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| News Around World |
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An experimental influenza drug can protect mice against H5N1 avian influenza better than the preferred drug Tamiflu, researchers reported. The drug, called T-705 or favipiravir, is made by Fujifilm Holdings Corp unit Toyama Chemical Co. It works differently from Tamiflu and Relenza and seems to work at lower doses, the researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Tamiflu. Roche AG and Gilead Sciences Inc's popular pill and Relenza, GlaxoSmithKline's and Biota Inc's inhaled flu drug, must be given within 48 hours to be fully effective.
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In what amounted to a kind of census of sweet corn grown for processing, three years of data from 175 fields in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota shed light on what works and what doesn't. Along with identifying the most troublesome weeds, the results also revealed some of the more complicated relationships among factors influencing both weed control and sweet corn yield in the Midwest. From other sources Williams acquired environmental data for the fields, including temperature, rainfall, and latitude. In all, the study analyzed 20 environmental variables, 30 agronomic variables, and 56 weed species.
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Rice
is one of the most important crops worldwide, as it feeds over half of
the world's population. Domesticated rice is an important supply of the
world's rice. However, these strains are genetically static and cannot
adapt to changing growing conditions. Traditional varieties, or
landraces, of rice are genetically evolving and provide a pool of
traits that can be tapped to improve crops worldwide. Research from
Barbara A. Schaal, Ph.D., the Mary-Dell Chilton Distinguished Professor
of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St.
Louis, and her colleagues at Chiang Mai University in Thailand shows
how natural genetic drift and agricultural practices of the traditional
farmers combine to influence the genetic diversity of a given landrace
of rice. |
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