breeding

Since the dawn of genetics in the early 20th century, biologists have debated whether evolution is driven more by chance mutations or by the original diversity in the gene pool.   Having a lot of genetic options to choose from might make natural selection move a lot faster at the start, but do the genetic mutations that happen over time contribute more to species survival in the end?To attempt to resolve this long-standing argument once and for all, researchers at Michigan State University have tested the adaptive…

But this is only one part of the process—what’s the point in developing new crops if they taste worse than what’s already on the market? “We have a trained tasting panel in-house that tastes our products weekly,” says Sigal Meirovitch, senior director and head of R&D at Equinom, an Israeli company also focused on improving crops for use in plant-based alternatives to animal products. Unlike Benson Hill, Equinom has so far mainly focused on the yellow pea.“After we see the results, we send the more successful varieties…

Country: Country * Afghanistan Aland Islands…

How sea turtles and other aquatic life find their way across the open ocean, far from any real navigation aids or natural signposts, has long intrigued biologists. Now, a new study reveals that turtles have basic geomagnetic steering built in – but they're still mostly relying on luck and perseverance to find a destination.  Scientists fitted 22 hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) with GPS trackers to see the routes they would take back to their original foraging grounds after mating and breeding. Those trackers…