Agriculture
- Ecosystems
Coastal dead zones expanding
The number of coastal areas known as dead zones is on the rise. A new tally reports more than 400 of the oxygen starved regions worldwide.
- Plants
Fugitives spread bumblebee diseases
Pathogens hitchhike on commercial bees that escape from greenhouses. These escapees bring disease to wild bumblebees.
- Plants
Parasitic plant gets more than a meal
The parasitic vine known as dodder really sucks. It pierces the tissue of other plants — some of which are important crops — extracting water and nutrients needed for its own growth. But it also consumes molecules that scientists could manipulate to bring on the parasite’s demise.
- Agriculture
Starved for Science: How Biotechnology is Being Kept Out of Africa
by Robert Paarlberg, Harvard Univ. Press, 2008, 235 p., $24.95.
- Ecosystems
Tracing Tahitian vanilla
The discovery of Tahitian vanilla’s heritage could set off a custody battle between nations.
- Agriculture
Dirt Is Not Soil
Probing the distinction in what you call the stuff that mud is made of.
-
- Ecosystems
Aspiring to Save the Planet
The failure of the G-8 Summit to put some teeth in greenhouse-gas limits suggests it may be time for a global climate czar.
- Agriculture
Farm life turns male toads female
A detailed inventory of toads in Florida finds that, as land becomes more agricultural, more cane toads resemble females both inside and out.
- Agriculture
Fishy Data on Weed Killer
A popular weed killer can feminize wildlife by tinkering with a gene that indirectly affects the production of sex hormones.
- Agriculture
Bee-Loved Plantings
Zipcode-organized guidelines tell gardeners, farmers and others how to design a landscape that will not only entice pollinators but also keep these horticultural helpers happy.
- Agriculture
A vanilla Vanilla
The orchid that gives us vanilla beans has startlingly low genetic diversity, suggesting crops might be susceptible to pathogens, researchers report.
