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Hand-picked specialty crops 'ripe' for precision agriculture techniques![]() Champaign IL (SPX) Mar 03, 2017 Timing the harvest and transport of highly perishable, hand-picked crops such as strawberries so these delicate products reach consumers at peak flavor and freshness is an intricate dance that partners Mother Nature with manual labor. However, many of the "smart farming" techniques and technologies that help growers harvest more of what they sow faster and more efficiently have focused primarily on row crops like corn and soybeans, bypassing growers of high-value fresh produce. "The large ma ... read more |
Magic cover crop carpetWashington DC (SPX) Mar 03, 2017 Organic farmers have to make hard choices between protecting soil from erosion and controlling weeds. For example, large-scale organic farming relies heavily on tillage. Tilling breaks up the soil t ... more
Researchers propose using CRISPR to accelerate plant domesticationWashington DC (SPX) Mar 03, 2017 Out of the more than 300,000 plant species in existence, only three species - rice, wheat, and maize - account for most of the plant matter that humans consume, partly because in the history of agri ... more
Calculating recharge of groundwater more preciselyFreiburg, Germany (SPX) Mar 01, 2017 A team of international researchers led by University of Freiburg hydrologist Dr. Andreas Hartmann suggests that inclusion of currently missing key hydrological processes in large-scale climate chan ... more
SpaceX delivers BAM-FX to ISS for Zero Gravity SolutionsBoca Raton FL (SPX) Feb 27, 2017 Zero Gravity Solutions, Inc., an agricultural biotechnology public company commercializing its technology derived from and designed for Space with significant applications for agriculture on Earth, ... more |
Philippines digs out from Typhoon Fung-wong as death toll climbs to 18
Three Vietnam men survive 40 hours at sea after typhoon Typhoon Fung-wong floods Philippine towns, leaves 5 dead in its wake Typhoon Fung-wong leaves flooded Philippine towns in its wake Typhoon exposes centuries-old shipwreck off Vietnam port Weakening Typhoon Fung-wong exits Philippines after displacing 1.4 million Super Typhoon Fung-wong makes landfall in Philippines Over 1 million evacuate as deadly Super Typhoon Fung-wong nears Philippines Dam reservoir levels drop below 3% in Iran's second city: media Philippines evacuates one million, woman dead as super typhoon nears |
| Previous Issues | Mar 03 | Mar 02 | Mar 01 | Feb 28 | Feb 27 |
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Somali president declares 'national disaster' over droughtMogadishu (AFP) Feb 28, 2017 Somali's newly elected President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Tuesday declared a "national disaster" due to severe drought which aid agencies say has left some three million in crisis. ... more
'Our daily bread' has hidden climate costsParis (AFP) Feb 27, 2017 Nearly half the environmental impact of a loaf of bread comes from the "unsustainable use" of fertilisers on wheat crops, researchers said Monday. ... more
Brexit sows seeds of doubt for British farmersLondon (AFP) Feb 26, 2017 Dependent on foreign workers and subsidies from Brussels, Britain's small but important agricultural sector is losing sleep over the possible fallout from Brexit, but hopes a future outside the EU will open up new export opportunities. ... more
Researchers unravel powerful tool in maize breedingHeidelberg, Germany (SPX) Feb 24, 2017 A common strategy to create high-yielding plants is hybrid breeding - crossing two different inbred lines to obtain characteristics superior to each parent. However, getting the inbred lines in the ... more
Study finds consumers willing to pay more for 'all-natural' labeled foodsChicago IL (SPX) Feb 24, 2017 A study published in the Journal of Food Science found that expectations of product quality, nutritional content and the amount of money consumers were willing to pay increased when consumers saw a ... more
