Using advanced machine-learning and climate models, researchers have shown that the ancestors of crops like wheat, barley, and rye probably were much less widespread in the Middle East 12,000 years ago than previously believed. This challenges traditional assumptions about the geography of early plant domestication and agriculture.

During 2026, new legislation – the result of an agreement between the UK Government and the European Union – is planned to come into force for recreational pollack fishing that limits catches to three fish per angler per day. It will result in more fish being released after they are caught, but new research led by the University of Plymouth (UK) - and involving scientists and industry representatives across the UK - has suggested changing how that release happens could have a marked difference on the fisheries’ long-term sustainability.

Researchers have found that most biochar fed to dairy cows survives the digestive process and remains highly stable, meaning it could be applied to fields through manure and act as a long-term carbon storage solution. The findings provide new evidence that livestock systems could play a role in climate change mitigation.

In the lush landscapes of tropical agriculture, two waste products—oyster shells from the sea and coconut shells from the trees—are being combined to solve a major headache for farmers: how to turn animal manure into high-quality compost faster and more effectively. A study recently published in Carbon Research reveals that a unique "Ca-modified biochar" can act as a powerful catalyst for the composting process. Developed by a research team at Hainan University, this new material helps transform pig manure and rice straw into stable, nutrient-rich humus, significantly boosting the quality of the final fertilizer.

New archaeological evidence reveals that seabird guano – nutrient-rich bird droppings – was not only essential to boosting corn yields and supercharging agriculture in ancient Peru but may have been a driving force behind the rise of the Chincha Kingdom as one of the most prosperous and influential pre‑Inca societies. 

Modern-day African softshell turtles have less diverse diets than their ancient counterparts, with human-driven agriculture and carrion likely shaping their change in foraging

The soil microbiome is critical for the ecosystem, and agricultural practices that promote microbial diversity can support plant health and help protect against pests. But it is unclear which practices are most beneficial, and what motivates farmers to choose them. In a new study, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Cornell University analyzed surveys and soil samples from 85 organic farmers in New York to investigate the interaction between beliefs, management practices, and soil microbiome functions.

In the last year, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, swept through chicken coops across the nation, killing egg-laying hens and contributing to rising egg prices. The outbreaks underscored how vulnerable food systems can be to rapidly spreading biological threats and how urgently new predictive tools are needed to help producers respond.

A team of researchers from the Università Statale and the Politecnico di Milano has developed a new optical imaging system for real-time visualisation of how a plant’s leaves, stem and roots communicate with each other in response to environmental stress. Mappi (MAcro Plant Projection Imaging) offers the opportunity to study plants comparable in size to those grown in greenhouses (this has been very difficult to do until now), thus taking a decisive step towards understanding the response of plant organisms to climate change. The study was published in Science Advances