Global warming: More insects, eating more crops

Crop losses for critical food grains will increase substantially as the climate warms, as rising temperatures increase the metabolic rate and population growth of insect pests, according to new research.

Invasive species costing Africa $3.66 tn a year: study

Invasive species introduced by human activity are costing African agriculture some $3.66 trillion every year—around 1.5 times the combined gross domestic product of all African countries—new research showed Thursday.

Ancient volcanic eruption destroyed the ozone layer

A catastrophic drop in atmospheric ozone levels around the tropics is likely to have contributed to a bottleneck in the human population around 60 to 100,000 years ago, an international research team has suggested. The ozone ...

Chemical signal helps plants control their “breathing”

For most plants, staying alive means adapting quickly to a constantly changing environment. In a drought, staving off water loss is vital. On a sunny day, absorbing carbon dioxide to generate energy through photosynthesis ...

Improving crop yields in a world of extreme weather events

Farmers in the United States witnessed record-breaking extremes in temperature and drought during the last two summers, causing worldwide increases in the costs of food, feed and fiber. Indeed, many climate scientists caution ...

page 1 from 11