The principal source of all trade data used for the analyses is the “Trade Data Monitor”, or TDM for short. TDM is a commercial data supplier, offering a comprehensive and up-to-date global trade dataset at the monthly frequency. TDM covers the entire product space of merchandise trade at different levels of aggregation. Data are encoded according to the Harmonized System (HS), which is the main international classification standard for trade reporting and analysis.

The number of people affected by hunger globally rose to as many as 828 million in 2021, an increase of about 46 million since 2020 and 150 million since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic ⁽¹⁾, according to a United Nations report that provides fresh evidence that the world is moving further away from its goal of ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030.

By accessing the genome sequences of 7,762 bacterial strains, scientists were able to genetically engineer soil bacteria to produce polycyclopropanated fatty acids (POP-FAs) that are energy dense and can be converted into renewable fuel to support shipping, long-haul transport, aviation, and rocketry. After studying the chemical diversity of the bacterial genomes, the scientists identified and re-purposed naturally occurring cyclopropanated molecules by focusing on a set of candidate iterative polyketide synthases that can possibly produce POP-FAs.

A study conducted by an international research collaboration suggests that the emergence of cultivated rice from wild rice plants is the result of three gene mutations that make the seeds fall from the plant less easily. The researchers discovered that each of the three mutations individually has little effect, but when all three mutations are present, rice panicles retain more of their seeds, resulting in a greater crop yield.

ISAAA Inc., BioTrust Global, the Malaysian Biotechnology Information Center, Murdoch University, and the National Seed Association Malaysia will hold the workshop Policy Considerations for Gene Editing: The Asian and Australian Perspective from August 23 to 25, 2022 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This workshop intends to inform local policymakers, regulators, and other stakeholders about how they can proactively play a role in developing their respective national policies

How natural is our food, and what does ‘natural' mean anyway? Science for Sustainable Agriculture asked this important question to consumers to understand their perception of key issues about the use of science in food and agriculture. The independent survey was designed and conducted by consumer research agency England Marketing Ltd.

Experts from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences were able to design and construct a designer transcription activator-like effector (TALE) to target the OsNOG1 gene in rice. The results showed an increase in grain number of rice plants as well as an increase in grain yield per plant demonstrating its effectiveness in enhancing rice yield. The designed TALE was designated as dTALE-NOG1 and specifically targets the promoter of the OsNOG1 gene.

Vertex and CRISPR Therapeutics presented impressive results of clinical trials for exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel), which can help patients with beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease (SCD). Exa-cel is the first gene editing therapy of its kind and will be submitted for regulatory approval in the US, UK, and Europe by the end of 2022. Beta thalassemia affects 1 in 100,000 people globally. It is characterized by damages or missing genes that cause the body to produce less hemoglobin, which can lead to the enlargement of vital organs

Experts from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences were able to design and construct a designer transcription activator-like effector (TALE) to target the OsNOG1 gene in rice. The results showed an increase in grain number of rice plants as well as an increase in grain yield per plant demonstrating its effectiveness in enhancing rice yield. The designed TALE was designated as dTALE-NOG1 and specifically targets the promoter of the OsNOG1 gene.

Transcriptome profiling study has revealed molecular players in early infection of Sclerotinia stem rot on soybeans. The results of the study conducted by researchers from the University of Illinois, Urbana, Ottawa Research and Development Centre, USDA Agricultural Research Service are published in Genetics and Genomics of Resistance.