Month: September 2022

PLANT CRYPTOCHROMES. "In Arabidopsis thaliana, two cryptochromes, CRY1 and CRY2, mediate several blue-light-dependent responses including hypocotyl growth inhibition." https://lnkd.in/ePWPwaU View in LinkedIn

PLANTS AND MAGNETIC FIELDS. "These findings show that higher plants are sensitive to the magnetic field in responses that are linked to cryptochrome-dependent signaling pathways. Because cryptochromes form radical pairs after photoexcitation, our results can best be explained by the radical-pair model." http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00425-006-0383-0 View in LinkedIn

IN-VITRO RESULTS "have successfully shown magnetically sensitive radical-pair reactions in a cryptochrome extracted from the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. They saw a change in yields of order 25% at 30 mT and 1% at 1 mT. Although this is still much larger than the geomagnetic field, the authors speculate that the response in vivo may be much stronger." https://lnkd.in/eRUdQZj View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE this next weekend is about living soils. 2015 is the International Year of Soils, and the world soil Report Card is bleak. Just as medical biology has been exposed to a radical paradigm change with our understanding of the human microbiome, so also has this same thinking pervaded the cutting-edge of soil science, supported by data. The parallel of the chemical "Green Revolution" and our current over-use of antibiotics is unmistakable. https://lnkd.in/ezrxv9C View in LinkedIn

WORLD SOIL REVIEW. "The overwhelming conclusion of the first-ever comprehensive report on the world’s soil resources, prepared by the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS), is that the majority of the world’s soil resources are in only fair, poor or very poor condition... and that conditions are getting worse in farm more cases than they are improving." https://lnkd.in/ezrxv9C View in LinkedIn

"THE MASS DESTRUCTION of soil microorganisms began with technological advances in the early twentieth century. The number of tractors in the U.S. went from zero to three million by 1950. Farmers increased the size of their fields and made cropping more specialized. Advances in the manufacture of nitrogen fertilizers made them abundant and affordable. Ammonium nitrate used in WWII for munitions was then used for agriculture." https://lnkd.in/eyzuPzu View in LinkedIn

"OVER 35 PERCENT of the planet’s ice-free surface has been cleared of natural vegetation to grow crops or graze livestock, exposing it to sharp increases in erosion and steep losses in soil organic carbon, soil nutrients, and biodiversity." https://lnkd.in/ezrxv9C View in LinkedIn

"GREEN REVOLUTION technological advances resulted in plant genetic combinations that responded to chemical inputs with high yields. Implementation in Mexico transformed the country from a wheat-importing to a wheat-exporting nation. This prompted India, Pakistan, and Turkey to import Mexican wheat germplasms and technologies. India, Pakistan, and Turkey each saw wheat production double within five years after adapting Mexican wheat varieties." https://lnkd.in/eQvzCYA View in LinkedIn

FALSE GAINS. "The "Green Revolution" was driven by a fear of how to feed massive population growth. It did produce more food but it was at the cost of the long term health of the soil. And many would argue that the food it did produce was progressively less nutritious as the soil became depleted of organic matter, minerals, and microorganisms." https://lnkd.in/eyzuPzu View in LinkedIn

HUMAN HEALTH. "Arden Anderson, a soil scientist and agricultural consultant turned physician, has long argued that human health is directly correlated to soil health." https://lnkd.in/eyzuPzu View in LinkedIn