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Iceland Reporting Trip Roundup

2 September 2010 – 12:00 |

I went to Iceland in April to report on volcano monitoring during the Eyjafjallajökull eruption for Science Magazine.
That story, which appeared 23 April 2010, is here.
A pair of photos from my field trips appeared in …

Virus-resistant cassava could be available by 2015

9 July 2010 – 19:50 |

Cassava breeds that are resistant to two major viruses could soon be available to farmers in Africa.
Cassava mosaic disease and brown streak disease stunt the growth and rot the roots of crops, respectively.
Mosaic disease alone …

Spanish science spending lockdown

6 July 2010 – 18:40 |

Spain’s research institutions, which got a reprieve from major budget cuts last year, are tightening their belts in anticipation of flat or trimmed budgets over the next couple of years.

Collaborating with Citizen Scientists

24 June 2010 – 20:47 |

Climbing one of the world’s biggest granite walls is different from climbing trees, as National Park Service botanist Martin Hutten discovered while dangling from a cliff in the spray of Vernal Falls high above the Yosemite Valley.

African GM safety drill

10 June 2010 – 20:11 |

The African Union has set up a school to educate and train future regulators in genetically modified (GM) crop biosafety. The African Biosafety Network of Expertise (ABNE) was officially launched in April in Ouagadougou, Burkina …

The Sun as comet snatcher

10 June 2010 – 19:00 |

New simulations suggest that the Sun may have captured more than its fair share of comets from the primordial star-forming soup. The study, led by Harold Levison of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, …

Fruitfly larvae smell the light

1 June 2010 – 12:00 |

Researchers in Germany have genetically modified fruitfly larvae so that they can smell light. The team, led by Klemens Störtkuhl of Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, managed to change the larvae’s odour …

Braving Iceland’s Volcano

23 May 2010 – 17:29 |

The propeller-driven six-seater churns straight toward the brown plume over Eyjafjallajökull, unlike other aircraft taking off from Reykjavík airport. Inside, accompanied by a seasoned pilot, sits Björn Oddsson, a graduate student at the University of …

How green biotech turned white and blue

10 May 2010 – 18:00 |

Argentina has blazed a trail as one of the leading genetically modified (GM) crop producers. Can other developing countries import the seeds of its success?

Brewing a Cup of Volcanic Tea

4 May 2010 – 10:39 |

Many families along Iceland’s fertile southern coast can spin a good yarn about a close escape from an exploding volcano. Take Kristín Vogförð’s  grandfather, who was tending sheep on the eastern slopes of Katla when it …