Cultivating cool-for-cash-cropWashington DC (SPX) Feb 24, 2017 When deciding what crops to grow during a season, growers look at several factors. Do the crops have a good yield in their area? Does the area currently have the resources - usually water - to grow ... more |
![]() Widely accepted vision for agriculture may be inaccurate, misleading
What's the buzz on bee parasites?Liverpool, UK (SPX) Feb 24, 2017 Published in the open-access journal GigaScience is an article that presents the genome of a parasitic mite, Tropilaelaps mercedesae, that infects bee colonies, which are facing wide-spread devastat ... more
French Greens offer hair to highlight pesticide risksParis (AFP) Feb 23, 2017 Seven top French environmentalists including a presidential candidate have had their hair tested to draw attention to the prevalence of pesticides and other pollutants in daily life. ... more
Mumbai's original inhabitants fear world's tallest statueMumbai (AFP) Feb 23, 2017 A fitting tribute to a local legend or a grotesque misuse of money? The decision to build the world's tallest statue just off Mumbai's coast has divided the city. ... more
Brazil's poorest region suffers worst drought in a centuryQuixeramobim, Brazil (AFP) Feb 21, 2017 A cow's skull lies baking in the sun and nearby another dead cow rots, symbols of the desolation gripping northeastern Brazil during its worst drought in a century. ... more |

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London, UK (SPX) Feb 24, 2017
Transshipment, the transfer of goods from one boat to another, is a major pathway for illegally caught and unreported fish to enter the global seafood market. It has also been associated with drug smuggling and slave labor. Illegal in many cases, transshipment has been largely invisible and nearly impossible to manage, because it often occurs far from shore and out of sight. Until now.
Tod ... more Paris (ESA) Mar 03, 2017Sentinel-2B poised for liftoff Canberra, Australia (SPX) Feb 28, 2017The Long Shot: Photographing A Milk Carton 3500 Kilometres Away San Francisco CA (SPX) Feb 27, 2017MDA to Acquire DigitalGlobe |
Beijing (AFP) Feb 21, 2017 A prefecture in China's restive Xinjiang region has ordered all vehicles to be equipped with GPS-like tracking software, police and media reports said Tuesday, as authorities step up an "anti-terrorism" campaign.
All drivers in the Bayingol Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture must install a China-developed satellite navigation system called Beidou "to prevent theft, but also primarily to maintai ... more New Delhi (Sputnik) Feb 15, 2017GLONASS station in India to expedite 'space centric' warfare command Canberra, Australia (SPX) Feb 14, 2017Australia and Lockheed field 2nd-Gen sat-based augmentation system Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 14, 2017UK may lose access to EU Galileo GPS system after Brexit |
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Tegucigalpa (AFP) March 1, 2017
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About 600 mostly indigenous Hondurans held a protest in front of the Supreme Court on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of murdered activist Berta Caceres and further her campaign against a hydroelectric company.
"Long live Berta. The struggle continues," yelled the crowd, which included workers, villagers, women and rights activists.
The demonstration was held nearly a year after th ... more Washington DC (SPX) Mar 03, 2017Ancient peoples shaped the Amazon rainforest Bristol, UK (SPX) Feb 28, 2017Forests to play major role in meeting Paris climate targets Stirling, UK (SPX) Feb 24, 2017Forests worldwide threatened by drought |
Durham NC (SPX) Feb 28, 2017 Duke University researchers have developed tiny nanoparticles that help convert carbon dioxide into methane using only ultraviolet light as an energy source. Having found a catalyst that can do this important chemistry using ultraviolet light, the team now hopes to develop a version that would run on natural sunlight, a potential boon to alternative energy.
