Food and Agriculture News

January 28, 2026

Top Headlines

This Small Soil Upgrade Cut Locust Damage and Doubled Yields

Jan. 24, 2026 Locust swarms can wipe out crops across entire regions, threatening food supplies and livelihoods. Now, scientists working with farmers in Senegal have shown that improving soil health can dramatically reduce locust damage. By enriching soil with ...

Scientists Found the Soil Secret That Doubles Forest Regrowth

Jan. 15, 2026 New research shows tropical forests can recover twice as fast after deforestation when their soils contain enough nitrogen. Scientists followed forest regrowth across Central America for decades and found that nitrogen plays a decisive role in how ...

This Sweet Fruit Is Packed with Hidden Health Compounds

Jan. 14, 2026 Scientists are taking a closer look at monk fruit and discovering it’s more than just a sugar substitute. New research shows its peel and pulp contain a rich mix of antioxidants and bioactive compounds that may support health. Different varieties ...

Extreme Heat Is Breaking Honey Bees’ Natural Cooling System

Jan. 13, 2026 Honey bees can normally keep their hives perfectly climate-controlled, but extreme heat can overwhelm their defenses. During a scorching Arizona summer, researchers found that high temperatures caused damaging temperature fluctuations inside hives, ...

Breakthrough Lets Scientists Watch Plants Breathe in Real Time

Jan. 7, 2026 Scientists have created a new way to watch plants breathe—live and in high definition—while tracking exactly how much carbon and water they exchange with the air. The breakthrough could help unlock crops that grow smarter, stronger, and more ...

Coral Reefs Could Feed Millions If We Let Them Rebuild

Jan. 4, 2026 Overfished coral reefs are producing far less food than they could. Researchers found that letting reef fish populations recover could boost sustainable fish yields by nearly 50%, creating millions of extra meals each year. Countries with high ...

Scientists Find Hidden Rainfall Pattern That Could Reshape Farming

Dec. 12, 2025 New research shows that crops are far more vulnerable when too much rainfall originates from land rather than the ocean. Land-sourced moisture leads to weaker, less reliable rainfall, heightening drought risk. The U.S. Midwest and East Africa are ...

New Fossils in Qatar Reveal a Tiny Sea Cow Hidden for 21 Million Years

Dec. 12, 2025 Fossils from Qatar have revealed a small, newly identified sea cow species that lived in the Arabian Gulf more than 20 million years ago. The site contains the densest known collection of fossil sea cow bones, showing that these animals once thrived ...

Small Root Mutation Could Make Crops Fertilize Themselves

Dec. 9, 2025 Scientists discovered a small protein region that determines whether plants reject or welcome nitrogen-fixing bacteria. By tweaking only two amino acids, they converted a defensive receptor into one that supports symbiosis. Early success in barley ...

CRISPR Wheat That Makes Its Own Fertilizer

Nov. 24, 2025 UC Davis researchers engineered wheat that encourages soil bacteria to convert atmospheric nitrogen into plant-usable fertilizer. By boosting a natural compound in the plant, the wheat triggers bacteria to form biofilms that enable nitrogen ...

This Engineered Fungus Cuts Emissions and Tastes Like Meat

Nov. 21, 2025 Scientists used CRISPR to boost the efficiency and digestibility of a fungus already known for its meatlike qualities. The modified strain grows protein far more quickly and with much less sugar while producing substantially fewer emissions. It also ...

A Crisis Deepens as African Penguins Compete with Fishing Fleets for Food

Nov. 18, 2025 During years of scarce fish, African penguins crowd into the same areas as commercial fishing vessels, heightening competition for dwindling prey. A new metric called “overlap intensity” shows how many penguins are affected and is already ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:20pm EST

The Hidden Microbes That Decide How Sourdough Tastes

Jan. 21, 2026 The microbes living in sourdough starters don’t just appear by chance—they’re shaped by what bakers feed them. New research shows that while the same hardy yeast tends to dominate sourdough ...

