Agriculture
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EnvironmentPesticides contaminate most food of western U.S. monarchs
Monarch caterpillars eat only milkweeds. A new study finds widespread pesticide use has tainted these plants across the insect’s western U.S. breeding grounds.
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EcosystemsScientists Say: Prairie
Prairies are flat, fertile grasslands in North America. They are their own unique ecosystem.
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EnvironmentLet’s learn about rain
People need rain for their crops and their drinking fountains. But there sometimes can be too much of a good thing.
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PlantsLet’s learn about trees
These long-lived woody plants provide shade for people, homes for animals — and help protect the planet against climate change.
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EcosystemsGroundwater pumping is draining rivers and streams worldwide
Excessive groundwater use could push more than half of the regions that depend on water pumped up from underground aquifers past an environmental tipping point by 2050. That could threaten aquatic ecosystems around the world.
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AgricultureAs infections ravage food crops, scientists fight back
Diseases threaten important food crops like cocoa beans, wheat and citrus. Scientists are working to understand these infections — and fight back.
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AgricultureU.S. farmers still use many pesticides that are banned elsewhere
More than one in four of the pesticide used on U.S. farms in 2016 had been banned in other countries.
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AgricultureGet ready to eat differently in a warmer world
Climate change is affecting what we eat, from making crops less productive to making foods less nutritious. Scientists are studying how farmers can adapt.
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TechTarzan the robot was actually inspired by a sloth
‘Tarzan’ the robot saves energy by swinging. Someday, it could help with farm work by moving along wires strung across fields of crops.
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AgricultureBarnyard science: Check out this fowl research
New research shows how to store eggs, insulate homes with chicken feathers and slow fires with shells.
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AnimalsCan anything stop the big pig invasion?
Millions of wild pigs roam North America, causing billions of dollars in damage every year. Scientists are looking for new ways to stop the swine.
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AgricultureNew ‘tattoo’ could lead to drought-tolerant crops
Scientists create stick-on 'plant tattoo.' It measures how efficiently crops use water, a key to better identifying breeding stock for more drought-resistant crops.