Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) successfully developed materials made of wood-like plant cells in a lab with the objective of making biomaterials production more efficient than conventional agriculture and forestry.The researchers extracted live cells from the leaves of a zinnia plant and cultured the cells in a liquid growth medium. This allows the cells to metabolize and multiply. The researchers lure the cells to grow into a rigid and wood-like structure by using a gel mixture of two plant hormones called auxin and cytokinin.

Japanese scientists successfully developed paintbrush lily plant varieties that are simultaneously triploid and hexaploidy using endosperm culture. This is one of the first studies to use the technique for non-cereal monocotyledonous plants. Researchers from both Hokkaido University and Chiba University turned their attention to the ornamental paintbrush lily and used the plant tissue culture (PTC) technique called endosperm culture to achieve polyploidy.

Experts from Capital Medical University, Beijing, developed a simple, low-cost, and efficient custom transcription activator-like effector (TALE) gene synthesis method using a twin primer assembly. The method is published in BioTechniques. According to Song Wang and colleagues, the method uses the denaturation/reannealing nature of double-stranded DNA to create a unique single-stranded DNA overhang for accurate sequencing of TALE monomers in an engineered multimer

The U.S Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has announced the deregulation of petunia varieties, designated as A1-DFR, developed using genetic engineering to produce orange flowers. The Notice in the Federal Register states that APHIS is advising the public that the petunias containing A1 gene from maize (A1-DFR Petunias), genetically engineered to add a new color (orange) and brilliance to the flowers is no longer considered regulated under their regulations governing the introduction of certain genetically engineered organisms.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a shocking reminder of how our world would look in the absence of vaccination. Fortunately, new technologies, the pace of understanding new and existing pathogens, and the increased knowledge of the immune system allow us today to develop vaccines at an unprecedented speed. Some of the vaccine technologies that are fast-tracked by the urgency of COVID-19 may also be the answer for other health priorities, such as antimicrobial resistance, chronic infections, and cancer, that the post-COVID-19 world will urgently need to face.

CGIAR, the largest publicly-funded agricultural research partnership in the world, has challenged governments and donors to double funding to end hunger and halt climate change by 2030. Its new 10-year strategy puts the climate crisis at the heart of global research into food security for the first time in its 50-year history, marking a new era for more unified agricultural and environmental science.

The application is the first to be accepted under a safety assessment sharing arrangement between FSANZ and Health Canada. FSANZ CEO Mark Booth said, 'The new arrangement involves the joint preparation and sharing of a single food safety assessment which is then used by each agency in making their own separate and independent assessment and decision on whether to allow the canola.

The Notice in the Federal Register states that APHIS is advising the public that the genetically engineered cotton event MON 88702 is no longer considered regulated under their regulations governing the introduction of certain genetically engineered organisms. This determination is based on their evaluation of information that Monsanto submitted in its petition for a determination of nonregulated status, APHIS analyses,

Innovative approaches in agri-food systems were used by households and countries to help minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food supply chains. More innovative solutions are necessary to "build back better and build back greener", according to QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He said this during a virtual high-level panel on how to help strengthen the sustainability of food systems and prevent pandemics in the future.

Modern gene-editing tools such as TALENs and CRISPR-Cas9 can be used to move towards a chemical-free approach for disease resistance while saving the environment. This is according to Krishan Mohan Rai and Harpal Singh's chapter in the book Genome Engineering for Crop Improvement released this month. Crop improvement has been one of the main targets in research due to the rapid increase of world population