Agriculture

  1. Animals

    Bee hotels are open for business

    Bee hotels are creating a buzz in conservation and research by offering nesting places for wild bees.

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  2. Agriculture

    Sheep poop may spread poisonous weed

    Fireweed is a poisonous plant in Australia. Sheep can eat it without hurting themselves. But a teen found those sheep may be spreading more weeds.

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  3. Agriculture

    Teen converts water pollutant into a plant fertilizer

    Too much phosphate can fuel algal growth, which can rob oxygen from the water. This can suffocate fish and other wildlife. Stefan Wan found a way to collect that pollutant, which can later be used as a farm nutrient.

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  4. Animals

    Wild hamsters raised on corn eat their young alive

    European hamsters raised in the lab turn into crazy cannibals when fed a diet rich in corn, new data show. The problem may trace to a shortage of a key vitamin.

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  5. Genetics

    World’s tallest corn towers nearly 14 meters

    Short nights and a genetic tweak helped novel corn reach record heights.

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  6. Agriculture

    Teen develops water-saving pods for seeds

    In California’s drought, every drop of water counts. A teen developed a capsule to keep sprouting seeds wet and reduce water use.

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  7. Agriculture

    Bananas under attack: Understanding their foes

    Fungal blights threaten the world’s most popular fruit. But genetic studies hint at new ways to combat some of these diseases.

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  8. Agriculture

    Sneaky! Virus sickens plants, but helps them multiply

    The cucumber mosaic virus helps tomato plants lure pollinators. When the plants multiply, the virus now gets new hosts.

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  9. Archaeology

    The first farmers were two groups, not one

    The humans that began farming 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent may have been two cultures living side-by-side.

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  10. Agriculture

    A shock to the food system

    Droughts and other weather extremes caused by climate change are dramatically increasing the risk of short-term interruptions in the supplies of food.

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  11. Agriculture

    Building better, safer soils

    Engineering safer soils for urban growers can reduce the risk of lead exposure and let low-income families enjoy more fresh fruits and vegetables.

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  12. Agriculture

    New gene resists our last-ditch drug

    Antibiotic resistance continues to grow. Now, scientists have found a tiny loop of DNA that resists a drug doctors use as a last line of defense.

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