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Topic Review
CRISPR/Cas9 System
CRISPR/Cas9 is an endonuclease of DNA that splits the invading phage DNA into pieces and then incorporates it into the CRISPR set as a spacer. It was implemented efficiently in plants in 2013, and in five original research articles, the CRISPR/Cas9 scheme in rice was efficiently recorded.
  • 2.5K
  • 25 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Wheat Gluten and Gluten-Free Alternatives
Gluten is the nitrogen storage protein matrix found in wheat and cereals belonging to the Triticeae tribe, and it is composed of two proteins: gliadin and glutenin.
  • 2.4K
  • 28 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Horseradish Breeding
Horseradish cultivars are highly heterozygous clones and are maintained through asexual propagation, using root cuttings.
  • 2.4K
  • 18 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Black-footed Cat
The Black-footed Cat (Felis nigripes) is a small and elusive wild cat species native to southern Africa. Renowned for its diminutive size and distinctive black markings on its legs and feet, this nocturnal predator is considered one of the smallest wild cats in Africa. Despite its small stature, the Black-footed Cat is a formidable hunter, preying on a variety of small mammals, birds, and insects in its arid savanna and scrubland habitats.
  • 2.4K
  • 08 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Polar Bear
The Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) is a majestic apex predator native to the Arctic region, known for its distinctive white fur and massive size, making it the largest land carnivore on Earth. Excellently adapted to its harsh habitat, the Polar Bear possesses specialized features such as a thick layer of insulating blubber and large, powerful limbs for traversing sea ice in search of prey, primarily seals. As an iconic symbol of the Arctic, the Polar Bear faces significant challenges due to climate change, including habitat loss and diminishing sea ice, posing grave threats to its survival.
  • 2.4K
  • 08 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Crop Domestication
In agriculture, domestication is the process of a selection of the best trait with increased adaptation or acclimatization of the plant. Driven by human activities, the domestication of plants has dramatically changed the development of the ecological condition. Domestication is the outcome of both phenotypic and genomics changes of a species conferred with classical plant breeding. Gradually, a wild plant changed to an elite high yielding cultivar. Domestication of orphan or underutilized crop plants using recently developed frontier technologies such as genome editing based on current and emerging knowledge generated by genomics and postgenomics approaches are thought to be one of the promising ways for the improvement of the smart crop for the future smart agriculture
  • 2.4K
  • 22 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Golden Jackal
The Golden Jackal (Canis aureus) stands as a fascinating and adaptable canid species, widely distributed across a diverse range of habitats in Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa. Known for its striking golden or tawny fur and remarkable adaptability, the Golden Jackal embodies a complex ecological role within its ecosystems.
  • 2.4K
  • 08 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Crop Management with the IoT
IoT is becoming a bearing technology for next generation crop management. Cheap networked devices can sense crop fields at a finer grain to give timeliness warnings on the presence of stress conditions and diseases, while on-board devices will monitor field and machine status. Cloud computing allows integrating collected information in a new  generation of FMIS to make decisions and automate field practices by actuators and robot fleets.
  • 2.4K
  • 02 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Green Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles (AuNPs) from Plants
Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are becoming promising cancer therapeutic and diagnostic metal NPs that attract researchers due to their unique physiochemical properties such as stability, biocompatibility, high thermal activity, optical, electrical, high surface area to volume ratio surface chemistry, and multifunctionalization, etc. By fine tuning the components and concentrations, AuNPs can be easily manufactured into various forms and sizes. AuNPs have also shown significant advancement in treating inflammatory diseases and bacterial infections.
  • 2.4K
  • 02 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Clover–Turfgrass Lawns, Nitrogen Fertilization, and Pollinator Conservation
The runoff or leaching of nitrogen fertilizers from monoculture turfgrass lawns contributes to water pollution, and such lawns are susceptible to insect pests and provide few resources for pollinators. One approach to creating more sustainable lawns is to incorporate white clover (Trifolium repens L.), a nitrogen-fixing legume, into grass seed mixtures or existing turfgrass swards.  Besides augmenting nitrogen in lawns, clover also supports bees and other pollinators.
