People have been giving presentations for thousands of years, from Moses with his stone tablets to Elon Musk revealing his grand plans to colonize Mars. While the elements of a great pitchman generally have remained the same over the past 5,000 years -- conviction, charisma, credibility -- today's successful presenters do more than just get in front of an audience and talk.

Edge conditions and the change they drive are fascinating. Some people use the word "margin" because it's at the margin that things change. A situation exists more or less in equilibrium with the rest of its environment until in one way or another the stresses become so great that change happens. We have lots of metaphors, like "tipping point" and "the straw that broke the camel's back."

Merchants soon will be able to sell products on Google Shopping at no charge. Previously, they had to pay per click, but the cost was not fixed. There was no minimum, but they had to set a maximum for ad spend and Google would stop displaying their ads once the maximum was reached. Starting next week, search results on the Google Shopping tab will consist primarily of free product listings.

The enterprise IT environment is complex. Many systems, technologies and practices developed at various times coexist in the same world. With expectations for technological advancements at their peak, we're tasked with enabling these systems to work together harmoniously to support the continuous sharing of information. Systems and data must connect as if all information were native to each.

02020-02-05: Snow in Pennsylvania and New York

Paper by Mr Luiz Awazu Pereira da Silva, Deputy General Manager of the BIS, Enisse Kharroubi, Emanuel Kohlscheen and Benoît Mojon based on remarks at the University of Basel, 5 May 2019.

Speech by Mr Agustín Carstens, General Manager of the BIS, at the Founding Ceremony, Swiss Centre BIS Innovation Hub, Zurich, 8 October 2019.

Op-ed by Mr Claudio Borio, Head of the Monetary and Economic Department of the BIS, published in Il Sole 24 Ore, 8 November 2019.

Keynote speech by Mr Agustín Carstens, General Manager of the BIS, at the 55th SEACEN Governors' Conference and High-level Seminar on "Data and technology: embracing innovation", Singapore, 14 November 2019.

Based on remarks by Mr Luiz Awazu Pereira da Silva, Deputy General Manager of the BIS, with Jon Frost and Leonardo Gambacorta at the Santander International Banking Conference on "Banking on trust: Building confidence in the future", Madrid, 5 November 2019.

Exiting low inflation traps by "consensus": nominal wages and price stability - Speech by Luiz A Pereira da Silva and Benoît Mojon, based on the keynote speech at the Eighth High-level Policy Dialogue between the Eurosystem and Latin American Central Banks, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, 28-29 November 2019.

Acoustic overexposure, such as listening to loud music too often, results in noise-induced hearing loss. The pathologies of this prevalent sensory disorder begin within the ear at synapses of the primary auditory receptors, their postsynaptic partners and their supporting cells. The extent of noise-induced damage, however, is determined by overstimulation of primary auditory receptors, upstream of where the pathologies manifest. A systematic characterization of the electrophysiological function of the upstream primary auditory receptors is warranted to understand how noise exposure impacts on downstream targets, where the pathologies of hearing loss begin. Here, we used the experimentally-accessible locust ear (male, Schistocerca gregaria) to characterize a decrease in the auditory receptor's ability to respond to sound after noise exposure. Surprisingly, after noise exposure, the electrophysiological properties of the auditory receptors remain unchanged, despite a decrease in the ability to transduce sound. This auditory deficit stems from changes in a specialized receptor lymph that bathes the auditory receptors, revealing striking parallels with the mammalian auditory system.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Noise exposure is the largest preventable cause of hearing loss. It is the auditory receptors that bear the initial brunt of excessive acoustic stimulation, because they must convert excessive sound-induced movements into electrical signals, but remain functional afterward. Here we use the accessible ear of an invertebrate to, for the first time in any animal, characterize changes in auditory receptors after noise overexposure. We find that their decreased ability to transduce sound into electrical signals is, most probably, due to changes in supporting (scolopale) cells that maintain the ionic composition of the ear. An emerging doctrine in hearing research is that vertebrate primary auditory receptors are surprisingly robust, something that we show rings true for invertebrate ears too.

