24/7 Farm  News Coverage
December 19, 2016
24/7 Disaster News Coverage
FARM NEWS
Many GMO studies have financial conflicts of interest



Washington (AFP) Dec 16, 2016
Financial conflicts of interest were found in 40 percent of published research articles on the genetically modified crops, also known as GMO crops, French researchers said this week. The findings in the December 15 edition of the US journal PLOS ONE focused on hundreds of research articles published in international scientific journals. "We found that ties between researchers and the GM crop industry were common, with 40 percent of the articles considered displaying conflicts of interest," said ... read more

FARM NEWS
In Benin, 'Smart-Valleys' bring rice bounty
Daniel Aboko proudly shows off the 11 hectares (27 acres) of paddy fields he shares with other farmers - a small spread that produces a bounty of food thanks to smart irrigation and a hardy strain of rice. ... more
FARM NEWS
More exact, ethical method to tell the sex of baby chickens
Thanks to an imaging technique called optical spectroscopy, it is possible for hatcheries to accurately determine the sex of a chick within four days of an egg being laid. This non-destructive metho ... more
FARM NEWS
S. Korea issues top bird flu alert
South Korea on Friday issued its top bird flu alert for the first time, giving officials extra powers to contain an outbreak that has already triggered the slaughter of more than 10 percent of national poultry stocks. ... more
WATER WORLD
Study warns of world's groundwater depletion by 2050
Groundwater resources could be depleted in the next few decades in dry areas of the world where people use lots of water for drinking and irrigating crops, researchers said Thursday. ... more
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WATER WORLD
Rain out, research in
In many parts of the world, lack of sufficient water makes it difficult - or impossible - to grow crops. Even in areas with enough water for farming, droughts can drastically lower the yield and qua ... more
FARM NEWS
Corn yield modeling towards sustainable agriculture
With an innovative modeling approach, researchers set out to examine corn and soybean yields and optimal nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates. In their study, recently published in Frontiers in Plant Scien ... more
FARM NEWS
US files WTO complaint against China over grain import restrictions
The US government on Wednesday announced it was taking aim against illegal Chinese restrictions on imports of American grain, as well as price supports China provides for domestic farmers. ... more
FARM NEWS
EU court upholds Monsanto GM soybean approval
A top EU court on Thursday upheld the European Commission's approval of genetically modified soybeans made by US agri-chemicals giant Monsanto which environmentalists claim may harm human health. ... more
WATER WORLD
Mexico's energy reform calls for new water policy
As the Mexican government oversees the implementation of the country's energy reform, it must consider how best to prioritize water use in accordance with the law and allocate supplies thoughtfully, ... more


Switchgrass may be a good option for farmers who have lost fertile topsoil

WATER WORLD
How does water melt? Layer by layer
We all know that water melts at 0C. However, already 150 years ago the famous physicist Michael Faraday discovered that at the surface of frozen ice, well below 0C, a thin film of liquid-like water ... more
FARM NEWS
Researchers use nuclear methods to study pest-resistance in corn
According to estimates, the current global population is more than 7.4 billion people and is growing at a rate of 88 million people per year. Developing corn varieties that are resistant to pests is ... more


Researchers dial in to 'thermostat' in Earth's upper atmosphere
A team led by the University of Colorado Boulder has found the mechanism behind the sudden onset of a "natural thermostat" in Earth's upper atmosphere that dramatically cools the air after it has been heated by violent solar activity. Scientists have known that solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) - which release electrically charged plasma from the sun - can damage satellites, c ... more
Study of olivine provides new data for measuring earth's surface

Critical zone, critical research at the weathering zone

Eye-Popping View of CO2, Critical Step for Carbon-Cycle Science

Galileo, Europe's own satnav, to go online
After 17 years and numerous setbacks and budget boosts, Europe's Galileo satnav system is due to go live on Thursday with promises of better-than-ever location services. Initial services, free to users worldwide, will be available only on smartphones and navigation units already fitted with Galileo-compatible microchips. Some devices may need only a software update to start using the ser ... more
Europe's own satnav, Galileo, due to go live

Lockheed Martin and USAF move ahead with GPS backup ground system upgrade

OGC requests public comment on its Coverage Implementation Schema



A roadmap for guiding development and conservation in the Amazon
Scientists from WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), The Nature Conservancy, and several partners in Brazil and Peru have produced a geographic information system (GIS) "roadmap" to help guide conservation efforts at large scale in the Amazon River basin, a region roughly the size of the United States. The new spatial framework - created with several major data sets and GIS technology - is ... more
Indonesia expands protection for peatlands, climate

Laser technique boosts aerial imaging of woodlands

Green groups pressure Spain over 'at risk' wetlands

People willing to pay more for new biofuels
When it comes to second generation biofuels, Washington State University research shows that consumers are willing to pay a premium of approximately 11 percent over conventional fuel. "We were surprised the premium was that significant," said Jill McCluskey, WSU professor in the School of Economic Sciences. "We wanted to study people in different regions of the country, to make sure we wer ... more
Investing in the 'bioeconomy' could create jobs and reduce carbon emissions

Argonne researchers study how reflectivity of biofuel crops impacts climate

UNIST researchers turn waste gas into road-ready diesel fuel



Saudi Vision 2030 Gives Boost to Solar Energy Investors
Private sector investors are showing new interest in Saudi Arabia's solar energy market, after the nation's leadership included plans to add 9.5 GW of renewables to the energy supply as part of Saudi Vision 2030, along with opening the way to greater private sector and international investment. Announced in April, the Vision 2030 strategy sets 9.5 GW as an 'initial target' to help build th ... more
Canadian Solar Subsidiary Recurrent Energy Completes 200 Megawatt Garland Solar Facility