A Once-in-a-Generation Discovery Is Transforming Dairy Farming

Jan. 18, 2026 A Michigan dairy farm took a gamble on a new kind of soybean—and it paid off fast. After feeding high-oleic soybeans to their cows, milk quality improved within days and feed costs dropped ...

A Devastating Cotton Virus Lurked Undetected in U.S. Fields for Nearly 20 Years

Jan. 13, 2026 A damaging cotton virus thought to be a recent invader has actually been hiding in U.S. fields for nearly two decades. New research shows cotton ...

This Wild Fruit Is Getting a CRISPR Makeover

Jan. 11, 2026 Scientists have used CRISPR to give the goldenberry a modern makeover, shrinking the plant by about a third and making it easier to farm. Goldenberries are tasty and nutritious but notoriously ...

A Never-Before-Seen Creature Has Been Found in the Great Salt Lake

Jan. 10, 2026 Scientists have identified a brand-new species of worm living in the Great Salt Lake, marking only the third known animal group able to survive its extreme salinity. The species, named ...

Scientists Say Evolution Works Differently Than We Thought

Dec. 25, 2025 A major evolutionary theory says most genetic changes don’t really matter, but new evidence suggests that’s not true. Researchers found that helpful mutations happen surprisingly often. The twist ...

From Biting Flies to Feathered Dinosaurs, Scientists Reveal 70 New Species

Dec. 19, 2025 Researchers announced over 70 new species in a single year, including bizarre insects, ancient dinosaurs, rare mammals, and deep-river fish. Many were found not in the wild, but in museum ...

A Flesh-Eating Fly Once Eradicated Is Moving Back Toward the U.S.

Dec. 18, 2025 California researchers are preparing for the possible return of the New World screwworm, a parasitic fly that feeds on living flesh and once devastated U.S. livestock. By monitoring traps and ...

New Research Uncovers a Surprisingly Cheap Way to Farm Kelp Offshore

Dec. 11, 2025 A new economic modeling tool is helping Maine kelp farmers identify cost-saving strategies with remarkable precision. By analyzing farm design, weather, vessel types, and processing methods, it ...

Wild Chimps Consume More Alcohol Than Anyone Expected

Dec. 1, 2025 Chimpanzees naturally ingest surprising amounts of alcohol from ripe, fermenting fruit. Careful measurements show that their typical fruit diet can equal one to two human drinks each day. This ...

Decoding the Perfect Steak: The Hidden DNA Behind Wagyu’s Legendary Marbling

Jan. 12, 2026 A groundbreaking cattle genome has given researchers their clearest look yet at what makes Wagyu beef so special. By uncovering hundreds of new genes and hidden genetic variations, scientists can now ...

Scientists Discover Hidden Wolf DNA in Most Dogs

Nov. 29, 2025 Researchers studying thousands of canine genomes discovered that wolf DNA is still present in most dog breeds. This ancient genetic influence shows up in traits like body size, behavior, and ...

A Tiny Ancient Virus Reveals Secrets That Could Help Fight Superbugs

Nov. 17, 2025 Scientists mapped the Bas63 bacteriophage in unprecedented detail, uncovering how its tail machinery infects bacteria. The structure reveals rare whisker-collar features and distant evolutionary ties ...

Extreme Floods Are Slashing Global Rice Yields Faster Than Expected

Nov. 15, 2025 Scientists discovered that a week of full submergence is enough to kill most rice plants, making flooding a far greater threat than previously understood. Intensifying extreme rainfall events may ...

Nectar Wars Between Bumble Bees and Invasive Ants Drain the Hive

Nov. 13, 2025 Bumble bees battling invasive Argentine ants may win individual fights but ultimately lose valuable foraging time, putting pressure on colonies already strained by habitat loss, disease, and ...