Knowledge about objects encompasses not only their prototypical features but also complex, atypical, semantic knowledge (e.g., "Pizza was invented in Naples"). This fMRI study of male and female human participants combines univariate and multivariate analyses to consider the cortical representation of this more complex semantic knowledge. Using the categories of food, people, and places, this study investigates whether access to spatially related geographic semantic knowledge (1) involves the same domain-selective neural representations involved in access to prototypical taste knowledge about food; and (2) elicits activation of neural representations classically linked to places when this geographic knowledge is accessed about food and people. In three experiments using word stimuli, domain-relevant and atypical conceptual access for the categories food, people, and places were assessed. Results uncover two principles of semantic representation: food-selective representations in the left insula continue to be recruited when prototypical taste knowledge is task-irrelevant and under conditions of high cognitive demand; access to geographic knowledge for food and people categories involves the additional recruitment of classically place-selective parahippocampal gyrus, retrosplenial complex, and transverse occipital sulcus. These findings underscore the importance of object category in the representation of a broad range of knowledge, while showing how the cross recruitment of specialized representations may endow the considerable flexibility of our complex semantic knowledge.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We know not only stereotypical things about objects (an apple is round, graspable, edible) but can also flexibly combine typical and atypical features to form complex concepts (the metaphorical role an apple plays in Judeo-Christian belief). In this fMRI study, we observe that, when atypical geographic knowledge is accessed about food dishes, domain-selective sensorimotor-related cortical representations continue to be recruited, but that regions classically associated with place perception are additionally engaged. This interplay between categorically driven representations, linked to the object being accessed, and the flexible recruitment of semantic stores linked to the content being accessed, provides a potential mechanism for the broad representational repertoire of our semantic system.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a multifunctional protein that signals through the MET receptor. HGF stimulates cell proliferation, cell dispersion, neuronal survival, and wound healing. In the inner ear, levels of HGF must be fine-tuned for normal hearing. In mice, a deficiency of HGF expression limited to the auditory system, or an overexpression of HGF, causes neurosensory deafness. In humans, noncoding variants in HGF are associated with nonsyndromic deafness DFNB39. However, the mechanism by which these noncoding variants causes deafness was unknown. Here, we reveal the cause of this deafness using a mouse model engineered with a noncoding intronic 10 bp deletion (del10) in Hgf. Male and female mice homozygous for del10 exhibit moderate-to-profound hearing loss at 4 weeks of age as measured by tone burst auditory brainstem responses. The wild type (WT) 80 mV endocochlear potential was significantly reduced in homozygous del10 mice compared with WT littermates. In normal cochlea, endocochlear potentials are dependent on ion homeostasis mediated by the stria vascularis (SV). Previous studies showed that developmental incorporation of neural crest cells into the SV depends on signaling from HGF/MET. We show by immunohistochemistry that, in del10 homozygotes, neural crest cells fail to infiltrate the developing SV intermediate layer. Phenotyping and RNAseq analyses reveal no other significant abnormalities in other tissues. We conclude that, in the inner ear, the noncoding del10 mutation in Hgf leads to developmental defects of the SV and consequently dysfunctional ion homeostasis and a reduction in the EP, recapitulating human DFNB39 nonsyndromic deafness.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Hereditary deafness is a common, clinically and genetically heterogeneous neurosensory disorder. Previously, we reported that human deafness DFNB39 is associated with noncoding variants in the 3'UTR of a short isoform of HGF encoding hepatocyte growth factor. For normal hearing, HGF levels must be fine-tuned as an excess or deficiency of HGF cause deafness in mouse. Using a Hgf mutant mouse with a small 10 bp deletion recapitulating a human DFNB39 noncoding variant, we demonstrate that neural crest cells fail to migrate into the stria vascularis intermediate layer, resulting in a significantly reduced endocochlear potential, the driving force for sound transduction by inner ear hair cells. HGF-associated deafness is a neurocristopathy but, unlike many other neurocristopathies, it is not syndromic.

