The Semi-arid Grassland Research Center was used in the International Drought Experiment as part of this research. Credit: CSU College of Natural Sciences

Prolonged drought causes unprecedented productivity loss: Study

Colorado State University — Extreme, prolonged drought conditions in grasslands and shrublands would greatly limit the long-term health of crucial ecosystems that cover nearly half the planet, says new research published in the journal Science. “Climate change is bringing more severe and longer-lasting droughts to many locations around the world. Some ecosystems have shown resilience

Although CRISPR was developed 10 years ago, global events, including the pandemic, changed public attitudes toward technical advances.

The road to acceptance for gene editing

The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology offers recommendations to ensure plant breeding tech continues to benefit agriculture

Glacier FarmMedia – The rapid pace of change brought by genome editing tools has created many new opportunities for the agri-food industry, but they aren’t without challenges. Regulatory hurdles must be considered, and the tools must benefit society as well as the agriculture industry. That was the focus of a recent paper and webinar by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, which discussed the application


Know your soil, right down to the DNA

Know your soil, right down to the DNA

Tech called a ‘game changer’ for farm agronomic decisions

If this was a police procedural, DNA taken from the scene of a crime would help lock away the bad guy. Here, the scene is a field, the farmer is the hero, and the bad guy might be a hidden crop disease that the farmer can arrest because DNA samples warned him it was there.

Genes are not Lego blocks. An individual gene can control multiple aspects of an organism’s development and its response to different environmental conditions. Gene editing is therefore likely to change more than just one trait.

Comment: Science in the back seat on gene-editing decision

Gene-edited seed now stands on largely the same footing as traditionally bred plants in Canada, and there are problems with that

Even though they have no history of safe use in Canada or elsewhere, Agriculture Minister (Marie-Claude) Bibeau announced on May 3 that Canada will exempt gene-edited plants from the regulations faced by genetically modified crops and mandatory public notification unless they contain foreign DNA or if they are herbicide tolerant. For all other changes in


“... we can use RNAi technologies as a solution to improve global food security.” – Mark Belmonte, University of Manitoba.

Genetic attack cutting edge of sclerotinia fight

Hacking messenger RNA can prevent fungal disease from propagating

Most pesticides work by getting into a cell and disrupting its working parts or pathways. By applying the right chemistry at the right time you can shut down a pathogen’s engine and bring it to a stop. But despite all the available chemistry, sclerotinia always finds a way to keep driving around untouched. Mark Belmonte,

Margret Sinda(left to right), Gladys Chigamba and Catherine Fridolin.

African freshwater scientists visit Manitoba lakes

Pollution, algae blooms a big concern in African and Manitoban lakes

Four African scientists found parallels between their home lakes and the problems facing Manitoba’s lakes during a recent visit to the province. “We have this common problem of pollution. It doesn’t spare anyone,” said Gladys Chigamba, a research scientist at Lilongwe University in Malawi. Chigamba and three other women from Malawi, Kenya and Tanzania, visited


“Soon, humans will go to the moon and eventually to Mars. While there, astronauts will have to grow their own food.”

Comment: To boldly grow…

Space agriculture can help solve food production problems back on Earth

Whether to spend money on outer space exploration or apply it to solve serious problems on Earth is a contentious debate. But one argument in favour highlights benefits that do, in fact, help study, monitor and address serious concerns like climate change and food production. As access to space increases, the potential for terrestrial benefits

Comment: Manufacturing human organs… with farm animals

Animal production could someday be saving human lives

In an unprecedented surgery, a 57-year-old American with serious heart disease had a heart transplant with a genetically modified pig’s heart. The operation took place on January 7. A few weeks later, the patient is still doing well, reports suggest. This surgery, a first in the world, performed by a team from the University of


Comment: Tiny nanotechnologies are poised to have a huge impact on agriculture

Comment: Tiny nanotechnologies are poised to have a huge impact on agriculture

Tiny particles are going to be part of a big wave in the future of farming

Science is about big ideas that change the world. But sometimes, big impacts come from the tiniest of objects. Nanotechnology might sound like science fiction, but it represents technologies that have been developed for decades. Nanotechnological approaches have found real-world applications in a wide range of areas, from composite materials in textiles to agriculture. Agriculture

The strength and resilience of Canadian agriculture and our food supply chain is a result of science and research.

Comment: Is science back in style?

There have been some unexpected impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of these is the new celebrity status of our chief medical health officers. A lot of people who just a few short months ago never even knew every province had a chief medical health officer are now hanging on to every word. Does this mean science and respected authority