Beaumont Solar Expands Construction Capacity to 20 Megawatts (MW) per Quarter

EDF EN France chooses Trina Solar modules for its PV plant in Fos sur Mer

Offshore wind makes U.S. debut
Turbines are spinning at a wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island, powering the region for the first time in an offshore capacity, a company announced. Project developer Deepwater Wind said its Block Island wind farm is now in commercial operations, marking a first for the United States. "We've made history here in the Ocean State, but our work is far from over," Deepwater Wind ... more
Apple invests in China wind farms

German energy company plants wind farm seed in Texas

New York to bid in Federal Offshore Wind Auction



Black coal, thin pickings: China's miners face decline
The global fight against climate change and Beijing's efforts to combat choking pollution have been a disaster for Lu Fanyuan. Facing unemployment after years working with explosives deep in a coal mine on the outskirts of the Chinese capital, Lu has little hope of finding another job, no rights to farmland in his rural hometown, and fears he is dying of occupational disease. "They'll ju ... more
Coal demand shifting to Asia, IEA says

China halts North Korean coal imports

China coal mine blasts kill 59: report

'Iron lady' Ip runs for Hong Kong leader
A former Hong Kong security chief who stepped down after mass protests and is loathed by the city's pro-democracy camp said Thursday she will run for leader, as opponents warn she would be a Beijing puppet. The race for chief executive was thrown open when unpopular hardline leader Leung Chun-ying declared last week he would not seek reelection after a term marked by political crises and ant ... more
Chinese official's wife jailed in new vaccine scandal

Popular Chinese Muslim website shuttered after Xi Jinping petition

Anti-China protesters rally in Hong Kong as vote looms



Artificial intelligence creeps into daily life
Mark Zuckerberg envisions a software system inspired by the "Iron Man" character Jarvis as a virtual butler managing his household. The Facebook founder's dream is about artificial intelligence, which is slowly but surely creeping into our daily lives, no longer just science fiction. Artificial intelligence or AI is getting a foothold in people's homes, starting with the Amazon devices l ... more
Research shows people can control a robotic arm with only their minds

A skillful rescue robot with remote-control function

Internal sensors help soft robot hand feel the world like a human

Beijing issues red alert for severe air pollution
Beijing issued its first air pollution red alert for 2016 Thursday, as choking smog is expected to cover the city and surrounding areas in north China during the next five days. From 8 pm on Friday, half of Beijing's private cars will be ordered off the road, with an odd-even number plate system in force, according to a notice posted on the official website of the Beijing municipal governmen ... more
Mosul battle leaving legacy of environmental damage

Researchers create new way to trap dangerous gases

Tehran traffic 'unbearable', says police chief



Hundreds flee wildfires near Jerusalem
Hundreds of people were evacuated from an Israeli village near Jerusalem overnight, police said Friday, as firefighters battled wildfires that have forced tens of thousands to flee around the country. The evacuations in Beit Meir, a cooperative village of religious Jews, came after 60,000 people in Israel's third-largest city Haifa were moved to safety on Thursday because of a spate of fires ... more
NASA Sets Space Fire in Second Round of Fire Safety Experiments

Indonesian fires exposed 69 million to 'killer haze'

Wildfire management or fire suppression

Extraordinary animation reveals ocean's role in El Ninos
Australian researchers from the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science have produced a remarkable high-resolution animation of the largest El Nino ever recorded. It is so detailed that it took 30,000 computer hours crunching ocean model data on Australia's most powerful supercomputer, Raijin, before it could be extracted by the NCI ... more
Earth's Magnetic Fields Could Track Ocean Heat: NASA

Thai fishing fleets shift to distant waters to avoid crackdown: Greenpeace

Rain out, research in

Daily Newsletters - Space - Military - Environment - Energy

Increasing tornado outbreaks - is climate change responsible?
Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms kill people and damage property every year. Estimated U.S. insured losses due to severe thunderstorms in the first half of 2016 were $8.5 billion. The largest U.S. impacts of tornadoes result from tornado outbreaks, sequences of tornadoes that occur in close succession. Last spring a research team led by Michael Tippett, associate professor of applied physics a ... more
Hurricane kills 9 in Costa Rica

Four dead after unprecedented Australia 'thunderstorm asthma'

Death toll in New Caledonia landslides rises to five

China vows more 'flexible' yuan, less property speculation
China ended a major annual economic meeting Friday with promises to liberalise investment in state-owned sectors, control real estate speculation and improve the "flexibility" of the yuan's exchange rate, as the country's economy shows signs of stabilisation. The Central Economic Work Conference, headed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, began Wednesday in Beijing and focused on setting out ec ... more
In China, it's crunch time in 'Santa's workshop'

China new bank loans grow modestly in November

EU agrees tougher trade rules amid China row



Preparing for the August 2017 Total Solar Eclipse
On Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, a total eclipse will cross the entire country, coast-to-coast, for the first time since 1918. Weather permitting, the entire continent will have the opportunity to view an eclipse as the moon passes in front of the sun, casting a shadow on Earth's surface. And plans for this once-in-a-lifetime eclipse are underway - scientists are submitting research proposals, NASA is ... more
Giving the Sun a brake

Perspectives on magnetic reconnection

GREGOR first results published in special issue of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Optical tractor beam traps bacteria
Up to now, if scientists wanted to study blood cells, algae, or bacteria under the microscope, they had to mount these cells on a substrate such as a glass slide. Physicists at Bielefeld and Frankfurt Universities have developed a method that traps biological cells with a laser beam enabling them to study them at very high resolutions. In science fiction books and films, the principle is k ... more
Scientists examine 'perfect storms' fueling vast tropical biodiversity

Scientists trap bacteria with optical tractor beam

Gene transfer on the fungal highway



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