Neural plasticity due to hearing loss results in tonotopic map changes. Several studies have suggested a relation between hearing loss-induced tonotopic reorganization and tinnitus. This large fMRI study on humans was intended to clarify the relations between hearing loss, tinnitus, and tonotopic reorganization. To determine the differential effect of hearing loss and tinnitus, both male and female participants with bilateral high-frequency hearing loss, with and without tinnitus, and a control group were included. In a total of 90 participants, bilateral cortical responses to sound stimulation were measured with loudness-matched pure-tone stimuli (0.25-8 kHz). In the bilateral auditory cortices, the high-frequency sound-evoked activation level was higher in both hearing-impaired participant groups, compared with the control group. This was most prominent in the hearing loss group without tinnitus. Similarly, the tonotopic maps for the hearing loss without tinnitus group were significantly different from the controls, whereas the maps of those with tinnitus were not. These results show that higher response amplitudes and map reorganization are a characteristic of hearing loss, not of tinnitus. Both tonotopic maps and response amplitudes of tinnitus participants appear intermediate to the controls and hearing loss without tinnitus group. This observation suggests a connection between tinnitus and an incomplete form of central compensation to hearing loss, rather than excessive adaptation. One implication of this may be that treatments for tinnitus shift their focus toward enhancing the cortical plasticity, instead of reversing it.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Tinnitus, a common and potentially devastating condition, is the presence of a "phantom" sound that often accompanies hearing loss. Hearing loss is known to induce plastic changes in cortical and subcortical areas. Although plasticity is a valuable trait that allows the human brain to rewire and recover from injury and sensory deprivation, it can lead to tinnitus as an unwanted side effect. In this large fMRI study, we provide evidence that tinnitus is related to a more conservative form of reorganization than in hearing loss without tinnitus. This result contrasts with the previous notion that tinnitus is related to excessive reorganization. As a consequence, treatments for tinnitus may need to enhance the cortical plasticity, rather than reverse it.

Despite their opposing actions on food intake, POMC and NPY/AgRP neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARH) are derived from the same progenitors that give rise to ARH neurons. However, the mechanism whereby common neuronal precursors subsequently adopt either the anorexigenic (POMC) or the orexigenic (NPY/AgRP) identity remains elusive. We hypothesize that POMC and NPY/AgRP cell fates are specified and maintained by distinct intrinsic factors. In search of them, we profiled the transcriptomes of developing POMC and NPY/AgRP neurons in mice. Moreover, cell-type-specific transcriptomic analyses revealed transcription regulators that are selectively enriched in either population, but whose developmental functions are unknown in these neurons. Among them, we found the expression of the PR domain-containing factor 12 (Prdm12) was enriched in POMC neurons but absent in NPY/AgRP neurons. To study the role of Prdm12 in vivo, we developed and characterized a floxed Prdm12 allele. Selective ablation of Prdm12 in embryonic POMC neurons led to significantly reduced Pomc expression as well as early-onset obesity in mice of either sex that recapitulates symptoms of human POMC deficiency. Interestingly, however, specific deletion of Prdm12 in adult POMC neurons showed that it is no longer required for Pomc expression or energy balance. Collectively, these findings establish a critical role for Prdm12 in the anorexigenic neuron identity and suggest that it acts developmentally to program body weight homeostasis. Finally, the combination of cell-type-specific genomic and genetic analyses provides a means to dissect cellular and functional diversity in the hypothalamus whose neurodevelopment remains poorly studied.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT POMC and NPY/AgRP neurons are derived from the same hypothalamic progenitors but have opposing effects on food intake. We profiled the transcriptomes of genetically labeled POMC and NPY/AgRP neurons in the developing mouse hypothalamus to decipher the transcriptional codes behind the versus orexigenic neuron identity. Our analyses revealed 29 transcription regulators that are selectively enriched in one of the two populations. We generated new mouse genetic models to selective ablate one of POMC-neuron enriched transcription factors Prdm12 in developing and adult POMC neurons. Our studies establish a previously unrecognized role for Prdm12 in the anorexigenic neuron identity and suggest that it acts developmentally to program body weight homeostasis.

