New report reveals the true cost of land degradation
Why we need to value our ecosystem services A recent report The Value of Land: Prosperous lands and positive rewards through sustainable land management published 15th September by the Economics of Land Degradation Initiative (ELD) estimates the value of ecosystem services lost worldwide due to land degradation at a staggering US $6.3 trillion to $10.6 trillion…
Tropical secondary forests key to future health and wealth
Tropical rainforests are often referred to as the lungs of the planet for their crucial role in the global carbon cycle. They also harbour a large proportion of the world’s biodiversity and provide commodities for consumers around the globe. But the health of these forests is declining due to logging, climate change, invasive species, and…
Insecticide threat to aquatic biodiversity highlighted in new study
Insecticides can be beneficial to humans in many ways, such as providing crop protection from disease and defoliation and as a tool used in the reduction of mosquitoes and other insects that can transmit diseases such as malaria, to humans. However, once they enter an aquatic system, the environmental costs can be very high. Just…
E-Learning Course on Bioinformatics of Animal Viruses
Nucleotide sequencing has become a very popular technique for diagnosis and characterization of pathogens and is accessible to most veterinary practices. A nucleotide sequence provides information on the nature of the pathogen, its source and its main characteristics such as strain, virulence and drug resistance. Bioinformatics provides tools to gather, store, and analyse these biological…
Animal Genetic Research Increasingly Focuses on Medical and Pharmaceutical Markets rather than on Food Production
According to a recent report by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), patenting activity in the field of animal genetics is focusing on medical and pharmaceutical markets, rather than animal products for human nutrition. A vast amount of scientific literature on animal genetic resources, transgenic animals and patents in this field is available in the CAB Direct database. The literature, which originates from more than 150 countries and is published in over 50 languages, is translated and indexed by CABI’s specialists for easy searching. The CAB Direct database currently contains more than 23,000 references with abstracts on animal genetic resources.
Substantial update to the ISC myrtle rust datasheet to coincide with the species discussion at the IUFRO 2014 World Congress this week
Effects of the invasive myrtle rust (Puccinia psidii) on the paperbark tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia) in Australia (July, 2011). CABI has recently published a comprehensive review and update of its ISC datasheet on the globally important pathogen Puccinia psidii, commonly known as myrtle rust or guava rust. This problematic fungus is of worldwide importance and is…
Celebrating International Biodiversity Day!
22 May is International Biodiversity Day! This year, the theme is Island Biodiversity which was chosen to coincide with the UN's International Year of Small Island Developing States. Islands and their surrounding seas are unique. They ae often made up of many plant and animal species that are endemic—found nowhere else on Earth. The legacy of a unique…
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Inuit people seeing major impacts resulting from climate warming
Climate change is still a hot issue with talk of negotiations and reductions of emissions in greenhouse gases in advance of the Copenhagen summit in December. But how is climate change affecting us in our daily lives? Here in the UK, I would be hard pushed to see the effects of climate change unless you…
What would catastrophic climate change involve?
We are quite used to hearing warnings of 'catastrophic climate change' if we don't reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, but how many of us have a clear idea of what this might mean? An article published in New Scientist a few weeks ago looked at this issue, and it made me feel quite nostalgic for…