Rachel Parkinson (r) and Professor Jack Gray use a “video game” to study pesticide effects on insects.

Flight simulator shows pesticide effects

High-tech approach at the University of Saskatchewan uses virtual reality more common to video games


A research project at the University of Sask­atchewan is using a virtual reality flight simulator to measure how locusts are affected by pesticides. Rachel Parkinson, a biology master’s student, is trying to see how insects react to neonicotinoids. “There is a lot of controversy over these pesticides,” said biology professor, Jack Gray, Parkinson’s supervisor. “They

Antibodies from cattle, combined with engineered antigens, can trigger an immune response. A similar technique could work in humans.

Cow antibodies show a path to fighting human disease

Novel vaccines combine natural antibodies and engineer antigens 
to trigger immune response

Old Bessie may have shown researchers a new way to fight human diseases. A recent paper from University of Guelph scientists says a novel vaccine that protects cattle from a viral-driven respiratory disease may hold the secret to creating similar treatments for human diseases, ranging from gut infections to HIV and cancer. Azud Kaushik, a


Australian researchers say seaweed like this can slash methane emissions from cattle.

Seaweed supplement could slash cattle methane

Australian researchers have seen as much as 99 per cent 
of emissions eliminated

Australian researchers are bringing a whole new meaning to ‘surf and turf.’ They’ve been working on a project funded by that country’s Commonwealth Science and Industry Research Organization (CSIRO) to use dried seaweed as a supplement in cattle feed to reduce methane emissions from cattle. They’ve discovered just a small amount of seaweed can mean

The growth chamber system can reproduce past weather patterns, down to exact daily fluctuations.

Growth chamber system ‘test drives’ new varieties

Cameras can detect and quantify signals produced by plants

Following the lead of automakers who torture test their cars on special tracks that simulate real driving conditions, researchers at Michigan State University have developed a system to test drive new plant varieties before they reach the field. Called DEPI — Dynamic Environmental Photosynthetic Imaging — the system uses sensors, cameras and software to reproduce


A field of finger millet, a crop widely grown by African and Asian subsistence farmers noted for its resistance to fungal disease.

There may be a natural solution for fusarium

Researchers have identified a plant-microbe interaction that 
keeps Fusarium graminearum at bay

A microbe found in millet fields may prove to be the key to defeating Fusarium graminearum. Researchers at the University of Guelph, in a paper published in the journal Nature Microbiology, have shown a beneficial interaction between finger millet plants and microbes that live in their roots. This interaction seems to give the crop a

Plants can grow in space, as demonstrated by this sunflower seedling on the International Space Station. What’s less clear is how to make agriculture successful in space over the long term.

Space agriculture key to exploration

Nobody knows exactly how space will affect plant growth and reproduction over the long term

Food is an essential of life and if humanity is to escape the cradle of Earth, producing food extraterrestrially is a looming challenge. A recent paper in the journal Botany Letters by French researchers from the University of Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne demonstrates there are many challenges to address to ensure astronauts can grow enough food aboard


Maria Fernanda Peyronel-Svaikauskas, a research associate working on the project, demonstrates how to calibrate the imaging equipment.

Edible fat structure key to function

Canadian researchers are trying to understand what gives 
edible fats their texture

How are edible fats “built?” What gives them their unique textures? Nobody’s really sure, and that’s fuelling a research project by scientists at the University of Guelph, with the assistance of the United States Department of Energy and their Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Lemont, Illinois. The researchers hope to replace unhealthful trans and saturated

Sandblasting might be a way to kill weeds and leave crops unharmed, lowering the environmental impact of weed control measures and giving organic growers other options.

Abrasive weeding mechanically controls weeds without tillage

A Minnesota-based USDA agronomist had the idea 
after a bumper apricot crop

A new research project in the U.S. Midwest aims to blast weeds away — literally. The technique is known as abrasive weeding and it basically amounts to sandblasting weeds. It all started when Minnesota experienced a bumper crop of backyard apricots in 2007. Frank Forcella, a USDA weed scientist and agronomist, was left with a


Research at the University of Illinois simulates future atmospheric conditions to determine their effects on plants. Here, Professor Andrew Leakey (r), works with research assistants Lindsey Heady and David Marshak.

Study says CO2 benefit of global warming overestimated

While higher CO2 levels can mean greater growth it appears they also set plants up to be more susceptible to drought losses

An eight-year study suggests talk of higher yields under a global warming scenario may be overly optimistic. University of Illinois researchers grew soybeans in a carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere and they say their findings are worrisome. Under ideal growing conditions higher CO2 will boost plant growth, but an article in the journal Nature Plants suggests drought,

Dried sewage sludge could solve the phosphorus question.

Sewage sludge could fertilize crops

Researchers in Madagascar think the environmental benefits 
of recycling phosphorus can’t be ignored

Researchers say they may have found another manure source that’s perfect for fertilizing crops — the catch is it’s of the human variety. In a recent article in the open-access journal Frontiers in Nutrition scientists from Madagascar’s University of Antananarivo investigated using thermally conditioned sewage sludge on crops. Thermal conditioning kills potentially harmful pathogens, leaving