  • 2.4K
  • 01 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Trends in Bioenergy Production
A wide range of studies have been performed in the field of the usage of biomass for energy production, in order to contribute to the green transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies. Over the past 20 years (from 2000 to 2019), approximately 10,000 articles have been published in the “Agricultural and Biological Sciences” field on this theme, covering all stages of production—from the harvesting of crops to the particular type of energy produced. Articles were obtained from the SCOPUS database and examined with a text mining tool in order to analyze publication trends over the last two decades. Publications per year in the bioenergy theme have grown from 91 in 2000 to 773 in 2019. In particular the analyses showed how environmental aspects have increased their importance (from 7.3% to 11.8%), along with studies related to crop conditions (from 10.4% to 18.6%). Regarding the use of energy produced, growing trends were recognized for the impact of biofuels (mentions moved from 0.14 times per article in 2000 to 0.38 in 2019) and biogases (from 0.14 to 0.42 mentions).
  • 2.4K
  • 28 Aug 2020
Topic Review
Blastula
The blastula (from Greek βλαστός (blastos), meaning "sprout") is a hollow sphere of cells, referred to as blastomeres, surrounding an inner fluid-filled cavity called the blastocoel formed during an early stage of embryonic development in animals. Embryo development begins with a sperm fertilizing an egg to become a zygote which undergoes many cleavages to develop into a ball of cells called a morula. Only when the blastocoel is formed does the early embryo become a blastula. The blastula precedes the formation of the gastrula in which the germ layers of the embryo form. A common feature of a vertebrate blastula is that it consists of a layer of blastomeres, known as the blastoderm, which surrounds the blastocoel. In mammals the blastula is referred to as a blastocyst. The blastocyst contains an embryoblast (or inner cell mass) that will eventually give rise to the definitive structures of the fetus, and the trophoblast, which goes on to form the extra-embryonic tissues. During the blastula stage of development, a significant amount of activity occurs within the early embryo to establish cell polarity, cell specification, axis formation, and to regulate gene expression. In many animals such as Drosophila and Xenopus, the mid blastula transition (MBT) is a crucial step in development during which the maternal mRNA is degraded and control over development is passed to the embryo. Many of the interactions between blastomeres are dependent on cadherin expression, particularly E-cadherin in mammals and EP-cadherin in amphibians. The study of the blastula and of cell specification has many implications in stem cell research and assisted reproductive technology. In Xenopus, blastomeres behave as pluripotent stem cells which can migrate down several pathways, depending on cell signaling. By manipulating the cell signals during the blastula stage of development, various tissues can be formed. This potential can be instrumental in regenerative medicine for disease and injury cases. In vitro fertilisation involves implantation of a blastula into a mother's uterus. Blastula cell implantation could serve to eliminate infertility.
  • 2.4K
  • 30 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Zimbro
Zimbro or common juniper (Juniperus communis) is traditionally used to treat renal suppression, acute and chronic cystitis, bladder catarrh, albuminuria, leucorrhea, and amenorrhea. These uses are mainly attributed to its bioactive composition, which is very rich in phenolics, terpenoids, organic acids, alkaloids, and volatile compounds. In the last few years, several studies have analyzed the huge potential of this evergreen shrub, describing a wide range of activities with relevance in different biomedical discipline areas, namely antimicrobial potential against human pathogens and foodborne microorganisms, notorious antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, antidiabetic, antihypercholesterolemic and antihyperlipidemic effects, and neuroprotective action, as well as antiproliferative ability against cancer cells and the ability to activate inductive hepato-, renal- and gastroprotective mechanisms.
