GM potatoes resist to blight



a variety of Desiree potatoes



A three-year trial has shown that these potatoes can thrive despite being exposed to late onset blight.Blight was is the disease that has plagued farmers for generations and it triggered the Irish potato famine in the 1840s. EU approval is needed before commercial cultivation of this GM crop can take place.

                                                        



                                                                       The research is published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.Potatoes are particularly vulnerable to late blight, a fungus-like organism that loves the damp and humid conditions that often occur during the growing season in Europe. The speed with which this infection takes hold and the devastating impacts on the crop make it the number one threat to six million tonnes of potatoes produced in the UK each year

UK weather: 100mph winds hit mainland england

Winds gusting over 100mph are lashing parts of the UK in what the assistant chief of the defence staff describes an "almost unparalleled natural crisis".It comes after the Met Office issues its first "red warning" of the winter, meaning there is a "risk to life", with widespread damage expected. 

Power to thousands of homes has been cut off and transport has been disrupted by the hurricane-force winds.Sixteen severe flood warnings remain for Berkshire, Surrey and Somerset.Assistant chief of the defence staff Major General Patrick Sanders, who is coordinating the armed forces response, described the floods as an "almost unparalleled natural crisis".

The British Prime Minister

In the Commons, David Cameron, The British Prime minister, repeated his pledge that "money is no object in this relief effort". He unveiled a package of measures to help businesses and homeowners repairing flood-damaged property to build in new defences and said small businesses affected by flooding would get 100% relief from business rates.

DDT linked to Alzheimer's disease

long-term exposure to the pesticide (DDT) can increase the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease, research by U.S scientists suggested.

DDT was a massively successful pesticide, initially used to control malaria at the end of World War Two and then it was used to protect crops in commercial agriculture
Alzheimer's Research UK said more evidence was needed to prove DDT had a role in dementia.

Some countries still use the pesticide to control malaria.However the pesticide (DDT) was banned in the US in 1972 and in many other countries. But the World Health Organization still recommends using DDT to keep malaria down.

Bridwatchers asked to count birds and frogs

For the first time in its 35-year history the Big Garden Birdwatch is also recording mammals and amphibians.

The charity expects half a million people to take part in the survey, based on previous years, making it the world's largest wildlife count.

Many conservationists hope the additional data will help boost studies of the UK's garden species.
The bird charity has partnered with others
in the past on the Make Your Nature Count summer surveys, which ran between 2009 and 2012.

The counts attracted tens of thousands of recordings each year but the charity has set its sights even higher, with one survey encompassing both British birds and other common garden visitors: deer, squirrels, badgers, hedgehogs, frogs and toads.

Pollination by Insects Cause Bigger Apples

Cox's Orange Pippin is an apple cultivar first grown in England,

Pollination can occur in several different ways, but usually plants rely on animals or wind to help pollinate them and help distribute their pollen and seeds.However, a new study shows that apple trees produce bigger, rounder, and more desirable fruit when pollinated by insects in particular.

Researchers studied Cox and Gala apples, two popular varieties in Britain, and valued the annual contribution of insects to these fruits at just under £37 million which is about 60 million American dollars.

The research was conducted on six Cox and Gala orchards in UK. At each site, some of the branches were covered with a fine PVC mesh, allowing wind and rain to get through but keeping insects out.
As a result, trees that were left open to bugs yielded both more fruit, and a larger proportion of higher-value class-one apples.

However, unfortunately in the past 30 years, the number of managed honeybee colonies has fallen by more than half. Due to disease outbreaks, pesticide use, and a decline in the number of bee-keepers, bee populations are on the brink of collapse.According to study by PLOS ONE, more than half of European countries no longer have enough honeybees to pollinate their crops.