Fossils of the future to mostly consist of humans, domestic animals

As the number and technology of humans has grown, their impact on the natural world now equals or exceeds those of natural processes, according to scientists.

Agricultural parasite avoids evolutionary arms race, shuts down genes of host plants

A parasitic plant has found a way to circumvent an evolutionary arms race with the host plants from which it steals nutrients, allowing the parasite to thrive on a variety of agriculturally important plants. The parasite dodder, an agricultural pest found on every continent, sends genetic material into its host to shut down host defense genes.

Plant-eating insects disrupt ecosystems and contribute to climate change

A new study from Lund University in Sweden shows that plant-eating insects affect forest ecosystems considerably more than previously thought. Among other things, the insects are a factor in the leaching of nutrients from soil and increased emissions of carbon dioxide. The researchers also establish that the temperature may rise as a result of an increase in the amount of plant-eating insects in some regions.

Grain traits traced to 'dark matter' of rice genome

Domesticated rice has fatter seed grains with higher starch content than its wild rice relatives -- the result of many generations of preferential seed sorting and sowing. But even though rice was the first crop to be fully sequenced, scientists have only documented a few of the genetic changes that made rice into a staple food for more than half the world's population.

Fungi could reduce reliance on fertilizers

Introducing fungi to wheat boosted their uptake of key nutrients and could lead to new, 'climate smart' varieties of crops, according to a new study.

Merry Christmas from Food Farm News

May your home be filled with joy and love

Merry Christmas

May you receive all that you desire for and dream for. May this Christmas bring you all that you need

Sunflower: FG promises repositioning for larger market

The Federal Government (FG) of Nigeria has said she is ready to make the value chains of sunflower productivity more robust through effective policy with availability of subsidized inputs support to farmers for more competitiveness in the international market. This was disclosed by the officer in charge of Sunflower desk, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) Mr. Sunday Obasi during his presentation at the one day sensitization programme organized by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) in Abuja recently.

Strategies of a honey bee virus

The Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus is a pathogen that affects honey bees and has been linked to Colony Collapse Disorder, a key factor in decimating the bee population. Researchers have now analyzed in detail how the virus hijacks the cellular protein production machinery and misuses it for its own purposes. The research, published in The EMBO Journal, is an important step towards the development of strategies to fight the Colony Collapse Disorder.

54 farmers benefit in Ogun State broilers empowerment, 46 get loans

The Ogun State government has empowered fifty four (54) poultry farmers with a total of 54,000 day old chicks that are projected to give a dividend of N130, 000.00 per head after forty two days of proper feeding as 46 people out of these numbers have been given loan of Nine hundred thousand also. This was contained in a press release made available to us.