Top Stories

Cassava Breeding Hasn’t Improved Photosynthesis or Yield Potential

Cassava is a staple in the diet of more than one billion people across 105 countries, yet this “orphaned crop” has received little attention compared to popular crops like corn and soybeans. While advances in breeding have helped cassava withstand pests and diseases, cassava yields no more today than it did in 1963. Corn yields, by comparison, have more than doubled.

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Education Key to Pakistan Reducing Carbon Emissions

Education, awareness and skill development programmes can help Pakistan reduce its carbon emissions without compromising economic growth, according to a new Pakistan-Chinese study.

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Alien Waters: Neighboring Seas Are Flowing into a Warming Arctic Ocean

Above Scandinavia, on the Atlantic side of the Arctic Ocean, mackerel, cod, and other fish native to the European coast are migrating through increasingly ice-free waters, heading deeper into the Arctic Basin toward Siberia. Thousands of miles to the west, above Alaska, kittiwakes and other polar seabirds are being supplanted by southern birds following warm waters streaming north through the Bering Strait. And midway between, above Canada, sea ice-avoiding killer whales from the Atlantic are increasingly making themselves at home in a thawing Arctic.

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Angry Birds: Size of Jackdaw Mobs Depends on Who Calls Warning

Jackdaws recognise each other’s voices and respond in greater numbers to warnings from familiar birds than strangers, new research shows.

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Scientists use dietary seaweed to manipulate gut bacteria in mice

Gut bacteria thrive on the food we eat. In turn, they provide essential nutrients that keep us healthy, repel pathogens and even help guide our immune responses.      

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Study finds marine protected areas help coral reefs

Reports in recent years that marine protected areas (MPAs) aren’t effective in saving coral reefs from the damaging effects of global climate change have led some to argue that such expensive interventions are futile. But a study that spanned 700 kilometers of the eastern Caribbean reveals that MPAs can, indeed, help coral reefs.

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Renewable Energy Now Employs 10.3 Million People Globally

The renewable energy industry employs 10.3 million people worldwide, according to new data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). And the sector is growing rapidly, adding more than 500,000 jobs last year alone, an increase of 5.3 percent from 2016, PV Magazine reported.

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Climate Geoengineering Research Should Include Developing Countries

Placing giant mirrors in orbit to reflect sunlight before it reaches Earth and launching millions of tons of sulfur into the stratosphere to simulate the effects of a major volcanic eruption are among the mind-boggling climate geoengineering projects that are starting to be considered as ways to mitigate the global warming caused by greenhouse gases.

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Leafcutter Ants' Success Due to More Than Crop Selection

A complex genetic analysis has biologists re-evaluating some long-held beliefs about the way societies evolved following the invention of agriculture — by six-legged farmers.

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How Even One Automated, Connected Vehicle Can Improve Safety and Save Energy in Traffic

Connected cruise control uses vehicle-to-vehicle communication to let automated vehicles respond to multiple cars at a time in an effort to save energy and improve safety.

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