  • 2.4K
  • 24 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Microbes under Salt-Affected Soils
The salinization of soil is responsible for the reduction in the growth and development of plants. As the global population increases day by day, there is a decrease in the cultivation of farmland due to the salinization of soil, which threatens food security. Salt-affected soils occur all over the world, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. The total area of global salt-affected soil is 1 billion ha, and in India, an area of nearly 6.74 million ha−1 is salt-stressed, out of which 2.95 million ha−1 are saline soil (including coastal) and 3.78 million ha−1 are alkali soil. The rectification and management of salt-stressed soils require specific approaches for sustainable crop production. Remediating salt-affected soil by chemical, physical and biological methods with available resources is recommended for agricultural purposes. Bioremediation is an eco-friendly approach compared to chemical and physical methods. The role of microorganisms has been documented by many workers for the bioremediation of such problematic soils. Halophilic Bacteria, Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Cyanobacteria, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria and microbial inoculation have been found to be effective for plant growth promotion under salt-stress conditions. The microbial mediated approaches can be adopted for the mitigation of salt-affected soil and help increase crop productivity. A microbial product consisting of beneficial halophiles maintains and enhances the soil health and the yield of the crop in salt-affected soil.
  • 2.4K
  • 12 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Endometrial Sampling Procedures in Cattle
Endometrial infections are a common cause of reproductive loss in cattle. Accurate diagnosis is important to reduce the economic losses caused by endometritis. A range of sampling procedures have been developed which enable collection of endometrial tissue or luminal cells or uterine fluid. However, as these are all invasive procedures, there is a risk that sampling around the time of breeding may adversely affect subsequent pregnancy rate. 
  • 2.4K
  • 23 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Lemongrass Essential Oil
Cymbopogon spp. are fast-growing C4 perennial sedges from the grass family Poaceae and are primarily cultivated for their essential oils. The genus lemongrass comprises about 180 species, such as Cymbopogon citratus, Cymbopogon flexuosus, Cymbopogon winterianus, Cymbopogon martinii, Cymbopogon nardus, and Cymbopogon refractus. Lemongrass (Cymbopogonspp.) oil is a cocktail of various terpenes and terpenoids, out of which the major components belong to cyclic and acyclic monoterpenes. The monoterpenes are derived from geranyl diphosphate (GPP).
  • 2.4K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Atmospheric Influence on Grapevine Development
In many European regions, viticulture and winemaking play a major socioeconomic role in local economies, with climate being a central component of the terroirs, governing vineyard microclimate, vine development and growth, phenology, yield, and grape berry composition, which ultimately control attributes and typicity of the produced wines. Nonetheless, climate change is already affecting the viticultural suitability of many wine regions throughout the continent and is expected to continue along this same path in the upcoming decades. These climate-driven shifts may lead to a redesign of the geographical distribution of wine regions, while wine typicity may also be threatened in most cases. Climate change does require the implementation of well-timed, appropriate, and economically efficient adaptation strategies, while respecting local specificities for an effective reduction of the risks to which this vulnerable sector is exposed. However, knowledge on the adaptation potential of a range of measures is still incipient and will need more research in the near future.
  • 2.4K
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus)
The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a unique monotreme endemic to eastern Australia and Tasmania. As one of only five extant monotreme species, the platypus presents a rare blend of mammalian, reptilian, and avian features, including egg-laying, electroreception, venom production, and milk secretion without nipples. 
  • 2.4K
  • 05 Jun 2025
Topic Review
Olive Tree and Derivatives
Olive (Olea europaea) is one of the most extensive crops in the Mediterranean countries, and an important source of extra distinctive compounds that has been widely tested due to its known health benefits. Olive derivatives, such as extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and olive leaves are rich in antioxidant compounds such as hydroxytyrosol (HXT) and oleuropein and oleic acid, as main monounsaturated fatty acid. Because of HXT molecular structure, its regular consumption reports important beneficial properties such as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer, which also make this compound a good preservative agent against meat deterioration and spoilage.
  • 2.4K
  • 30 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Subcritical-Water Extraction of Natural Products
Subcritical water refers to high-temperature and high-pressure water, but below water's critical point of 374 °C and 218 atm. A unique and useful characteristic of subcritical water is that its polarity can be dramatically decreased with increasing temperature. Therefore, subcritical water can behave similarly to methanol or ethanol. This makes subcritical water a green extraction fluid used for a variety of organic species. 
  • 2.4K
  • 09 Jul 2021
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