While the honeybee has a comparatively negligible role when it comes to pollination in the wild, that niche filled by the dozens of other bee species that are also often colony-less, they nonetheless have an important spotlight on them when it comes to human agriculture. This is so even if they only make up less […]
Crop diseases have always been one of the main combatants in the war between farmers and nature. Regardless of the source, whether viral, bacterial, fungal, or other, diseases that affect plant health, growth, and production have devastated every type of crop ever grown. It has only been through strenuous effort that farmers have fought back […]
First published in 2000 under the title A Consumer’s Guide to GM Food: From Green Genes to Red Herrings, this book was devised by scientist Alan McHughen to act as a fundamental guide to agricultural biotechnology, how it works, and what the science has achieved. It was retitled to Pandora’s Picnic Basket when released in […]
Hydrogen has long been one of the dream energy sources of green and alternative energy programs. A clean fuel source with no negative byproducts and that has complete conversion to heat and energy. It has stood up on the pedestal along with the likes of fusion reactors and other high efficiency technologies. The main difference […]
The paper industry, even with the modern trend of digitization of materials and online news and book sources, continues to make the wood pulp market a large commercial force in the world, dominated by the use of Eucalyptus as a backbone for paper production. The use of Eucalyptus as oil has also seen a dramatic […]
All crops have to contend with parasites and pests, whether of the insect or bacterial variety, and farmers have to create multiple methods to protect their crops and farm yields. For legume farmers and the various types of beans they grow, it is the Bruchus family of beetles that continues to be one of the […]
At the turn of the decade, a new “scientific” fad diet began to spread across the internet and the nutrition community with claims of tiny particles destroying your body from the inside out. Remarks about how only a diet rich in specific fruits and vegetables and their protective antioxidants would keep you healthy and make […]
Rice is the most important crop ever cultivated by mankind. It has fed millions of people over millennia and has remained a staple food source for a majority of the world. The two most populous countries in the world by far, China and India, have had rice as a main product in their cuisine for […]
Genetic transfer between bacteria is one of the most common types of horizontal gene transfer found in nature. It is how bacteria learn to adapt and form resistance against extreme environments, including antibiotics that humans use to combat them. The methods used can vary, whether direct gene copying and trading through bacterial conjugation (“cell sex”) […]
Austria has a bit of a problem with genetically modified crops. This is not an altogether surprising statement, as the nation has for two decades been heavily involved in promoting organic farming, in addition to utilizing “holistic” farming processes that include homeopathy as the main treatment for sick animals.[1] The fact that hundreds of scientific […]
