The number of nature-inspired products on the market doubles every year

By Karina Toledo

Agência FAPESP – The lotus plant (Nelumbo nucifera) has become a symbol of spiritual purity because of its ability to remain impeccably clean in the muddy environment that it lives in. This feat can be explained by the presence of wax nanocrystals on the surface of the leaves, which very efficiently repel water. Water drops that fall on the plant have an almost perfectly spherical shape, sliding off with ease and taking with them dirt and microorganisms.

This phenomenon, known by scientists as the “lotus effect,” has served as the inspiration for the development of self-cleaning paints, glass and textiles that do not require the use of detergent, in addition to waterproof electronics.

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Transgenics: A new breed

Nature - When the first genetically modified (GM) organisms were being developed for the farm, says Anastasia Bodnar, “we were promised rocket jet packs” — futuristic, ultra-nutritious crops that would bring exotic produce to the supermarket and help to feed a hungry world.

Yet so far, she says, the technology has bestowed most of its benefits on agribusiness — almost always through crops modified to withstand weed-killing chemicals or resist insect pests. This has allowed farmers to increase yields and spray less pesticide than they might have otherwise.

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The state of the world: is it too late for sustainability?

The Guardian - In November 2012, the “big four” professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers released a report that concluded it was too late to hold the future increase in global average temperatures to just two degrees Celsius. “It’s time,” the report announced, “to prepare for a warmer world”.

The same month, the World Bank released Turn Down the Heat, which soberly set forth why a four-degree warmer world must be avoided. Meanwhile, accounts of myriad emerging calamities were easy to find in the press: the failure of the Rio+20 talks to result in positive action, “zombie” coral reefs, calls for higher birth rates, declining Arctic sea ice, an approaching “state shift” in the earth’s biosphere, and other evidence of strain in natural systems and of human blindness, ignorance or denial ……..>> Access the complete article<<

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Correlating denitrifying catabolic genes with N2O and N2 emissions from swine slurry composting

By Angnes et al.

Abstract - This work evaluated N dynamics that occurs over time within swine slurry composting piles. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) analyzes were conducted to estimate concentrations of bacteria community harboring specific catabolic nitrifying-ammonium monooxygenase (amoA), and denitrifying nitrate- (narG), nitrite- (nirS and nirG), nitric oxide- (norB) and nitrous oxide reductases (nosZ) genes. NH3-N, N2O-N, N2-N emissions represented 15.4±1.9, 5.4±0.9, and 79.1±2.0% of the total nitrogen losses, respectively. Among the genes tested, temporal distribution of narG, nirS, and nosZ concentration correlated significantly (p < 0.05) with the estimated N2 emissions. Denitrifying catabolic gene ratio (cnorB+qnorB)/nosZ ⩾ 100 was indicative of N2O emission potential from the compost pile. Considering our current empirical limitations to accurately measure N2 emissions from swine slurry composting at field scale the use of these catabolic genes could represent a promising monitoring tool to aid minimize our uncertainties on biological N mass balances in these systems.

Source: ScienceDirect, 7th May, 2013
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Biotechnology: Africa and Asia need a rational debate on GM crops

By Christopher J. M. Whitty, Monty Jones, Alan Tollervey and Tim Wheeler
Nature - In Europe, scientists, politicians, industry representatives and environmentalists often present genetically modified (GM) crops either as a key part of the solution to world hunger or as a pointless but dramatic threat to health and safety. Neither position is well founded.

Recently, the often shrill debate that has unfolded in some European countries, including France and the United Kingdom, for the past 20 years has been spilling over to developing economies. The government of India, for instance, is considering banning all field trials of GM crops for the next decade — a move that could hurt large- and small-scale farmers by blocking their access to certain crop varieties that have been modified to grow better in local conditions, including types of cotton, soya bean and tomato. Meanwhile, in Kenya, where more than one-quarter of the population is malnourished, the government chose to ban the import of GM food at the end of last year but not GM crop research1. Like similar rulings made in Europe, such decisions seem to be based in part on emotional responses to the technology.

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Native Breeds Can Help Create a Sustainable Livestock Industry

The Poultry Site - According to long-time supporter of rare breeds in the UK, Tim Brigstocke of Dr Tim Brigstocke Associates, by 2030, livestock systems in UK agriculture will have differentiated into one of three types. The first of these – accounting for the majority of the volume of animal products – is the high-output type, achieving high levels of technical and environmental efficiency with good welfare and animal health. The other two system types offer good opportunities for native animal breeds; one a low-input, moderate output extensive grazing systems for ruminants and the other based on niche products such as organic products, rare breeds and Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).

Chinese agriculture: An experiment for the world

Fusuo Zhang, Xinping Chen1 and Peter Vitousek
Nature - For the past two decades, commentators have hailed genetically modified (GM) crops as the magic bullet that will solve the world’s food crisis. Yet obtaining the drastically bigger yields needed to feed a growing and increasingly wealthy global population — without further depleting soils, destroying natural habitats and polluting air and water — will demand an all-embracing approach.

China is taking steps towards such a strategy, and so offers an extraordinary laboratory for the rest of the world. In 2003–11, the country increased its cereal production by about 32% (more than double the world average1), largely by improving the performance of its least-efficient farms. Yet in the next two decades, 30–50% more food will be needed to meet China’s projected demand2. The country has little spare land, and water shortages are reaching crisis levels in some areas. Added to this, excessive fertilizer use is a major contributor to air pollution3 — itself a leading risk factor in hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each year. The overuse of fertilizer is also causing numerous lakes, rivers and coastal regions to become clogged with algal blooms, especially in south China.

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