Developing rice with tolerance to higher nighttime temperatures has become a focus for rice breeders because studies are showing nights are getting warmer in rice-growing regions. Vibha Srivastava, professor of plant biotechnology in the crop, soil and environmental sciences department for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, explores the topic of breeding rice and the potential for gene editing to tolerate night heat in the December issue of Current Opinion in Plant Biology with an article titled “Beat the heat: Breeding, genomics, and gene editing for high nighttime temperature tolerance in rice.”

Urban infrastructure, such as stormwater management ponds (SWMPs), have the potential to be rehabilitated and provide critical freshwater habitat in urbanized watersheds if designed adequately. We tracked different native fish species using passive integrated transponder technology to assess the level of connectivity between a rehabilitated SWMP and a river. We found a high degree of connectivity between the two habitats, even during challenging environmental conditions such as high water temperatures and abundant submerged vegetation.

Tree crops – for example, apple, cherry, olives, nuts, coffee, and cacao – cover more than 183 million hectares worldwide, yet remain largely overlooked in agricultural policies, despite their critical role in achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). An international research team, with the participation of Göttingen University, highlight how these crops are not only essential to feed the world and for global economies, but also hold immense potential for protecting biodiversity and the climate, as well as improving livelihoods for millions of people worldwide. The findings were published in a Perspectives article in Nature Sustainability.