Forest destruction threatens Kenya’s economy
Photo from Landcoalition.org East Africa's wildebeest migration, which crosses the River Mara and brings vast herds of animals into the Maasai Mara game reserve, is one of the great wildlife spectacles of the world. But the migration, and other iconic wildlife attractions including the millions of flamingos that Lake Nakuru in Kenya is famous for, are…
Is Europe blind to H1N1 (swine) flu?
This blog is about an article I read in the New Scientist entitled ‘Europe may be blind to swine flu cases’. The article deals with a point I raised in my previous blog posted on 1st May on H1N1 flu. Having flown back from a holiday in Canada, I started suffering flu symptoms the week…
The International Day for Biological Diversity
The 22nd May 2009 is 'The International Day for Biological Diversity'. For 2009 the theme is Invasive Alien Species (IAS) – a major threat to biodiversity and food production – and a research and knowledge provision area that we here at CABI are are highly skilled in. The majority of our scientists time is spent…
Ask our invasive expert a question today
Arne Witt is the coordinator for Invasive Species at CABI Africa based in Nairobi, Kenya. Arne is responsible for coordinating all CABI activities associated with Invasive Alien Species (IAS) on the African continent. He is also the current International Project Coordinator for the UNEP-GEF project, “Removing Barriers to Invasive Plant Management in Africa”. You can…
New ideas in global health biotechnology: the outpouring of creativity!
Can tomatoes be taught to make antiviral drugs for people who eat them? Would zapping your skin with a laser make your vaccination work better? Could malaria-carrying mosquitoes be given a teensy head cold that would prevent them from sniffing out a human snack bar?
Environmental impacts of Bt crops – on target or non-target?
Genetically modified crops containing a toxin gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis have been used by farmers for 11 years now. These Bt crops were designed to give the plants resistance to important pests. But might they also be harming non-target invertebrates? A study by Steven Naranjo of the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research…
Sri Lankan coconut farmers predict yields for future climates
Millions of people in the tropics depend on coconuts for food, raw materials and livelihood. Coconuts are also a high value commercial crop. But like any crop, coconuts are at risk of drought and other prolonged events. By using climate science and better agricultural forecast models, the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI)…
Hygienic Honeybees to Save Hives
Back in November 2008, avid followers of hand picked……..and carefully sorted will remember my blog about how Rowse Honey were investing £100,000 in honeybee (Apis mellifera) health research, to be undertaken by Britain’s only professor of apiculture, Francis Ratnieks. Well, after months of research it seems that significant headway has been made to breed hygienic…
A Lot of Land
Last week, The National Trust announced that it would be making land available for 1,000 allotments over the next 3 years. This apparently equates to an estimated 2.6 million lettuces per year, 50,000 sacks of potatoes or £1.5 million worth of mixed produce1. With the increased popularity of growing-your-own, this will be welcome news to…
Bee mine
We’d be hard pressed in this office to pick up a journal aimed at beekeepers, without reading an article on Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD); a disaster that has taken the bee world by storm. Writing in the September/October 2008 issue of The IPM Practitioner, William Quarles reviews pesticides and CCD.