Food security

Scientists have delved into the makeup of a fungus species and discovered a novel compound with some promising cancer-fighting qualities, while also serendipitously unearthing a new crimson dye with good food preservation potential.

Scientists have improved on the natural process of photosynthesis, not only growing plants more efficiently, but doing so in the dark. This could expand agriculture to areas that don’t get enough sunlight, and even help feed future space explorers.

Scientists working to improve crop yields in the face of climate change continue to demonstrate how CRISPR could be pivotal, and a new study shows how the technology can be used to produce a mutant species of barley that sprouts at the right time.

Agriculture requires huge amounts of land and resources, and as the human population grows our food supply will be put under increasing stress. But a new study shows that farming protein from microbes could be a far more sustainable and efficient system.

Food security is a major potential problem, especially in the face of climate change. New research has shown that manipulating RNA in plants can drastically boost the amount of food they produce, and make them more resistant to drought conditions.

A number of factors are contributing to declining bee populations, but a tiny new ingestible particle developed at Cornell University takes aim at a key one, by detoxifying deadly insecticides before they can do these important critters harm.

University of Oxford researchers have come up with a way to control the speed at which tomatoes ripen by modifying a specific gene. This could not only help reduce wastage and boost tomato crop yields, but possibly other crop varieties, too.

Scientists at the Salk Institute hope to tackle climate change and food security by unraveling the genomic architecture behind various plant species, and have gleaned some valuable new lessons from the fastest-growing example we know of.

The first phase of construction on one of Europe's largest vertical farm projects is now complete, and the first crop of organic salads and herbs is reported ready for delivery to local businesses.

The future of food security, sustainable agriculture and the environment as a whole calls for a lower reliance on meat products over the coming decades, and a newly announced XPrize contest puts this issue center stage.

With our consumption of meat continuing to place a huge strain on the environment, the emergence of lab-grown alternatives is beginning to pick up steam, and a world-first regulatory approval today should help things along.

Scientists in China have identified a key chemical that promotes the formation of devastating locust swarms, opening up new possibilities when it comes to controlling their behavior and limiting the environmental damage they cause.