Chemists have long sought an eff ... more Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Mar 01, 2017Biofuel produced by microalgae Durham, N.C. (UPI) Feb 23, 2017Scientists use nanoparticles, ultraviolet light to turn CO2 into fuel Edmonton, Alberta (UPI) Feb 10, 2017Alberta backing bioenergy programs |
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Toronto, Canada (SPX) Mar 01, 2017
SOVENTIX Canada Inc. has commenced the development of several solar projects with a capacity of up to 140 megawatts (MWp) in Alberta, Canada. The six projects with a potential nameplate capacity from 15 to 45 MWp are located near Calgary and Edmonton. Building on Soventix Canada's success in the Ontario, the current projects will further drive the expansion of SOVENTIX in the Canadian solar mark ... more Edmonton, Alberta (UPI) Feb 28, 2017Alberta puts more weight behind solar power London, UK (SPX) Feb 28, 2017Lightsource Renewable Energy acquires residential portfolio meeco installed biggest solar energy plant in Zimbabwe |
Washington DC (SPX) Mar 01, 2017
The sight of propeller-like rotating blades positioned high up the pole of a tall horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT) may be familiar to many. Often grouped in wind farms, HAWTs provide significant amounts of energy for local communities. One drawback to HAWTs is the large space they take up, needing to be placed far apart from each other. If placed too close together, the turbulence and wind ve ... more Newark DE (SPX) Feb 22, 2017US grid can handle more offshore wind power Lansing, Mich. (UPI) Feb 16, 2017Michigan meets renewable energy targets Stavanger, Norway (UPI) Feb 9, 2017British grid drawing power from new offshore wind farm |
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Beijing (AFP) Feb 28, 2017 China's world-leading coal consumption fell for the third straight year in 2016, government data showed Tuesday, as the planet's biggest carbon emitter struggles to break its addiction to the heavily polluting fuel.
Coal consumption fell by 4.7 percent year-on-year in 2016, and the share of coal in the country's energy mix slipped to 62.0 percent, down 2.0 percent year-on-year, the National ... more Beijing (AFP) Feb 18, 2017China halts N. Korea coal imports after missile test Brussels (AFP) Feb 9, 2017EU must shut coal plants by 2030 to meet climate pledge: study Canberra, Australia (UPI) Feb 7, 2017Do more to advance CCS, BHP Billiton says |
Beijing (AFP) March 1, 2017
A nerve centre for migrant workers who stream in from around the country in search of a better life, Black Bridge Village is a place of industry and desperation.
Posters on the wall offer easy money for blood donations: 400 ml - almost one US pint - earns between 400 and 500 yuan, enough to pay the rent for a small room.
Ramshackle structures of brick, corrugated iron and wood have mu ... more Hong Kong (AFP) March 1, 2017Hong Kong rebel lawmakers fight parliament ban Hong Kong (AFP) Feb 27, 2017Activists gatecrash meeting of Hong Kong leadership hopeful Hong Kong (AFP) Feb 28, 2017China's favourite wins strong backing in Hong Kong leadership race |
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Washington (UPI) Mar 2, 2017
Norwegian company Kongsberg received a $15 million contract to deliver updated Protector remote weapon systems to the government of Switzerland.
The weapon system was ordered by Armasuisse, Switzerland's federal procurement office. According to Kongsberg, the Protectors to be delivered will be modified to integrate with modern platforms.
"Kongsberg has delivered Protector remote ... more Sendai, Japan (SPX) Mar 03, 2017Shape-shifting molecular robots respond to DNA signals Raleigh, NC (SPX) Feb 28, 2017Tracking the movement of cyborg cockroaches Oxford, England (UPI) Feb 23, 2017Study: Even 'benevolent bots' fight, sometimes for years |
Jerusalem (AFP) March 1, 2017
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An Israeli court ruled Wednesday that a tanker of liquefied ammonia in the port city of Haifa must be emptied of its toxic content within 30 days.
The container, which can hold 12,000 tonnes of the corrosive liquid, made headlines last year when Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanon's Shiite militia Hezbollah, said it would go off like "a nuclear bomb" if hit by his group's missiles.
N ... more Stockholm (UPI) Feb 24, 2017Study finds high levels of toxic chemicals in house cats Manila (AFP) Feb 23, 2017Ex-yoga missionary unleashes rage on Philippine miners Hanoi (AFP) Feb 22, 2017Vietnam to punish officials over mass fish deaths |
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Boulder CO (SPX) Feb 28, 2017
Humans have dramatically increased the spatial and seasonal extent of wildfires across the U.S. in recent decades and ignited more than 840,000 blazes in the spring, fall and winter seasons over a 21-year period, according to new research.
