Agriculture
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LifeEngineered honeybee gut bacteria trick attackers into self-destructing
Tailored microbes defend bees with a gene-silencing process called RNA interference that takes on viruses or mites.
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EcosystemsCan forensics help keep endangered rosewood off the black market?
Timber traffickers are plundering the world’s forests, but conservationists have a new set of tools to fight deforestation.
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EarthToo much groundwater pumping is draining many of the world’s rivers
Too much groundwater use could push over half of pumped watersheds past an ecological tipping point by 2050, compromising aquatic ecosystems worldwide.
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AgricultureBirds fed a common pesticide lost weight rapidly and had migration delays
Scientists have previously implicated neonicotinoid pesticides in declining bee populations. Now a study suggests that songbirds are affected, too.
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AnimalsU.S. honeybees had the worst winter die-off in more than a decade
Colonies suffered from parasitic, disease-spreading Varroa mites. Floods and fire didn’t help.
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AgricultureThe U.S. is still using many pesticides that are banned in other countries
In 2016, the United States used millions of kilograms of pesticides that are banned or being phased out in the European Union, Brazil and China.
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AgricultureCan Silicon Valley entrepreneurs make crickets the next chicken?
Entrepreneurs are bringing automation and data analysis to insect agriculture to build a profitable business that helps feed the planet.
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PlantsA major crop pest can make tomato plants lie to their neighbors
Insects called silverleaf whiteflies exploit tomatoes’ ability to detect damage caused to nearby plants.
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AgricultureProsecco production takes a toll on northeast Italy’s environment
The soil in Northern Italy’s prosecco vineyards is washing away.
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AnimalsThis honeybee parasite may be more of a fat stealer than a bloodsucker
Inventing decoy bee larvae prompts a back-to-basics rethink of a mite ominously named Varroa destructor.
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AgricultureA new way to genetically tweak photosynthesis boosts plant growth
A new chemical road map for a process called photorespiration in plant cells could reduce energy waste to increase plant productivity.
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Agriculture50 years ago, screwworm flies inspired a new approach to insect control
The United States has wiped out screwworm flies repeatedly since 1966 using the sterile male eradication technique.