A resurgent outbreak of a new strain of avian influenza that can be lethal for humans underscores the need for robust and rapid detection and response systems at animal source. This would reduce the risk associated with virus spread and impacts on public health, according to Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organisation for Animal Health.

Genome editing offers a great advantage to reveal gene function and generate agronomically important mutations to crops. Recently, RNA-guided genome editing system using the CRISPR-Cas9 system has been successfully applied to several plant species. Researchers, led by Shouwei Tian of the Beijing Key Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Improvement, now report their use of the CRISPR-Cas9 system in genome editing of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus),

- Economic growth and rising per capita incomes have all but wiped out hunger in Europe and Central Asia. But as countries become more affluent, changing consumption patterns are giving rise to other health threats. This "food insecurity transition" is documented in a new report released today by FAO.

The Agricultural Academy of Japan, a professional academic organization for agriculture, held a press conference on their proposal to conduct a confined field trial of various GM crops, with priority to herbicide tolerant GM sugar beet in Hokkaido farms. The media briefing was held at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry in Tokyo on March 1, 2017, and attended by representatives from 10 media outlets in the country.

Ethiopia's State Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, H.E. Mr. Kare Chawicha has urged African governments to consider biotechnology for improving food security and overcoming economic challenges. H.E Chawicha expressed concern over the region's vulnerability to climate change and lauded the application of advanced technologies in agriculture. He was speaking at a biotechnology and biosafety communication training workshop for media practitioners held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on March 7-9, 2017.

A team of scientists from Spain, together with colleagues from the University of Granada (UGR), has carried out the first durum wheat genetic, phenotypic, and geographic adaptation study to date. The research team has phenotyped a collection of 172 of durum wheat local varieties (landraces) from 21 Mediterranean countries, cultivated along with 20 modern varieties in 6 environments of the north and south of Spain.

Dr. Milton Stokes, Director for Global Health and Nutrition Outreach of Monsanto, said that genetically modified (GM) crops can help the Philippines meet its nutritional requirements at a press briefing on March 7, 2017. Dr. Stokes said, "crops like Golden Rice with beta-carotene biosynthesis genes to combat Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) can help prevent 1-2 million deaths and 500,000 cases of irreversible blindness annually

Access to water is a fundamental need for food security, human health and agriculture, and its looming scarcity in the North Africa and Middle East region is a huge challenge requiring an "urgent and massive response," FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said in Cairo.

Scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) came up with a mathematical equation to compute leaf mass area that will help identify what controls plant behaviors based on their cells. The research findings are published in Ecology Letters.

The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a statement regarding the PLOS One article which claimed that there were conflicts of interest among the committee members of the National Academies who authored the comprehensive report on genetically engineered crops published in 2016. According to the National Academies' statement, they implement a stringent, well-defined, and transparent conflict of interest policy.