Biomolecular research has sparked a methodological revolution in the field of anthropology, and museums are now faced with the curatorial challenge of conserving and evaluating materials for these new methods. Since 2010, hundreds of genome-wide datasets from ancient human samples have been published, and thousands more have been generated; doubling the amount of data in the field of paleogenomics now requires less time than the publication of a single article (1).

The situation in the eight places in the world with the highest number of people in need of emergency food support shows that the link between conflict and hunger remains all too persistent and deadly, according to a new report released today by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP). The report was prepared for the UN Security Council which in May adopted a landmark resolution on preventing hunger in conflict zones.
 

Although the genetic diversity of cultivated rice is already rich, widening its diversity through its wild relatives is significant, as they possess high-value traits that can help breeders make new rice varieties that can stand up to climate change and other challenges. Rice has wild or undomesticated relatives, called “wild rice,” that are rich repositories of genetic material that can provide tolerance of environmental stresses and help improve yield.

Joanna Dupont-Inglis, Secretary General of EuropaBio said that Europe is lagging behind on several breakthrough technologies, especially in the field of agricultural biotechnology. A decade ago, the EU set itself a target to increase R&D investment from under two percent 10 years ago to three percent of GDP, now aimed for 2020, reflecting growing recognition that Europe must compete and excel in the new global knowledge economy. However, insufficient progress has been made a decade later.

India's Department of Biotechnology (DBT) joined hands with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote the advancement of agri-biotechresearch, development, and education as well as agri-innovations and start-ups in the country. The partnership between DBT and ICAR aims to synergize their efforts to jointly implement national agri-biotech programs and form a pool of experts to formulate policies and regulations.

Researchers from the Salk Institute used the latest DNA sequencing technologies to study exactly what happens at a molecular level when new genes are inserted into plants. Scientists usually rely on Agrobacterium tumefaciens when they want to put a new gene into a plant. Decades ago, scientists discovered that when the bacteria infected a tree, it transferred some of its DNA to the tree's genome.

After almost a decade of trials, Nigeria is now on the road towards the commercialization of Bt cowpea. The Bt crop, known as pod borer resistant (PBR) cowpea, was presented to the public by the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA). The potential benefits of the crop were highlighted in the event, which was aimed at getting comments from scientists, farmers, policy makers, civil society organizations, experts, faith-based organizations, and the media.

A study conducted by scientists from the University of Nottingham and the University of Birmingham, in collaboration with researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Utrecht uncovered the mechanism that allows plants to remember changes in their environment.

NRGene and Toyota decoded the genome of a commercial strawberry, which is an important milestone in the development of high-quality, locally-produced fruits for the Japanese market. NRGene's assembly of the strawberry genome, together with Toyota's GRAS-Di DNA analysis technology, is expected to boost the development of better strawberries for the Japanese market.

The mechanism of plant response to temperature has been elusive to scientists. Dr. Meng Chen, associate professor of cell biology at the University of California, Riverside said that it is important to understand how plants respond to temperature to predict not only future food availability but also develop new technologies to help plants cope with increasing temperature.