives		The science of champagne fizz: How many bubbles are in your bubbly?		Meeting climate targets may require reducing meat and dairy consumption		Using different scents to attract or repel insects		Calcium waves help the roots tell the shoots

Scientists ID Genes that Could Lead to Tough, Disease-Resistant Varieties of Rice

A new approach to detecting changes in GM foods

Damaging effects of biochar on plant defence casts doubt on geoengineering claims

Attracting wild bees to farms is a good insurance policy

Warming Climate May Spread Drying to a Third of Earth

Quarter of Europe's bumblebee species risk extinction: study

China's COFCO to acquire 51% of agri-firm Noble

Sri Lanka seeks divine help to avoid power cuts

Space tech provides Africa's first Islamic insurance for herders

Research Clarifies Health Costs of Air Pollution from Agriculture

Food insecurity a growing challenge in Canada's northern and remote Aboriginal communities

'Mama Kanga': Nigeria's 'well woman'

Invasive waterways species spread due to climate change

Ancient African cattle first domesticated in Middle East

Ancient African Cattle First Domesticated in Middle East

Pesticides make the life of earthworms miserable

Toxic water scandal hits Italian region

Diversity in UK gardens aiding fight to save threatened bumblebees

Recovering valuable substances from wastewater

NMSU teams study relationship between water, energy, environment

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