The spiraling use of corn for food and fuel is creating heightened concerns about contamination of this staple crop with deadly aflatoxin. Produced by certain fungi that grow on corn, this contaminant is a known human carcinogen that especially threatens food safety in the developing world and can potentially cause the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in the United...
Monthly Archives: June 2009
A group of scientific academies in Africa encourages the G8+5 countries to help Africa stem the scientific brain drain. “One-third of all African scientists live and work in developed countries. This outflow represents a significant loss of economic potential for the continent, especially in today’s global society where scientific and technological knowledge...
BOULDER, Colo.-Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a technique for efficiently suppressing errors in quantum computers. The advance could eventually make it much easier to build useful versions of these potentially powerful but highly fragile machines, which theoretically could solve important problems that are intractable...
New biotechnologies that allow scientists to quickly and accurately distinguish species based on a simple DNA analysis are being creatively deployed for the first time in the war against a major global disease. The University of Ghana, supported by the Philadelphia-based JRS Biodiversity Foundation, is pioneering the use of DNA “barcodes” to map menacing mosquito...
The Global Crop Diversity Trust announced today numerous new grant awards to support scientists to explore the millions of seed samples maintained in 1,500 crop genebanks around the world. They will search for biodiversity critically needed to protect food production from the ravages of climate change. Similar Products: Powered by Climate Change and Crop...
Soil moisture is essential for seeds to germinate and for crops to grow. But record droughts and scorching temperatures in certain parts of the globe in recent years have caused soil to dry up, crippling crop production. The falling food supply in some regions has forced prices upward, pushing staple foods out of reach for millions of poor people. NASA researchers are...
Agulhas Leakage Influence on the Meridional Overturning Circulation During the Last 345 kyr” presented data on a major ocean current in the southern hemisphere, the Agulhas Current, which transports warm waters from the tropical Indian Ocean to the southern tip of Africa. These new data profiles are not yet fully exploited and need to be implemented in global ocean...
