Reviving traditional rainwater harvesting structures in regions with degraded land leads to increased groundwater levels, more arable land, and higher crop productivity and incomes. A recently published scientific research paper offers a case study of Bundelkhand, Central India, where groundwater levels were boosted by 2-5 m by renovating water structures called havelis, leading to 10-70% increase in crop yields in the region.

Agrifood systems cannot be transformed unless there is gender equality. That was the simple message underlying the launch today of a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the African Union that puts the spotlight on women's role in agrifood systems. The report, Leaving no one behind: A Regional Outlook on Gender and Agrifood Systems, was launched by FAO Director-General QU Dongyu and African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture Josefa Sacko at the 31^st Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa.

The 4th International Workshop on Regulatory Approaches for Animal Biotechnology continues to bring together regulators, researchers, and technology developers to discuss the experiences of their represented countries when it came to animal biotechnology. Session 4 of the online workshop gave them a chance to connect and meet in-depth as regional groups and their discussions were translated into reports that were shared with the whole group for a comprehensive view of the current status of global animal biotechnology.

The Lloyd's Register Foundation World Risk Poll conducted by Gallup in the second half of 2019 reveals that up to 60 percent of people worldwide are worried the food they eat will harm them in the next two years. More than half of the survey participants also expect that they will be seriously harmed in the coming years by eating unsafe food. Gallup interviewed 150,000 people in 142 countries.

Genetically engineered cowpea will be requested for commercial approval in Ghana in November, according to Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI). SARI is one of the institutes of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research that is tasked to develop enhanced crop varieties to help the farmers in the northern part of the country and beyond.

The FAO Regional Conference for Africa is a forum to discuss current country and regional priorities and pressing issues in the region including the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on food security and nutrition, the urgent need for food systems transformation, and innovations and partnerships to drive progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Pain is a signal of distress in the body. It can erode one’s ability to work or to enjoy life. Some people try to numb pain with painkillers, illicit drugs, and alcohol, and intolerable pain is implicated in suicide and other deaths of despair (1⇓–3). Pain is commonly triggered by disease or an impairment in physical functioning. However, pain can also be triggered by social or psychological distress

Scientists from the University of Sheffield working with almost 200 researchers from across the globe have identified common vulnerabilities in COVID-19 and other lethal coronaviruses. The international team of experts from 14 leading institutions has studied SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1, and MERS-CoV to identify commonly hijacked cellular pathways and detect promising targets for broad coronavirus inhibitors with high barriers to resistance. The result of this important research is an important breakthrough in the identification of successful COVID-19 treatment.

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization researchers studied the survival rates of infectious SARS-CoV-2 and found that the virus can survive 28 days on surfaces. The results are published in Virology Journal. The team monitored the survival rates of infectious SARS-CoV-2, dried in an artificial mucous solution, on six common surfaces (stainless steel, glass, vinyl, paper and polymer banknotes, and cotton cloth) and at three different temperatures

Join world’s largest online biodiversity conference GLF Biodiversity Digital Conference: One World - One Health will host 6 plenaries, 23 sessions, 200+ speakers. All timezones. Human transformation of Earth’s landscapes is driving biodiversity loss, climate change and the emergence of pandemics such as COVID-19, which is a stark reminder of the links between human, animal and environmental health.