Gamma-band oscillations (GBOs) elicited by transient nociceptive stimuli are one of the most promising biomarkers of pain across species. Still, whether these GBOs reflect stimulus encoding in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) or nocifensive behavior in the primary motor cortex (M1) is debated. Here we recorded neural activity simultaneously from the brain surface as well as at different depths of the bilateral S1/M1 in freely-moving male rats receiving nociceptive stimulation. GBOs measured from superficial layers of S1 contralateral to the stimulated paw not only had the largest magnitude, but also showed the strongest temporal and phase coupling with epidural GBOs. Also, spiking of superficial S1 interneurons had the strongest phase coherence with epidural GBOs. These results provide the first direct demonstration that scalp GBOs, one of the most promising pain biomarkers, reflect neural activity strongly coupled with the fast spiking of interneurons in the superficial layers of the S1 contralateral to the stimulated side.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Nociceptive-induced gamma-band oscillations (GBOs) measured at population level are one of the most promising biomarkers of pain perception. Our results provide the direct demonstration that these GBOs reflect neural activity coupled with the spike firing of interneurons in the superficial layers of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) contralateral to the side of nociceptive stimulation. These results address the ongoing debate about whether nociceptive-induced GBOs recorded with scalp EEG or epidurally reflect stimulus encoding in the S1 or nocifensive behavior in the primary motor cortex (M1), and will therefore influence how experiments in pain neuroscience will be designed and interpreted.

Dopaminergic neurons innervate extensive areas of the brain and release dopamine (DA) onto a wide range of target neurons. However, DA release is also precisely regulated. In Drosophila melanogaster brain explant preparations, DA is released specifically onto α3/α'3 compartments of mushroom body (MB) neurons that have been coincidentally activated by cholinergic and glutamatergic inputs. The mechanism for this precise release has been unclear. Here we found that coincidentally activated MB neurons generate carbon monoxide (CO), which functions as a retrograde signal evoking local DA release from presynaptic terminals. CO production depends on activity of heme oxygenase in postsynaptic MB neurons, and CO-evoked DA release requires Ca²⁺ efflux through ryanodine receptors in DA terminals. CO is only produced in MB areas receiving coincident activation, and removal of CO using scavengers blocks DA release. We propose that DA neurons use two distinct modes of transmission to produce global and local DA signaling.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Dopamine (DA) is needed for various higher brain functions, including memory formation. However, DA neurons form extensive synaptic connections, while memory formation requires highly specific and localized DA release. Here we identify a mechanism through which DA release from presynaptic terminals is controlled by postsynaptic activity. Postsynaptic neurons activated by cholinergic and glutamatergic inputs generate carbon monoxide, which acts as a retrograde messenger inducing presynaptic DA release. Released DA is required for memory-associated plasticity. Our work identifies a novel mechanism that restricts DA release to the specific postsynaptic sites that require DA during memory formation.

One of the first signs of viral infection is body-wide aches and pain. Although this type of pain usually subsides, at the extreme, viral infections can induce painful neuropathies that can last for decades. Neither of these types of pain sensitization is well understood. A key part of the response to viral infection is production of interferons (IFNs), which then activate their specific receptors (IFNRs) resulting in downstream activation of cellular signaling and a variety of physiological responses. We sought to understand how type I IFNs (IFN-α and IFN-β) might act directly on nociceptors in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) to cause pain sensitization. We demonstrate that type I IFNRs are expressed in small/medium DRG neurons and that their activation produces neuronal hyper-excitability and mechanical pain in mice. Type I IFNs stimulate JAK/STAT signaling in DRG neurons but this does not apparently result in PKR-eIF2α activation that normally induces an anti-viral response by limiting mRNA translation. Rather, type I IFNs stimulate MNK-mediated eIF4E phosphorylation in DRG neurons to promote pain hypersensitivity. Endogenous release of type I IFNs with the double-stranded RNA mimetic poly(I:C) likewise produces pain hypersensitivity that is blunted in mice lacking MNK-eIF4E signaling. Our findings reveal mechanisms through which type I IFNs cause nociceptor sensitization with implications for understanding how viral infections promote pain and can lead to neuropathies.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT It is increasingly understood that pathogens interact with nociceptors to alert organisms to infection as well as to mount early host defenses. Although specific mechanisms have been discovered for diverse bacterial and fungal pathogens, mechanisms engaged by viruses have remained elusive. Here we show that type I interferons, one of the first mediators produced by viral infection, act directly on nociceptors to produce pain sensitization. Type I interferons act via a specific signaling pathway (MNK-eIF4E signaling), which is known to produce nociceptor sensitization in inflammatory and neuropathic pain conditions. Our work reveals a mechanism through which viral infections cause heightened pain sensitivity

