Feeding an expanding global population under extreme climate threats requires a revolution in crop improvement. In a new review in SCIENCE CHINA Life Sciences, scientists from China Agricultural University systematically evaluate how generative AI is shifting crop breeding from selecting natural genetic variants to de novo molecular creation. The authors establish the "DESIGN" framework (Discover, Engineer, Simulate, Integrate, Generate, Navigate), linking molecular generation to field trials in a closed-loop learn-design-build-test cycle to accelerate Breeding 5.0.

A Zhejiang University-led team used ribosome profiling, RNA sequencing, and 16S rRNA sequencing to study immune translation in healthy and weaning piglets. Weaning triggered widespread translational reprogramming of immune genes and a shift toward GC-ending codons. Gut microbiota from weaned piglets also showed GC-enriched codon profiles and was linked to host immune gene translation. The findings suggest a previously unrecognized association between microbiota composition and codon-usage-linked translational control during early-life stress.

Researchers developed a revised water footprint that distinguishes total water consumption from water appropriated through human land-use change. Applied to agriculture and forestry in south-central Chile, it produced an estimate 2.7 times lower than the conventional method. Irrigation dominated agricultural water appropriation, while forest plantations were the main source of rainwater appropriation. Nearly 45% of the region’s appropriated water was linked to exported products. The approach could support more targeted water management, land-use planning and evaluation of trade-related water pressures.

Healthy soils are key to securing Europe's food, water, climate and biodiversity. Yet more than 60% of soils in the EU remain unhealthy, and the scientific knowledge that could help reverse the trend rarely reaches the people who write policy.

In the beginning of October, 15 partners from 10 European countries met in Nancy, France for the kick-off of PSOILICY, a new EU-funded project that will build the interfaces, hubs and tools needed to turn soil knowledge into evidence-based decisions.