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agriculture

Putin’s Appetite for War Has The World Feeling Pangs of Hunger

6 Apr 2022

“A butterfly can flap its wings in Peking, and in Central Park, you get rain instead of sunshine.” That memorable quote comes from Jeff Goldbloom in Jurassic Park as he tries to explain how worldly...

Leafcutter Ants are Farmers Who Grow Fungi

2 May 2019

Leafcutter ants can strip as much as 17% of the leaf biomass from plants in their ecosystem and can clear entire trees in under a day. Next to ours, leafcutter ant society is the most complex...

Glyphosate on Trial

16 Aug 2018

First of all, let’s point out that this trial dealt with occupational exposure to glyphosate and had nothing to do with trace amounts of the chemical in our food supply. Nevertheless, the...

Potatoes and Space Have a Long History

3 May 2018

Intergalactic potatoes may seem like a side dish from the Mos Eisley Cantina, but potatoes and space have a common history.  

Bananas are Berries. Raspberries are Not.

6 Dec 2017

It turns out berry is actually a botanical term, not a common English one. Blackberries, mulberries, and raspberries are not berries at all, but bananas, pumpkins, avocados and cucumbers are. So...

The Chlorpyrifos Controversy

7 Jun 2017

“Science not silence,” screamed the signs carried by many of the marchers in a number of American cities last Earth Day.

A Novel Approach to Weed Management

22 May 2017

A novel drone system is currently being tested in Denmark. Don’t worry, it will be targeting weeds not people. The goal is to reduce herbicide use by limiting application to heavily infested areas....

Organic vs Conventional: An Emotional Issue

20 Mar 2017

Judging by the hate mail directed his way, you would think that Dr. Alan Dangour had suggested banning baby kissing. In fact, all the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine nutritionist did...

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