Statistical regularities in natural sounds facilitate the perceptual segregation of auditory sources, or streams. Repetition is one cue that drives stream segregation in humans, but the neural basis of this perceptual phenomenon remains unknown. We demonstrated a similar perceptual ability in animals by training ferrets of both sexes to detect a stream of repeating noise samples (foreground) embedded in a stream of random samples (background). During passive listening, we recorded neural activity in primary auditory cortex (A1) and secondary auditory cortex (posterior ectosylvian gyrus, PEG). We used two context-dependent encoding models to test for evidence of streaming of the repeating stimulus. The first was based on average evoked activity per noise sample and the second on the spectro-temporal receptive field. Both approaches tested whether differences in neural responses to repeating versus random stimuli were better modeled by scaling the response to both streams equally (global gain) or by separately scaling the response to the foreground versus background stream (stream-specific gain). Consistent with previous observations of adaptation, we found an overall reduction in global gain when the stimulus began to repeat. However, when we measured stream-specific changes in gain, responses to the foreground were enhanced relative to the background. This enhancement was stronger in PEG than A1. In A1, enhancement was strongest in units with low sparseness (i.e., broad sensory tuning) and with tuning selective for the repeated sample. Enhancement of responses to the foreground relative to the background provides evidence for stream segregation that emerges in A1 and is refined in PEG.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT To interact with the world successfully, the brain must parse behaviorally important information from a complex sensory environment. Complex mixtures of sounds often arrive at the ears simultaneously or in close succession, yet they are effortlessly segregated into distinct perceptual sources. This process breaks down in hearing-impaired individuals and speech recognition devices. By identifying the underlying neural mechanisms that facilitate perceptual segregation, we can develop strategies for ameliorating hearing loss and improving speech recognition technology in the presence of background noise. Here, we present evidence to support a hierarchical process, present in primary auditory cortex and refined in secondary auditory cortex, in which sound repetition facilitates segregation.

Structural plasticity of dendritic spines is a key component of the refinement of synaptic connections during learning. Recent studies highlight a novel role for the NMDA receptor (NMDAR), independent of ion flow, in driving spine shrinkage and LTD. Yet little is known about the molecular mechanisms that link conformational changes in the NMDAR to changes in spine size and synaptic strength. Here, using two-photon glutamate uncaging to induce plasticity at individual dendritic spines on hippocampal CA1 neurons from mice and rats of both sexes, we demonstrate that p38 MAPK is generally required downstream of non-ionotropic NMDAR signaling to drive both spine shrinkage and LTD. In a series of pharmacological and molecular genetic experiments, we identify key components of the non-ionotropic NMDAR signaling pathway driving dendritic spine shrinkage, including the interaction between NOS1AP (nitric oxide synthase 1 adaptor protein) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), nNOS enzymatic activity, activation of MK2 (MAPK-activated protein kinase 2) and cofilin, and signaling through CaMKII. Our results represent a large step forward in delineating the molecular mechanisms of non-ionotropic NMDAR signaling that can drive shrinkage and elimination of dendritic spines during synaptic plasticity.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Signaling through the NMDA receptor (NMDAR) is vitally important for the synaptic plasticity that underlies learning. Recent studies highlight a novel role for the NMDAR, independent of ion flow, in driving synaptic weakening and dendritic spine shrinkage during synaptic plasticity. Here, we delineate several key components of the molecular pathway that links conformational signaling through the NMDAR to dendritic spine shrinkage during synaptic plasticity.

FAO is working to help typhoon-affected farmers to ensure the next harvests in 2014 – You can help as well. Philippine farmers need urgent assistance  to avoid a double tragedy befalling rural survivors of Typhoon Haiyan. The typhoon hit just as farmers were beginning a new planting season, and FAO estimates that over one million farmers have been affected and hundreds of [...]

Once known as “the gold of the Incas,” quinoa has been one of the world’s neglected crops but is currently becoming more and more popular. For centuries, quinoa remained a hidden treasure grown almost exclusively by indigenous communities in the Andean heights. Lately, quinoa has been growing in popularity with foodies and health-conscious consumers around the world. It was even [...]

