24/7 Farm  News Coverage
December 20, 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


Critical zone, critical research at the weathering zone
The Earth's critical zone isn't called critical for nothing. Known as our planet's outer skin, it is essential for human survival. The critical zone extends from the top of the tallest tree down through the soil and into the water and rock beneath it. It stops at what's called the weathering zone - or where soils first begin to develop. This zone allows crops to grow well and supports our ... more
Eye-Popping View of CO2, Critical Step for Carbon-Cycle Science

Revolutions in understanding the ionosphere, Earth's interface to space

Researchers dial in to 'thermostat' in Earth's upper atmosphere

Russia, China Making Progress in Synchronization of GLONASS, BeiDou Systems
Russia and China have achieved a significant progress in the synchronization of GLONASS and BeiDou navigation systems, Roscosmos head Igor Komarov said Monday. "We have achieved a considerable progress in the field of cooperation... on the harmonization and synchronization of GLONASS and BeiDou systems. All contracts have been signed, and the work is proceeding. There are prospects, ... more
Galileo, Europe's own satnav, to go online

Europe's own satnav Galileo goes live

Alpha Defence Company To Make Navigation Satellites For ISRO



Better road planning could boost food production while protect forests
Conservation scientists have used layers of data on biodiversity, climate, transport and crop yields to construct a color-coded mapping system that shows where new road-building projects should go to be most beneficial for food production at the same time as being least destructive to the environment. Researchers from the University of Cambridge, UK, the Kunming Institute of Botany and the ... more
A roadmap for guiding development and conservation in the Amazon

Indonesia expands protection for peatlands, climate

Laser technique boosts aerial imaging of woodlands

Ultrafast lasers reveal light-harvesting secrets of photosynthetic algae
Photosynthetic algae have been refining their technique for capturing light for millions of years. As a result, these algae boast powerful light-harvesting systems - proteins that absorb light to be turned into energy - that scientists have long aspired to understand and mimic for renewable energy applications. Now, researchers at Princeton University have revealed a mechanism that enhance ... more
People willing to pay more for new biofuels

Investing in the 'bioeconomy' could create jobs and reduce carbon emissions

Argonne researchers study how reflectivity of biofuel crops impacts climate



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

Woman sues China public security bureau over propaganda video
The wife of a Chinese human rights lawyer said Monday she is suing the public security bureau for accusing her in an online propaganda video of fomenting "colour revolution". Li Wenzu's husband Wang Quanzhang took on a number of civil rights cases considered sensitive by the ruling Communist party and was detained last summer. His employer, Beijing's Fengrui law firm, was at the centre ... more
'Iron lady' Ip runs for Hong Kong leader

Chinese official's wife jailed in new vaccine scandal

Popular Chinese Muslim website shuttered after Xi Jinping petition



A hardware-based approach for real world collaborative multi-robots
Technological revolution means robots no longer are the song of the future. The Governor of the Bank of England predicts today that up to half of British workforce face redundancy in the imminent 'second machine age'. No wonder, the research of multi-robot systems generates serious buzz both for promising (albeit at times scary) results and for their application prospects in the real world. ... more
A skillful rescue robot with remote-control function

Zuckerberg builds software butler for his home

Artificial intelligence creeps into daily life

Mosul battle leaving legacy of environmental damage
The battle to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group is leaving a legacy of environmental damage and health risks that will pose dangers to people for years to come. Iraqis have already paid the initial price from burning oil wells and a sulphur factory that IS set alight south of Mosul, Iraq's last jihadist-held city which is the target of a major military operation launched two months a ... more
China chokes under heavy smog with worse ahead

Beijing issues red alert for severe air pollution

Researchers create new way to trap dangerous gases



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

The galloping evolution in seahorses
Without a doubt, the seahorse belongs to Darwin's "endless forms most beautiful". Its body form is one of a kind. It has neither a tail nor pelvic fin, it swims vertically, bony plates reinforce its entire body and it has no teeth, a rare feature in fish. Another peculiarity is that male seahorses are the ones to become pregnant. The genome project, comprising six evolutionary biologists f ... more
Earth's Magnetic Fields Could Track Ocean Heat: NASA

Ocean temperatures faithfully recorded in mother-of-pearl

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's 2017 economic growth to slow to 6.5 pct: study
China's economic growth will slow to 6.5 percent next year and the yuan will continue falling against the dollar, a top Chinese think-tank said Monday. The prediction follows a raft of positive data earlier this month that raised hopes of an end to the slowdown. But the economy - the world's second largest - still "faces increasing downward pressure", the Chinese Academy of Social Scie ... more
China vows more 'flexible' yuan, less property speculation

In China, it's crunch time in 'Santa's workshop'

Philippines taps China-backed AIIB to fix infrastructure



Moore Foundation provides libraries with a millione solar-eclipse viewers
The Space Science Institute was awarded a grant from the Moore Foundation that will provide 1.26 million solar viewing glasses and other resources for 1,500 public libraries across the nation. They will serve as centers for eclipse education and viewing for their communities. The libraries will be selected through a registration process managed by the STAR Library Education Network (STAR_N ... more
Preparing for the August 2017 Total Solar Eclipse

Giving the Sun a brake

Perspectives on magnetic reconnection

Plant's response to heat stress fluctuates between day and night
Climate change and recent heat waves have put agricultural crops at risk, which means that understanding how plants respond to elevated temperatures is crucial for protecting our environment and food supply. For many plants, even a small increase in average temperature can profoundly affect their growth and development. In the often-studied mustard plant called Arabidopsis, elevated temper ... more
Rapid population decline among vertebrates began with industrialization

Burning ivory, waging war: world battles poaching in 2016

Outdoor recreation in protected areas negatively impacts wildlife



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