There’s a farm in Arkansas growing soybeans, corn, and rice that is aiming to be the most scientifically advanced farm in the world. Soil samples are run through powerful machines to have their microbes genetically sequenced, drones are flying overhead taking hyperspectral images of the crops, and soon supercomputers will be crunching the massive volumes of data collected.
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Research in India Finds Mobile Phone 'Alerts' Plus 'Free Minutes' Improve Childhood Immunization Rates
In a study conducted in rural India, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers working in collaboration with Bal Umang Drishya Sanstha (BUDS), a nonprofit Indian organization focused on child health, have found that mobile phone reminders linked with incentives such as free talk time minutes work better than phone alerts alone to improve childhood immunization rates in poor communities.
Decreased Oxygen Levels Could Present Hidden Threat to Marine Species, Study Suggests
Species living in coastal regions could face a significant future threat from reduced levels of oxygen in the marine environment, according to research published in Nature Scientific Reports.
Smoking Linked With Higher Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
The prevalence of diabetes has increased almost 10-fold in China since the early 1980s, with one in 10 adults in China now affected by diabetes. Although adiposity is the major modifiable risk factor for diabetes, other research in China suggests this can explain only about 50% of the increase in diabetes prevalence over recent decades, suggesting other lifestyle factors, including smoking, may play a role in the aetiology of diabetes. In recent decades, there has been a large increase in cigarette smoking in China, especially among men. About two thirds of Chinese men now smoke, consuming roughly 40% of the world’s cigarettes.
How cash can promote tropical forest conservation
Paying rural villagers to cut down fewer trees boosts conservation not only while the payments are being made but even after they’re discontinued, according to a new CU Boulder study involving 1,200 tropical forest users in five developing countries.
Chain Reaction of Fast-Draining Lakes Poses New Risk for Greenland Ice Sheet
A growing network of lakes on the Greenland ice sheet has been found to drain in a chain reaction that speeds up the flow of the ice sheet, threatening its stability.