After analyzing two decades' worth of U.S. government agency wildfire records spanning 1992-2012, the researchers found that human-ignited wildfires acc ... more Beijing (AFP) Feb 26, 2017China detains 24 after deadly hotel fire Sydney (AFP) Feb 13, 2017Australia fires ease as damage mounts after record heat Albany CA (SPX) Feb 07, 2017Vegetation resilient to salvage logging after severe wildfire |
Freiburg, Germany (SPX) Mar 01, 2017
A team of international researchers led by University of Freiburg hydrologist Dr. Andreas Hartmann suggests that inclusion of currently missing key hydrological processes in large-scale climate change impact models can significantly improve our estimates of water availability.
The study shows that groundwater recharge estimates for 560 million people in karst regions in Europe, the Middle ... more Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Mar 03, 2017More bang for the buck London, UK (SPX) Mar 01, 2017First direct measurements of Pacific seabed sediments reveal strong methane source Miami (AFP) Feb 27, 2017New urgency in fight to restore Florida Everglades |
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London (AFP) Feb 23, 2017 One person was killed by falling debris on Thursday as Storm Doris slammed into the British Isles, also causing flight disruptions at Europe's busiest air hub and power outages.
A 29-year-old woman suffered a fatal head injury from a piece of debris blowing down onto the street in Wolverhampton, central England.
As the storm swept through London, police said a man was taken to hospital i ... more Los Angeles (AFP) Feb 18, 2017Four dead as 'worse storm in years' buffets California Albuquerque (UPI) Feb 14, 2017Extreme heat threatens desert songbirds University Park PA (SPX) Feb 08, 2017Broader updrafts in severe storms may increase chance of damaging hail |
Paris (AFP) Feb 27, 2017
Global art sales plunged in 2016 as the number of high-value works sold dropped by half, while China regained its status as the world's top market, Artprice said in an annual report released Monday.
Art auctions worldwide totalled $12.5 billion (11.8 billion euros) last year, down 22 percent from $16.1 billion in 2015, it said.
The world's biggest database for art prices and sales, worki ... more Beijing (AFP) March 2, 2017China's new bank regulator vows real estate, shadow banking crackdown Geneva (AFP) March 2, 2017WTO faces first attack from US under Trump Frankfurt Am Main (AFP) Feb 24, 2017China overtakes US as Germany's top trade partner |
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Copenhagen, Denmark (UPI) Mar 3, 2017 New research shows solar storms leave large portions of Earth's atmosphere without electrons.
Typically, when a solar storm reaches Earth, the collision with the planet's magnetosphere creates space through which a barrage of charged particles and electrons flood the ionosphere, an outer layer of Earth's atmosphere.
In other words, solar storms are most often associated with an e ... more Washington DC (SPX) Mar 01, 2017First Solar Images from NOAA's GOES-16 Satellite Washington (UPI) Feb 25, 2017Rare 'Ring of Fire' eclipse to cross Southern Hemisphere Tucson AZ (SPX) Feb 24, 2017NSF to Fund a Nationwide Effort to Capture the Eclipse |
Miami (AFP) March 1, 2017
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Elephants hardly ever sleep in the wild, getting around two hours of shut-eye per night and only in the wee hours of the morning, researchers said Wednesday.
The findings in the journal PLOS ONE are based on two female wild African elephants - living in Botswana's Chobe National Park - who appear to sleep the least of any known mammals to date.
Researchers fitted the elephants' tru ... more Washington DC (SPX) Mar 03, 2017Woolly mammoths experienced a genomic meltdown just before extinction Tucson AZ (SPX) Feb 28, 2017Dogs, toddlers show similarities in social intelligence Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Feb 28, 2017Recovering predators and prey |
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