The next Green Revolution
A few months ago, in the ‘silly season’ of summer, we were fretting about the future of food – how we were ever going to produce enough to feed and fuel the world, whether we were all going to be subsisting on fermented barley sludge and have to give up milk. Since then, I’ve been…
Are wild treeshrews alcoholics?
It’s normal enough to see drunk students hanging off of tree branches (isn’t it?), but what about small rat-like creatures? It turns out that wild mammals may also be behaviourally and physiologically challenged by alcohol in their food. Frank Wiens and colleagues recently discovered that pentailed treeshrews (Ptilocercus lowii) and 6 other mammalian pollinators of…
The First European Veterinary Week, 10-16 November 2008
European vets are gearing up for their first veterinary week, which will be held from 10-16 November in various locations across Europe. This is a joint initiative organised by the European Commission and the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE). The organising team is also supported by an advisory group of stakeholders (farmers’ organizations, industry…
Climate change affects tigers’ behaviour.
A report from India Reuters says the number of tiger attacks on people is growing in India's Sundarban Islands, possibly the largest mangrove ecosystem in the world. Seven fishermen were killed in the past six months in a location called Netidhopani, according to report by P. Sanuyal, from the World Conservation Union. The report suggests…
World Food Day – What’s the Point?
Today, October the 16th, is World Food Day. As it was last year. As it will be next year. But, does having a day dedicated to the world’s food security problems do any good? I ask myself.
Pedal Power Purification
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U-mvfjyiao&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1] I saw this over on Slashdot – a prototype solution to the developing world problems of transporting water from the source to the home, and purification to drinkable standards. The Aquaduct concept bike was developed for the Innovate or Die contest.
Why Can’t GM and Organic Just Get Along?
Growing of organic and genetically modified crops on neighbouring farms continues to be contentious, especially in Europe, but the issue of coexistence of same-species crops for different markets is not limited to GM. In a paper entitled “Can GM and organic agriculture coexist?”, Eberhard Weber points to the need for oilseed rape for cooking and…
Take care with reintroductions
I recently came across an item in Science Daily describing an article1 in Current Biology about the introduction of a notorious pathogen to an endangered animal population by reintroductions from a captive breeding programme. The Mallorcan Midwife Toad, Alytes muletensis, classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN, has been found to be infected with the fungus…
Environmental Impact!
CABI launches Environmental Impact internet resource A huge amount of information on the effects of humans on the biosphere is widely available on the internet and elsewhere – it’s hard to escape the constant deluge of information on climate change even when you’re not looking for it – but where can researchers go to separate…
Janice Osborn
Janice Osborn Senior Editor, Content Development (Socioeconomics, Human Science) I’ve been producing content for CABI’s socioeconomics area since 1985. On leaving the party capital of the North, Newcastle upon Tyne, with a B.Sc. in agricultural economics, I joined CABI as an abstractor based in the far more sedate city of Oxford. I am now responsible…