As FAO launches dedicated webpages on post-2015, here are seven things to know about the process and how FAO is playing its part. 7 - Post-2015 development agenda - The name refers to the process through which Member States agree on a new global development framework to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight goals that followed the UN Millennium Declaration [...]

In the face of changing weather driven by climate change and the increasing demand for food, Conservation Agriculture (CA) aims to achieve sustainable and profitable agriculture and improve farmers’ livelihoods. Here are five things you need to know. 1. CA observes three main principles that you should remember Direct seeding involves growing crops without mechanical seedbed preparation and with minimal soil disturbance [...]

Farmer field schools (FFS) are essentially schools without walls that introduce new technological innovations while building on indigenous knowledge. In FFS, farmers are the experts. Key features and principles of the FFS approach – TRUE or FALSE? The FFS approach allows farmers to learn through testing changes in a controlled, group-based environment TRUE:  Discovery-based learning is an essential part of the FFS as [...]

At the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced a new global challenge for world leaders and individuals from all sectors: create a world where no one is hungry. He emphasized that there is enough food in the world to feed our population, so the challenge comes from making sure that everyone has access [...]

All over the world local varieties of fruit, vegetables and grain are grown. Many are seemingly forgotten or are underutilized despite having outstanding nutritional or taste qualities. Some have good commercial potential and could be an excellent cash crop for a smallscale or family farmers, aimed at the local, regional or international market. Here are six traditional crops and six facts [...]

They are delicious, they are nutritious and they make your mouth water.  If you know your apples from your oranges, then pit your wits against our fruit quiz. You will need to guess where different fruits come from, where they are most popular and how good they are for you. Let’s get started. 1. Which country is the biggest producer of dates? A.    [...]

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It’s been around for thousands of years; the UN General Assembly named an international year for it in 2013; and now it has been sent into space. Quinoa is a superfood in more ways than one. It is a good source of protein, the highest of all the whole grains; and its edible seeds provide all of the essential amino acids the body [...]

Ripe, juicy, and practically begging to be eaten, berries are a spring and summer treat that make your mouth water. To celebrate the pinnacle of berry season, we gathered some facts and figures and are challenging you to see how far your berry knowledge really goes. 

As we celebrate our 70-year anniversary, find out how much you know about the work that FAO is doing around the world. Answer these 7 questions and help us fight hunger by becoming an ambassador of FAO!

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Banana split, banana muffins, banana bread, banana pudding, banana pancakes – whether plain, cooked, baked or fried, bananas are among the most widely consumed fruits on the planet. However, how much do we really know about this most produced and exported fruit? Here are 11 interesting facts you should know about bananas: Based on written references discovered in Sanskrit around the year [...]

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The oceans have it all: from microscopic life to the largest animal that has ever lived on Earth, from the colourless to the shimmering, from the frozen to the boiling and from the sunlit to the mysterious dark of the deepest parts of the planet. Oceans are an essential component of the Earth's ecosystem -- a source of biodiversity, food, and [...]

Over the past years, we have often been reminded that we must leave no one behind as we strive to cement our plans for a sustainable future. Most recent data indicate that many of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have achieved undernourishment levels of less than 5 percent. Good governance is perhaps the most essential factor in increasing food [...]

Constituting only 5 percent of the world population, indigenous peoples nevertheless are vital stewards of the environment. Traditional indigenous territories encompass 22 percent of the world’s land surface, but 80 percent of the planet’s biodiversity.  A third of global forests, crucial for curbing gas emissions, are primarily managed by indigenous peoples, families, smallholders and local communities. Indigenous foods are also particularly [...]

Forests are one of nature’s great providers. A source of water and food security, they also give us everything from paper and medicine to renewable energy, low-tech air conditioning and air cleansers. They also protect and enrich biodiversity and are a major tool in the fight against climate change. Ask several people what a forest is and their answers will probably [...]

Some of the most innovative ways being used to improve agricultural practices involve nuclear technology. Nuclear applications in agriculture rely on the use of isotopes and radiation techniques to combat pests and diseases, increase crop production, protect land and water resources, ensure food safety and authenticity, and increase livestock production. FAO and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been expanding [...]