The scientific breakthroughs just keep on coming hard and fast. At least in the realm of science, when asked what time period you’d like to live in, the answer is always the here and now. If only the future was a possible option though, where we could see the true effects of the amazing innovations […]
CRISPR’s capabilities have been expanded once again, this time to be used to increase the amount of healthy fats in soybeans. Let’s skip right into the details for once without any backstory. To The Research! Researchers at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in South Korea have been working on their own variant of CRISPR […]
Just because new techniques and technologies are developed doesn’t mean the oldies aren’t still as useful as they were before. Today’s topic is related to the topic of de-extinction, in that the methods used are actually quite similar. And since this topic is being used to save the populations of rare and endangered birds, I […]
What do the terms biorobotics and biocomputing mean to you? For some of you in the know, you may think to bring up the research to design robotic systems that mimic living movements and activities, a la the MIT Cheetah robot. And, while this is indeed a form of biorobotics, it’s on the opposite end […]
Is it ethical to conduct genetic modifications on humans? It’s one thing to discuss such modifications to be done on adults that are requesting it, but what about with infants or fetuses? That’s where the conversation becomes much more complicated. The Other Concerns Most people would likely agree that modification of defective genes that would […]
Not every tenet of science is set in stone. That’s often been seen in fields like physics and astronomy over the past few decades, where huge innovations and discoveries have been made. But biology isn’t isolated from these sorts of findings. Today’s topic of discussion is new research that calls one of the tenets of […]
Pesticides are a necessity in agriculture. Prior to the use of pesticides in any form, farmers would often find their livelihood under siege by pests from every type, fungi, insect, microbial, and other plants. Yields could drop precipitously from any severe infestation. Plants themselves also agree, with each type of plant producing dozens of pesticides […]
Proteins make up everything living that matters. Okay, sure, DNA actually makes up everything, but DNA just exists to transcribe and make proteins. It’s the proteins that actually get the work done. All the tiny cellular work that eventually causes macroscopic bodily changes. So, give proteins a little thank you every once in a while. […]
Temperature, rainfall, soil stability, and many other factors contribute to plant growth (and in turn successful agriculture). Humans do our best to help influence and manipulate these conditions to improve our ability to grow crops, but even this is unable to change the basic fact that there are certain areas of the world that are […]
Among all the plant diseases and pests that those in agriculture face, it is often the viral-based conditions that prove the most troubling and difficult to manage. Unlike weed or insect-based attacks that can be combated with various types of pesticides or direct action, viruses have no explicit counter when working in agriculture. Vaccines for […]
