Former UK Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson, presented the ISAAA report on the Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2014 (Brief 49) during a media conference on February 24, 2015 in Pretoria, South Africa.

Over 300 delegates from 30 countries worldwide representing, both private and public sector, convened at ICRISAT-India to deliberate on future collaborations and ways to integrate next-generation genomics into the future of crop improvement  to contribute to global food and nutrition security.

Oceans are home to ecosystems and biodiversity that are of great importance to ecology, culture and the livelihoods of millions of people. But with some 64 percent of the oceans' surface consisting of areas that lie beyond areas of national jurisdiction (ABNJ), effective management of fisheries and conservation of biodiversity in these areas can pose serious challenges.
 

European researchers led by Michael Holdsworth from University of Nottingham conducted a study on improving the flood tolerance of barley plants. This was done by adapting their previous study in Arabidpsis thaliana that leads to the discovery of plants' mechanism to sense low oxygen levels during flood conditions. The researchers look at the N-end rule pathway which is responsible for plants' response to low oxygen during flooding.

The Center for Land Tenure Studies of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences released the results of their study on the potential widespread adoption of drought tolerant (DT) maize varieties in Malawi. Their dataset is based on the adoption and farming practices of 350 Malawian farm households.

Sharks may be able to swim more serenely one day thanks to a handy new digital technique developed by FAO that allows for the quick identification of species of the iconic fish. The new iSharkFin software will help protect endangered shark species and combat illegal trade in shark fins.

Researchers from Yale University have systematically assessed the evolution of the activity of a natural gene network and found some surprising insights. The team swapped promoters of a sugar metabolization network between two species of yeast and then analyzed the effects on yeast cells. They found that swapping the promoter GAL80, which mediates a negative feedback loop, substantially altered network activity and the fitness profiles of yeast cells.

Scientists discovered a genetic mechanism that could stop the spread of Septoria leaf blotch (STB), a devastating fungal disease affecting wheat fields in Europe. A key feature of STB is the long symptomless growth of the fungus called Zymoseptoria tritici, which affects the host plant's cells before it switches to the visible disease phase that eventually destroys the plant's leaves.

FAO has chosen the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics as a designated reference centre to expand its access to state-of the-art technology in combating dangerous viral infections, including avian influenza and foot-and-mouth disease, in farm animals and wildlife.

Sorghum is one of the cash crops planted in United States valued for its grains. Sorghum grains can be a source of food, feed, ethanol, and construction and packaging materials. In addition to this, sorghum is a drought tolerant crop and can be grown under poor soil condition, low fertilizer and in a wide range of temperature and altitudes. These traits make it a good alternative crop for farmers. Researchers from US Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) led a research study on sorghum to further improve its yield and performance.