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High-Throughput Phenotyping Reveals Genetic Variation in Root System Architecture

Roots are central to water and nutrient uptake, anchorage, and soil microorganism interactions, yet they remain difficult to measure in the field. Traditional root phenotyping often relies on destructive digging, soil coring, or minirhizotrons that capture only part of the root system.

27 Oct 2026

Organic Flour May Contain Fewer Pesticides, but What About Other Contaminants?

Researchers testing 96 wheat flours sold in France found pesticide residues or a pesticide synergist in 26% of samples and at least one mycotoxin in 76%, with seven recorded exceedances of European reference thresholds. Conventional flours were more likely to contain pesticide residues, while organic flours had higher concentrations of several mycotoxins and trace metals, raising questions about food safety across different farming and processing systems.

22 Oct 2026

Rhizosphere Tug-of-War for Iron Drives Plant-Microbe Evolutionary Co-Adaptation

Energy production in our cells, oxygen traveling in our blood, and immune cells fighting infection all depend on iron, an essential mineral that enters the food chain when plants absorb it from soil. But iron is often scarce-likely increasingly so as global weather and temperatures continue to change-and we aren't the only ones that need it.

15 Oct 2026

Time Capsule Fungus Offers Opportunity for Rare Glimpse into 50 Years of Wheat Disease Evolution

A pair of tiny glass vials sealed away for half a century could provide novel insights into one of Australia's most damaging wheat diseases when a 50-year-old time capsule is opened on October 17, 2026.

13 Oct 2026

‘Our Crops Are Losing Their Nutrients’, New Report Warns

Many crops have lost as much as 50% of several key nutrients since the 1960s. Combined with the rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, continued projected declines could push around 5 million UK working-age adults below safe levels of essential vitamins and minerals, according to a report published by Deep Science Ventures (DSV).

7 Oct 2026

Unlocking the Genetic History of Grasses for Future Food Security Solutions

An international team of scientists, including Donald Danforth Plant Science Center Member Emerita Elizabeth "Toby" Kellogg, PhD, has produced a chromosome-level genome assembly that offers a new view of the earliest evolution of grasses, the plant family that includes many of the world's most important food crops.

11 Sep 2026

Researchers Map First Chromosome-Scale Genomes for Sustainable Prairie Crops

The Land Institute and HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, in collaboration with key partners, have assembled the first chromosome-scale, haplotype-phased genomes for Silphium integrifolium (rosinweed, silflower) and Silphium perfoliatum (cup plant, silphie).

25 Aug 2026

Scientists Transfer Nitrogen-Fixing Genes Into New Bacterial Strains

Most major crops, such as wheat and corn, require expensive nitrogen fertilizer to flourish. But what if bacteria could help those plants draw nitrogen from the atmosphere, as peas and beans do?

29 May 2026

High Resolution Images Reveal DNA Repair Process in Key Protein

Scientists have captured the most detailed structural images to date of a specific type of protein's DNA repair process, a finding that could reveal ways to inhibit the effects of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations that heighten the risk for breast, ovarian and other cancers.

28 Apr 2026