Discovering how the bird flu virus degrades in the air around livestock and how engineering solutions can effect that degradation quickly and efficiently are core aims of a new University of Michigan Engineering-led project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This work could help prevent or mitigate future outbreaks.

Peri-urban agriculture in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) is in a critical situation after decades of decline. A new study conducted by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) highlights the dramatic reduction of peri-urban farming in the region, with losses of up to 70% of agricultural land, largely driven by urban expansion, real estate speculation, and the low profitability of the agricultural sector. Currently, only 8.5% of the metropolitan region is devoted to agriculture, equivalent to around 16 square meters per inhabitant.