Deep roots, edited genes and a plan to fight climate change with supercharged plants

There are quite a few ways we could benefit from tweaking the genetic makeup of plants. Scientists making breakthroughs in this area hail exciting new possibilities around improved crop security, new kinds of naturally sourced medicines, and … Continue reading Deep roots, edited genes and a plan to fight climate change with supercharged plants

Engineering plants for better root microbiomes would unlock land for staple crops

A Stanford University team led by associate professor of chemical engineering Elizabeth Sattely is developing genetically engineered plants that can better absorb iron from the soil. By making it easier to ingest the trace mineral, it may be … Continue reading Engineering plants for better root microbiomes would unlock land for staple crops

Scientists successfully edit a long-locked part of plant DNA, improving crop security

Think of DNA and chances are the double helix structure comes to mind, but that’s only one piece of the puzzle. Another major part is mitochondrial DNA, and in plants that’s even more important – and so complex that scientists haven’t yet bee… Continue reading Scientists successfully edit a long-locked part of plant DNA, improving crop security

Microneedle patch makes for speedy identification of plant diseases

When farmers find sickly plants in their crops, it’s important that they find out which malady is responsible, as quickly as possible. New microneedle technology could help, paving the way for a handheld device that would provide the answer w… Continue reading Microneedle patch makes for speedy identification of plant diseases

A Farmer’s Guide to Technology

One of the hardest aspects of choosing a career isn’t getting started, it’s keeping up. Whether you’re an engineer, doctor, or even landscaper, there are always new developments to keep up with if you want to stay competitive. This is especially true of farming, where farmers have to keep up …read more

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Does WiFi Kill Houseplants?

Spoiler alert: No.

To come to that conclusion, which runs counter to the combined wisdom of several recent YouTube videos, [Andrew McNeil] ran a pretty neat little experiment. [Andrew] has a not inconsiderable amount of expertise in this area, as an RF engineer and prolific maker of many homebrew WiFi …read more

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Germinate Seeds With The Help of 3D Printing

Microgreens, also known as vegetable confetti, are all the rage in fancy restaurants around the globe. Raised from a variety of different vegetable seeds, they’re harvested just past the sprout period, but before they would qualify as baby greens – usually 10-14 days after planting. There’s a variety of ways to grow microgreens, and [Mr Ben] has developed a 3D printed rig to help.

The rig consists of two parts – a seed tray and a water tray underneath. The seed tray consists of a grid to house the broccoli seeds to be grown, with small holes in each grid …read more

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