More Healthy Land – Page 21
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NewsStudy shows how emissions from Brazilian Pantanal’s soda lakes contribute to climate change
Characterized by high pH and salinity, these soda lakes have practically dried up because of rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, and wildfires. The study shows how the local microbial community influences greenhouse gas emissions.
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NewsGrazing zooplankton severely impacted by nanoplastic particles - but cyanobacteria unaffected
Researchers who studied how nanoplastic affects aquatic organisms in lakes and rivers found that some species are being wiped out, while others – such as cyanobacteria that contribute to algal blooms – are completely unaffected.
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NewsScientists boost denitrification of wastewater with biochar-based substrate
An innovative study has unveiled a substantial development in wastewater treatment technology. The innovative approach to improving denitrification in constructed wetlands uses a novel biochar-based substrate.
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NewsPresence of bacteria in soil makes flowers more attractive to pollinators
Bacteria that live in soil and help roots fix nitrogen can boost certain plants’ capacity to reproduce by enhancing the attractiveness of the plant’s flowers to pollinators via a relationship known as mutualism that is widespread in plants and animals.
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CareersFarm gates and facial fungi: Tanu charts her journey towards commercialisation
AMI Global Ambassador for New Zealand Tanushree Gupta is bringing an antifungal product to market that will make a huge difference to the hundreds of farms affected by facial eczema - so here’s how it’s going.
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NewsAdditive could help cut greenhouse gas emissions from silage fed to livestock
A study monitoring simulated silage from three key crops over four weeks revealed that all produced substantial amounts of N2O, indicating that forage conservation could be the third largest contributor to agricultural N2O emissions.
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NewsMicrobes: atmospheric methane increase during pandemic due primarily to wetland flooding
A new analysis of satellite data finds that the record surge in atmospheric methane emissions from 2020 to 2022 was driven by increased inundation and water storage in wetlands, combined with a slight decrease in atmospheric hydroxide (OH).
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NewsNew method sheds light on early cellular and metabolic evolution
Researchers have developed a pioneering method of analysis to investigate microfossils, by fixing them onto a specially coated glass slide (ITO-glass), allowing for integrated observations using both optical and electron microscopy.
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NewsHuman urine could be used as eco-friendly crop fertilizer
Bacterial communities in soil are as resilient to human urine as synthetic fertilisers – making recycling the bodily fluid as a fertiliser for agricultural crops a viable proposition, according to a new study.
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NewsBacteria ‘doing their job’, as nitrogen fertilizer for soybeans offers limited yield benefits
Researchers tested whether modern high-yielding soybeans benefit from nitrogen fertilizer, with results suggesting additions are largely unnecessary.
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NewsFruit-only diet improves bats’ immune response to viruses
Fruit bats generate more diverse antibodies than mice, but overall have a weaker antibody response, according to a new study.
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NewsGood nutrition boosts honey bee resilience against pesticides and viruses
In a new study, researchers investigate how nutritional stress, viral infections and exposure to pesticides together influence honey bee survival. By looking at all three stressors together, the scientists found that good nutrition enhances honey bee resilience against the other threats.
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NewsAnt queens cannibalise their sick offspring- then ‘recycle’ them
Instead of nurturing their sick young, ant queens eat their infected offspring at the first sign of illness then ‘recycle’ them into producing new eggs.
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News‘Mother plants’ can stop viruses passing to their progeny
Scientists have learned how plants keep viruses from being passed to their offspring, a finding that could ensure healthier crops. The discovery could also help reduce the transmission of diseases from mothers to human children.
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NewsPlant pathogen battle: SlSYTA protein’s dual role in defense and susceptibility
A pivotal study has uncovered the dual role of the Solanum lycopersicum Synaptotagmin A (SYTA) SlSYTA protein in regulating tomato plants’ immune response.
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NewsBacterial strains from Himalayan night-soil compost support plant growth in crops
Researchers have isolated a consortium of bacterial strains from night-soil compost in a Himalayan valley that support plant growth in wheat and maize, offering promise as a bioinoculant for sustainable agriculture in cold semiarid conditions.
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CareersMeet the Global Ambassadors: Our Q&A with Ashley Shade
The Microbiologist chats with our new Global Ambassador for France, Ashley Shade, who is Director of Research with Le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) at the Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1.
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NewsGenetic tracing at the Huanan Seafood market supports COVID animal origins
A study provides a list of the wildlife species present at the market from which SARS-CoV-2 most likely arose in late 2019, based on a new analysis of metatranscriptomic data released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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NewsScientist devises test feed for fungal ‘micro-machine’ that breaks down wood
Researchers investigating a molecular machine found in fungi that decomposes wood into its basic components have come up with a test feed that allows them to observe its close-to-natural action, opening the door to putting it to industrial application.
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News‘Food theft’ among seabirds could be transmission point for deadly avian flu
The deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus, which has killed millions of birds worldwide since 2021 – and in rare cases can be transmitted to humans – may be spread through the food-stealing behaviour of some seabirds.