In the media – Page 15

CRISPR, 10 years on: Learning to rewrite the code of life

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on July 7, 2022. Posted in In the media.

In just a decade, CRISPR has become one of the most celebrated inventions in modern biology. It is swiftly changing how medical researchers study diseases: Cancer biologists are using the method to discover hidden vulnerabilities of tumor cells. Doctors are using CRISPR to edit genes that cause hereditary diseases.

But CRISPR’s influence extends far beyond medicine. Evolutionary biologists are using the technology to study Neanderthal brains and to investigate how our ape ancestors lost their tails. Plant biologists have edited seeds to produce crops with new vitamins or with the ability to withstand diseases. Some of them may reach supermarket shelves in the next few years.

The race against time to breed a wheat to survive the climate crisis

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on June 12, 2022. Posted in In the media.

CIMMYT scientists are using biodiversity, testing forgotten wheat varieties from across the world, to find those with heat- and drought-tolerant traits. The aim is to outpace human-made global heating and breed climate-resilient varieties so yields do not collapse, as worst-case scenarios predict.

Reporter Nina Lakhani visited CIMMYT’s experimental station in Ciudad Obregon, in Mexico’s Sonora state, and witnessed CIMMYT’s unique role in fighting climate change through the development of resilient varieties as “international public goods”.

A new seed policy ushers in a new era of hybrid seed business in Nepal

Written by Celine Lim on April 26, 2022. Posted in In the media.

A change in policy by the Nepalese government in February 2022 opens up space for private seed companies to be involved in seed variety development, evaluation and distribution to farmers.

Our food system isn’t ready for the climate crisis

Written by Bea Ciordia on April 19, 2022. Posted in In the media.

“We’ll never get back all the diversity we had before, but the diversity we need is out there,” says Matthew Reynolds, head of wheat physiology at CIMMYT.

Seed banks: the last line of defense against a threatening global food crisis

Written by Bea Ciordia on April 15, 2022. Posted in In the media.

As climate breakdown and worldwide conflict continue to place the food system at risk, seed banks from the Arctic to Lebanon try to safeguard biodiversity.

Multiple breadbasket failures: Nations must address looming food emergencies

Written by Bea Ciordia on March 28, 2022. Posted in In the media.

The war in Ukraine, coupled with weather-related disruptions in the world’s major grain-producing regions, could unleash unbearable waves of displacement, humanitarian consequences, civil unrest, major financial losses worldwide, and geopolitical fragility, says Bram Govaerts, DG of CIMMYT, in a Boston Globe op-ed.

Explore our coverage and analysis of the Russia-Ukraine war and its impact on global food security.

Broken bread — avert global wheat crisis caused by invasion of Ukraine

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on March 22, 2022. Posted in In the media.

In an analysis piece on Nature, the director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, Alison Bentley, highlights the expected income of the Russia-Ukraine war on food security.

In low-income nations, the ability of governments to continue to subsidize bread will be strained; the knock-on effects on overall government spending and provision of public services will reach far beyond wheat. The last time wheat prices increased sharply, in 2008, it precipitated food riots from Burkina Faso to Bangladesh.

An unprecedented level of international political and economic action is now required to safeguard the immediate food supply of those who are already vulnerable, including in the global south. At the same time, a range of agricultural interventions must be deployed to make the supply of wheat more resilient in the years ahead.

Read the full analysis:
Broken bread — avert global wheat crisis caused by invasion of Ukraine

Food Is Just as Vital as Oil to National Security

Written by Bea Ciordia on March 8, 2022. Posted in In the media.

A new Bloomberg op-ed urges nations to steer more money to organizations like CIMMYT that are advancing crucial research on how to grow more resilient wheat and maize crops in regions that are becoming steadily less arable.

Meet The Indian Researcher Helping To Solve The Deadly Aflatoxin Puzzle

Written by Bea Ciordia on January 6, 2022. Posted in In the media.

Indian agricultural researcher Pooja Bhatnagar-Mathur, a Principal Scientist at CIMMYT, says aflatoxin, a toxin produced from soil fungus and found in groundnuts like peanuts, is a serious public health and food safety problem around the globe.

Agricultural research fights global food shocks

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on December 30, 2021. Posted in In the media.

In an op-ed on Newsweek, CIMMYT director general Bram Govaerts wrote argues the best protection is actually reducing food system risks by building food system resilience against shocks. He highlighted how previous investments in agricultural research and development generated evidence-based strategies that mitigate global food price crisis.

Creating a better leaf

Written by Bea Ciordia on December 6, 2021. Posted in In the media.

A new article in the New Yorker praises the cutting-edge technology CIMMYT, CGIAR and other scientists are developing to produce a second Green Revolution that doesn’t repeat the mistakes of the first, putting the experiences and challenges of farmers at the heart of it.

Throwing money at the problem won’t solve world hunger

Written by Bea Ciordia on November 22, 2021. Posted in In the media.

In this op-ed, Harvard Professor Gabriela Soto Laveaga stresses the importance of tackling hunger as more than a technical problem to be addressed through scientific advancement alone, praising CGIAR for its community-centered & inclusive approach to food systems amid the climate crisis.

Workshop held at BARI

Written by Bea Ciordia on November 21, 2021. Posted in In the media.

CIMMYT-Bangladesh country representative Timothy J. Krupnik was the guest of honor at a day-long workshop organized by Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) on fall armyworm management in the country.

Pakistan, India transboundary dialogue imperative to resolve Lahore’s pollution: Amin

Written by Bea Ciordia on November 21, 2021. Posted in In the media.

During the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) held in Glasgow, Special Assistant to Pakistan’s Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam said that a transboundary dialogue on mitigating air pollution was imperative to resolve Lahore’s smog, which is mostly generated by Indian farmers burning crop residues.

Ending rice-wheat monopoly can ease Delhi woes

Written by Bea Ciordia on November 13, 2021. Posted in In the media.

ML Jat, a principal scientist at CIMMYT, speaks with The Times of India about the work of CIMMYT and its partners on diversification and carbon credits—two futuristic ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture in India.