Collaborate Disseminate & Propagate
We’ve already heard about genetically manipulated types of rice that are drought-resistant and antioxidant-rich. A new one, however, could potentially save the lives of people with high blood pressure.Continue ReadingCategory: ScienceTags: Agriculture,… Continue reading Eating new transgenic rice could lower high blood pressure
Due to the ongoing worldwide decline in bee populations, farmers are increasingly looking to alternative methods of pollinating fruit-bearing plants. As it turns out, the use of soap bubbles may succeed where things like drones alone have failed.Contin… Continue reading Soap bubbles used to pollinate pear flowers
When it comes to farm animals being raised in subpar conditions, chickens often have it particularly rough. A new system that analyzes chick vocalizations, however, could help alert farmers (or authorities) when things really need to change.Continue Re… Continue reading Automated analysis of chick chirps may ensure better living conditions
Powdery mildew is a widespread fungal disease that attacks many crops. And while it typically has to be treated using fungicides, special ultraviolet light-emitting robots could soon prove to be a better way to go.Continue ReadingCategory: Robotics, Te… Continue reading UV-emitting robots roam vineyards to kill fungus
The MIT Media Lab’s Open Agriculture Initiative (OpenAg) promised to revolutionize urban farming with their Food Computers: essentially miniature automated gardens that could be installed in racks to maximize growing space. Each unit would be provided with a “Recipe” that allowed it to maintain the ideal environmental conditions for the …read more
Continue reading Open Agriculture Initiative Shuttered Amid Scandal
Boston Dynamics’ dog-like Spot robot can now be remotely controlled from anywhere in the world thanks to a partnership with cloud-based software platform Rocos. To demonstrate its new capabilities the US team remotely monitored the robot working on an … Continue reading Remotely operated Spot robot herds sheep in New Zealand
As factors such as habitat loss decrease the number and variety of flowering plants in the environment, beekeepers are increasingly starting to augment their insects’ diet with artificial feeds. It now turns out that microalgae may be a particularly go… Continue reading Algae-based feed could help save struggling bee colonies
Like any good parent, it turns out that plants can use their own experience to teach their offspring about how to overcome tough times. Geneticists at Penn State University have manipulated the expression of one gene in a plant that makes them more res… Continue reading Stressed-out plants pass down “memories” to make offspring stronger
Responsible for millions of dollars in crop losses annually, the red palm weevil is a flying beetle that lays its eggs inside date palm trees. It could soon be possible to detect such infestations earlier than ever, using fiber optic cables.Continue Re… Continue reading Fiber optic tech could save date palms from infestations
When it comes to safer, less painful, slow-release alternatives to the hypodermic injection of medications, “microneedle patches” show a lot of promise. Now, MIT scientists have adapted the technology for use on plants.Continue ReadingCategory: Science… Continue reading MIT’s new microneedle patch is made just for plants