The Environmental Protection Authority has approved an application from Daisy Lab Limited to produce dairy-identical proteins using genetically modified organisms in a contained facility.
EPA’s General Manager Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Dr Chris Hill says, “Precision fermentation has the potential to offer significant savings in land use, water use, and reduction in carbon footprint. Continue reading
Dr Hadee Thompson-Morrison has been awarded the Zonta Science Award 2024.
The award reccoginises her exceptional dedication to advancing scientific research, particularly in the realm of sustainable resource management and ecosystem conservation.
The Zonta Club of Wellington announced the award, describing Dr Thompson-Morison as a passionate advocate for the sustainable management of natural resources and the conservation of unique ecosystems. Her academic career has been driven by a profound commitment to making a positive impact on environmental sustainability. Continue reading
The discovery of how a critical enzyme “hidden in nature’s blueprint” works sheds new light on how cells control key processes in carbon fixation, a process fundamental for life on Earth.
The discovery, made by scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Newcastle (UoN), could help engineer climate resilient crops capable of sucking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere more efficiently, helping to produce more food in the process. Continue reading
Nadine Tunley, Chief Executive of Horticulture New Zealand, has resigned. Her last day at HortNZ will be Friday, 30 August.
Nadine Tunley says this was not an easy decision to make.
“I love the job and the team and working with dedicated and passionate growers. But the role is bigger than the time I can commit to it moving forward. I want to restore my work-life balance and explore new opportunities. Continue reading
Facial Eczema (FE) in cattle and sheep represents a long-standing challenge for New Zealand’s agricultural sector, undermining the health and productivity of livestock while imposing significant economic and emotional burdens on farmers.
The recent announcement of an $8.3 million commitment by the Ministry for Primary Industries through the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures Fund, alongside a $9 million contribution from Beef + Lamb New Zealand and additional funding from other industry partners – totalling $20.75 million over a seven-year period – marks a pivotal moment in the fight against this disease. Continue reading
Drones monitoring fields for weeds and robots targeting and treating crop diseases are at work on some experimental farms. Researchers from the PhenoRob Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn, who are examining the smart digitalization of agriculture, have now published a list of the research questions that will need to be tackled as a priority in the future.
Their paper has appeared in the European Journal of Agronomy.
That the Earth feeds over eight billion people nowadays is thanks not least to modern high-performance agriculture. However, this success comes at a high cost. Current cultivation methods are threatening biodiversity, while the production of synthetic fertilizers generates greenhouse gases, and agricultural chemicals are polluting bodies of water and the environment. Continue reading
H5N1 has decimated wild birds and poultry populations worldwide, and spilled over into a number of mammal species.
Scientists believe the virus might be passing from cow to cow in US dairy farms, and one case of a human contracting the disease after contact with infected cattle has been confirmed.
H5N1 has not yet been detected in New Zealand, Australia or the Pacific Islands.
The Science Media Centre has previously gathered comments on the global spread of H5N1, and its arrival in mainland Antarctica.
US-based New Zealand infectious diseases researcher Professor Richard Webby was a panelist for the webinar.
“The WHO held an EPI-WIN meeting on Monday Geneva time. The purpose was to provide a general update on the situation and provide some details on WHO activities specifically as it relates to this event and the threat from influenza viruses in general. Updates were given from the epidemiology and also food safety aspects with an active Q&A session following.
“The WHO, and also US CDC, consider the virus to pose a low risk to human health. The infection of cows does, however, increase the exposure of humans to the virus and also provides an opportunity for the virus to evolve through replication in a mammal host. Only one confirmed human case has been detected with the cow infections. The individual worked on a dairy farm and showed symptoms of conjunctivitis.
“The message was also reassuring in regard to food safety with pasteurization successful in limiting virus in consumer milk and milk products despite genetic material of the virus (but not infectious virus) being found in 20-40% of supermarket milk samples in the US. There are large amounts of infectious virus in the milk of heavily infected cows and the finding of remnants of the virus in pasteurized products isn’t too surprising.
“WHO reiterated the activities it has been doing in response to the outbreak including assessment of readiness in terms of candidate vaccine viruses. There are two candidate vaccine viruses, the viruses that manufacturers use in conventional flu vaccine manufacture, that are well matched to the bovine viruses. The WHO members also reiterated the fact that although much focus is currently on cows in the US, the threat of these avian flu viruses is wider.
“From a New Zealand perspective, the larger threat of the H5 virus getting to its shores is through migrating birds, either from Antarctica up or from the North down. The risk to cows in New Zealand right now is very very low. If the virus did ever turn up in New Zealand cows, there is a lot to learn from the US experiences. Having a unified response across sectors (human, environmental, and animal health) is critical as is the honest flow of information. The virus can likely be slowed in its spread, but this requires testing and limiting of animal movement across the country.”
Conflict of interest: The work we do is primarily funded by the US NIH. I am also the Director of a WHO Collaborating Center and involved in the selection of vaccine viruses against zoonotic flu threats.
Source: Science Media Centre
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month announced there had been a case of the highly pathogenic bird flu, H5N1, in a dairy farm worker in the US.
Scientists have now published details about the case in the New England Journal of Medicine. Continue reading
The New Zealand Association of Scientists says the Science System Advisory Group’s (SSAG’s) consultations and Terms of Reference (ToR) send worrying signals when combined with recent comments from the Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology (SIT), Judith Collins.
As science faces the largest cuts in decades, NZAS Co-President Troy Baisden says: Continue reading
New Zealand Good Agricultural Practice (NZGAP) celebrates a major milestone this year, marking 25 years of providing consumers with an assurance that certified fruit and vegetables are produced safely and sustainably.
An event involving founders, growers, retailers, wholesalers, auditors, regulators, product groups, district associations, HortNZ representatives and current and former NZGAP committee members/managers was held in Wellington on 23 April to recognise the achievement. Continue reading
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