Scientists Shocked as Bumblebees Learn to Read Simple “Morse Code”

Nov. 12, 2025 In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists found that bumblebees can tell the difference between short and long light flashes, much like recognizing Morse code. The insects learned which signal led to ...

Tiny Bee With Devil Horns Discovered in Western Australia

Nov. 25, 2025 A horned native bee dubbed Megachile lucifer has been discovered in Western Australia’s Goldfields. Identified while surveying a rare wildflower, the species stood out with its unusual ...

Meet the Desert Survivor That Grows Faster the Hotter It Gets

Nov. 9, 2025 In Death Valley’s relentless heat, Tidestromia oblongifolia doesn’t just survive—it thrives. Michigan State University scientists discovered that the plant can quickly adjust its photosynthetic ...

Soil Microbes Remember Drought and Help Plants Survive

Nov. 2, 2025 Researchers discovered that soil microbes in Kansas carry drought “memories” that affect how plants grow and survive. Native plants showed stronger responses to these microbial legacies than ...

The Surprising Reason Bees Replace Their Queens

Nov. 22, 2025 Worker bees stage coordinated revolts when viral infections weaken their queen and lower her pheromone output. This disruption drives many of the queen failures that beekeepers struggle with today. ...

Scientists Turn Flower Fragrance Into a Mosquito Killer

Oct. 27, 2025 A team of researchers has developed a floral-scented fungus that tricks mosquitoes into approaching and dying. The fungus emits longifolene, a natural scent that irresistibly draws them in. It’s ...

A Hidden Gene Could Triple Wheat Yields

Oct. 19, 2025 Researchers discovered the gene that gives a rare wheat variety its unusual “triple-grain” trait. When switched on, the gene helps wheat flowers produce extra grain-bearing parts. The finding ...

Scientists in Japan Create a New Wine Grape With a Wild Twist

Nov. 3, 2025 Okayama scientists have crafted a new wine grape, Muscat Shiragai, merging the wild Shiraga and Muscat of Alexandria. The variety is part of a larger collaboration between academia, industry, and ...

Glowing Shark and Hidden Crab Found Deep Off Australia

Oct. 8, 2025 In a stunning glimpse into the mysteries of the deep, scientists have uncovered two new marine species off Western Australia—a glowing lanternshark and a tiny porcelain crab. The discoveries, made ...

Saturn’s Icy Moon Enceladus Just Revealed Stunning New Clues to Life

Oct. 2, 2025 Fresh analysis of Cassini data has revealed new complex organic molecules inside ice grains spewing from Enceladus. These discoveries strengthen the case that the moon’s underground ocean hosts ...

The Red Sea That Vanished and the Catastrophic Flood That Brought It Back

Oct. 8, 2025 Researchers at KAUST have confirmed that the Red Sea once vanished entirely, turning into a barren salt desert before being suddenly flooded by waters from the Indian Ocean. The flood carved deep ...

Pollen Holds a Secret That Could Save Honeybees

Sep. 30, 2025 Scientists have discovered that pollen is a hidden source of natural medicine for honeybees. Symbiotic bacteria called Streptomyces produce antimicrobial compounds that fight deadly bee and plant ...

A Tiny Mineral May Hold the Secret to Feeding Billions Sustainably

Sep. 24, 2025 Rice, a staple for billions, is one of the most resource-hungry crops on the planet—but scientists may have found a way to change that. By applying nanoscale selenium directly to rice plants, ...

Archaeologists Uncover a 2,000-Year-Old Crop in the Canary Islands

Nov. 26, 2025 Scientists decoded DNA from millennia-old lentils preserved in volcanic rock silos on Gran Canaria. The findings show that today’s Canary Island lentils largely descend from varieties brought from ...

Soil Warming Experiments Challenge Assumptions About Climate Change

Sep. 17, 2025 Heating alone won’t drive soil microbes to release more carbon dioxide — they need added carbon and nutrients to thrive. This finding challenges assumptions about how climate warming influences ...