The second Public Perceptions of Biotechnology survey conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) found that more than half of South Africans believe that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are good for the economy, and in favor of purchasing genetically modified (GM) food.

Of 200 joint rice research projects between India and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), 30 are being conducted in the state of Odisha. Recently, the state’s Department of Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment (DAFE) has approved the implementation of new 5-year effort that aims to improve the productivity of the state’s rice-based cropping systems and the incomes of its farmers.

Ha Noi - FAO Viet Nam's Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), in collaboration with the Department of Animal Health (DAH), organized a Consultation Workshop entitled: ‘Viet Nam Action Plan for Antimicrobial Usage (AMU)/Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) reduction in Livestock Sector’ on 1 November 2016 in Hanoi

Japanese morning glories (Ipomoea nil) are traditional garden plants that are popular in Japan. From about 200 years ago, morning glories with strange shaped flowers and leaves have been bred and appreciated. Due to the popularity of these "mutant morning glories", a lot of natural mutants have been collected. By analyzing these mutants, researchers have found a number of genes that determine flower and leaf shapes as well as flower colors and patterns.

A study conducted by researchers in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) looked at public attitudes and purchase intentions for genetically engineered (GE) nutraceuticals that either offer general health benefits or a treatment/cure for diseases.

A team of researchers led by Prof. Zachary Lippman at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has identified a network of hundreds of genes that determine the duration of a critical window for stem cell growth in plants that give rise to flowers. According to the researchers, if this window is open longer, more stem cells develop, paving way for more flowers and branches to grow. The team also found that eliminating three specific genes in this network taken from tomato plants, resulted in plants producing just one or two flowers.

Attitudes towards genetically engineered crops have softened significantly over the last two years, according to a survey conducted by Populus for Bayer Crop Science. The online survey involved over 2,000 respondents, where two thirds expressed their support for GM food as long as these products do not cause harm to public health or the environment.

The GE potato that withstands bruising and browning has been cleared for sale by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to USDA, the GE potato is not considered as "regulated article" under federal law because it does not contain genes from plant pests.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released its annual report on The State of Food and Agriculture focusing on impacts of climate change on agriculture and the implications for food security. According to the report, there is an urgent need to support smallholders in adapting to climate change.

Targeted mutagenesis using programmable DNA endonucleases, such as CRISPR and TALENs, is promising in studying gene function in plants and in improving crop yields. Recently, a method that eliminates the need to emasculate the female inbred during hybrid seed production has been described. The system relies on identifying genes critical to anther and pollen development, such as the P450 fertility gene in maize, known as Ms26. However, theP450 gene has not been isolated in other monocots.