A new study of 1960s maps, many of which were created by young people, has provided important fresh evidence of the timing and extent of habitat losses caused by agricultural intensification and urban growth in England and Wales. 

Prior to the analysis by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), there were gaps in understanding about how our landscape gradually changed in the intervening years between the 1930s and 1990.  

In two new papers, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explore the reconstruction of multispectral and hyperspectral images from RGB for chemical analysis of sweet potatoes and maize.

Nematologists have long wondered how the the Northern root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne hapla) is able to infect such a wide range of plants, from carrots to trees. Now an international team has gained insight into how the DNA of this parasitic worm facilitates its success. 

In a new study publishing November 19 in the Cell Press journal Trends in Biotechnology, researchers used a gene-editing technology called CRISPR to increase a fungus’s production efficiency and cut its production-related environmental impact by as much as 61%—all without adding any foreign DNA. The genetically tweaked fungus tastes like meat and is easier to digest than its naturally occurring counterpart.