Palm oil and soy are two of the world’s largest drivers of deforestation, with the former destroying almost 25 million acres of forests in Indonesia and 47% of tree cover in Malaysia. A new method from agriculture company Terviva offers a climate-friendly alternative to both palm oil and soy by using the resilient pongamia trees. Capable of growing with minimal resources on degraded land, the …
Led by Dorian Leger and Milena Ivanisevic from Connectomix Bio, researchers are turning agricultural waste into oils in order to fight a future of food insecurity and to reduce methane emissions. To achieve this, they first break down waste (like corn husks) into a gas which is then fed to microbes. The new mixture inspires a process of fermentation that grows lipids, a crucial fat …
World’s First Vaccine for Honeybees Approved The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made a significant advancement in the mission to save honeybees and will be using the world’s first vaccine produced to protect the insects from American foulbrood disease. Caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae, it’s a fatal disease for bees that’s easily spread between hives and has been devastating for honeybee colonies. Developed …
