Japanese researchers from Nagoya University, in partnership with Nanjing Agricultural University, developed a method to increase simultaneously the nutrient uptake through the roots and the stomatal opening of rice to increase its yield with less use of fertilizer. The researchers created a new variety of field-grown rice paddy with an overexpression of the plasma membrane proton pump gene OSA1. Plasma membrane proton pump is also responsible for the opening of stomata in plants thereby increasing its photosynthetic rate.

FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, spoke today at a conference entitled Bonding science and policy to accelerate food systems transformation, hosted by the University of Montpellier. The event saw one of Europe’s oldest universities – its founding statutes date back to 1220 – tackle one of the most acute of modern challenges: how to feed a growing population sustainably, amid unprecedented threats to the Earth’s climate and biodiversity.

In a bid to discover how to maximize the tobacco plant's potentials as bio-factories, an international team of scientists investigated which CRISPR technology was more efficient in incorporating two herbicide resistance modifications simultaneously in the tobacco' SuRB gene. The results not only exhibited which CRISPR technology was more efficient, but that it was also possible to inherit gene-targeted modifications.

A collaborative team effort led by researchers from the University of Texas at Austin, the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, and the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute has produced a high-quality reference sequence of the complex switchgrass genome. The samples for the research project were collected from 10 experimental gardens located in eight states.

A team of scientists from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), and Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) reported that Golden Rice (GR2E) introgression lines showed significant amounts of carotenoids in the milled grains. The researchers used marker-assisted backcross breeding to transfer the GR2E trait into three local rice varieties.

A research study conducted at the University of Missouri (UM) is genetically modifying mosquitoes to be resistant to the Zika virus altogether. Alexander Franz, an associate professor in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, collaborated with researchers at Colorado State University by using CRISPR gene-editing technology to produce mosquitoes that are unable to replicate the Zika virus and therefore cannot infect humans through biting.

White mold, also known as sclerotinia, is a fungal pathogen that can affect 14-30% of canola fields every year and can reduce yields by up to 50%. Thus, researchers at Cibus used their Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS) which involves gene editing without incorporating a foreign gene in the crop, thus retaining its non-GM status.

Monday 1 February 2021, Geneva: FIFA is teaming up with the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote the need for fair access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and diagnostics, and to encourage people to keep practicing life-saving, everyday public health measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and to protect health. In conjunction with the FIFA Club World Cup 2020, being held in Qatar from 4 to 11 February 2021, FIFA and WHO are launching a public awareness campaign involving star footballers, through TV and in-stadium messaging, to further promote the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator initiative launched in April 2020, and to urge people to practice mask wearing, physical distancing and hand hygiene.

The Food and Agriculture Organization’s Director-General QU Dongyu today welcomed Her Excellency Jackline Lumumba Yonga, Ambassador and  Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kenya, as the new chairperson of the Africa Regional Group in Rome, taking over from His Excellency Hisham Mohamed Badr, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms of the European Food Safety Authority (GMO Panel) has published their Scientific Opinion on genetically modified (GM) six‐event stack maize MON 87427 × MON 87460 × MON 89034 × 1507 × MON 87411 × 59122 and its subcombinations independently of their origin. The scientific opinion is published based on the application EFSA‐GMO‐NL‐2017‐139 under Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 from Monsanto Company.