Latest news with #UniversityofGöttingen
The Star
07-07-2025
- Science
- The Star
What happens if food imports and exports between countries suddenly stopped?
Less than half the countries surveyed produce sufficient nuts and seeds. — Pixabay What would happen if food imports and exports between countries suddenly stopped? Researchers have looked at this hypothetical situation to assess the food self-sufficiency of countries around the world. According to their estimates, only one nation would be able to feed its population in seven food categories if this catastrophic scenario were to occur. Published in the journal Nature Food, the study was conducted by researchers from the University of Göttingen (Germany) and the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). They used data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to assess the ability of 186 countries to supply themselves with legumes, nuts and seeds, vegetables, fruit, starchy foods, dairy products, meat, and fish. Taking these seven major food categories into account, only one country on the list would be capable of self-sufficiency, ie, capable of providing food for its inhabitants across all seven categories without depending on other countries. This is Guyana, a South American country with a population of around 800,000. Next come China and Vietnam, which would be able to supply themselves with six out of seven food categories. Out of 186 countries, 154 can meet the requirements of two to five of the seven food groups. But overall, the picture is worrying. Only one country in seven is self-sufficient in five or more food groups. Most of these nations are located in Europe and South America. The other countries have low production and depend almost exclusively on a single trading partner for more than half of their imports. 'Low self-sufficiency and overdependence on a few countries for imports threaten their capability to respond to global shocks, particularly for small states,' the report states. Worse still, some countries are unable to achieve self- sufficiency in any of the food groups studied. This is the case in Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Macao, Qatar, and Yemen. Establishing more resilient supply chains This finding is all the more alarming given the recent restrictions imposed by the United States since Donald Trump returned to power in January 2025. 'International food trade and cooperation is essential for healthy and sustainable diets. However, heavy reliance on imports from single countries can leave nations vulnerable. Building resilient food supply chains is imperative for ensuring public health,' cautions the study's first author, Jonas Stehl, a researcher at the University of Göttingen, quoted in a news release. The need for nations to be self-sufficient is also crucial in tackling the climate crisis. While a large majority of European countries overproduce meat and dairy products, demand for these foods is very low in African countries. Less than half of countries produce enough foods such as beans and peas, as well as nuts and seeds, while only a quarter produce enough vegetables to meet domestic demand. 'Climate shocks are reshaping the agriculture sector and will continue to intensify. Open trade and innovation are essential to secure healthy, low-carbon diets,' says study co-author, Alexander Vonderschmidt, PhD researcher at the University of Edinburgh's Division of Global Agriculture and Food Systems. — AFP Relaxnews
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Farmers sound the alarm over rapid spread of insect that evolves to eat more crops: 'Further spread ... to other European countries is to be expected'
A new agricultural threat is quickly spreading through Europe, and it's only a few millimeters long, according to Euractiv. Farmers in Germany are raising the alarm about a tiny insect, known as the reed leafhopper, that has evolved to feed on and destroy critical crops like sugar beet and potatoes. Once a harmless resident of wetland reeds, this adaptable pest is now rapidly expanding its range and appetite, with troubling implications for food security and farming across the continent. The reed leafhopper ("Pentastiridius leporinus") is now known to spread a bacterial plant disease called syndrome "basses richesses" (SBR). Different leafhopper variants have also been found in nations like Argentina. The disease significantly reduces crop yields and sugar content, making affected harvests far less valuable. Over 100,000 hectares of farmland in Germany were infested in 2023 alone. Originally found in reed beds and considered harmless, the insect has since adapted to new host plants, including tomatoes, celery, and beetroot. Entomologist Dr. Michael Rostás of the University of Göttingen confirmed the insect's spread and evolution, warning, "Further spread of the leafhopper and the diseases it transmits to other European countries is to be expected." The reed leafhopper's expansion is a growing threat to European agriculture. Because it weakens crops from the inside out, it's hard to detect until the damage is done. As it adapts to more host plants and benefits from warmer conditions, experts believe rising temperatures may be helping it thrive. Farmers face a unique challenge: this new pest is evolving faster than they can keep up with. It can now even survive the winter by living in the roots of cereal crops like wheat, making traditional crop rotation methods less effective. If left unchecked, it could threaten the stability of food supply chains across Europe. Should the government be paying people to hunt invasive species? Definitely Depends on the animal No way Just let people do it for free Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Germany has issued emergency authorizations for pesticide use in crops to slow the insect's spread. But experts say this is only a stopgap measure. The German Farmers' Association is calling for long-term solutions, including changes to European Union regulations that would allow for new genomic breeding techniques like CRISPR. These methods could help develop crop varieties resistant to the disease the insect carries. Until those tools are approved, farmers will need to rely on careful crop management, timely planting decisions, and community-level monitoring. When it comes to protecting our food supply from fast-moving threats, innovation and cooperation remain our best lines of defense. Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
This creature can 3D-print its own body parts
Most people will never see a bristle worm in the wild, but according to a new study, the science derived from these bristly beasts may someday benefit you or someone you know. Bristle worms—aka polychaetes— are saltwater worms with elaborate, hair-like structures; in some species, they allow the animals to paddle through the open ocean or 'walk' across the seafloor. 'One of the reasons that we're interested in bristle worms is because they're great models for regeneration biology,' says Florian Raible, a molecular biologist at the University of Vienna in Austria. 'So, they can actually regenerate most of their body, and they can do this very well compared to other systems.' While most of the lab was focusing on these regenerative superpowers, one of Raible's postdoc students at the time, Kyojiro Ikeda, happened to notice something peculiar at the molecular level, using electron microscopy and tomography. Looking more closely at the species known as Platynereis dumerilii, Ikeda noticed that everywhere the bristle worm had bristles, it also had a single cell known as a chaetoblast. More specifically, this chaetoblast has a protrusion that repeatedly elongates and then retracts, depositing a material known as chitin in the process of building each individual bristle. 'We sort of think of these protrusions as acting like a 3D printer,' says Raible, senior author of a study detailing the discovery in Nature Communications last year. 'Every single individual bristle is made by a single cell.' Surprisingly, Raible says there's a 'striking parallel' between the geometry of the bristle worm's chaetoblasts and the sensory cells found in the inner ear of humans and other vertebrates. And this means that in addition to teaching scientists about regeneration, the bristle worm system may be able to serve as a proxy for such cells, allowing us to study conditions like deafness (which can occur when sensory cells in the inner ear are damaged). 'So, we essentially have a new parallel between very evolutionarily distant organisms, such as us and these polychaete worms,' he says. There are more than 24,000 species of worms on this planet, and while most of us tend to only think about the ones wriggling through the garden, these tubular creatures are incredibly diverse. The giant Gippsland earthworm of Australia can grow to be nearly 10 feet long, for example, while worms in the Chaetopteridae family glow in the dark, and bloodworms are venomous devourers of flesh. 'For me, the most fascinating part is the fact that such a group of animals managed to adapt to different habitats, which caused an immense variety of organ system adaptations and changing body plans,' says Conrad Helm, a biologist at the University of Göttingen in Germany. 'So, most of them look quite bizarre and fascinating and are totally different from the picture most people have in mind when thinking of a worm.' For instance, bristle worms use their bristles to swim through open water, shuffle along the seafloor in a manner that resembles walking, and even dig tunnels. The bristles can also sometimes be equipped with hooks, stylets, and teeth, which allow the worms to secure themselves to their burrows. Interestingly, the authors were able to observe how such structures are formed in the new research, revealing that teeth are also laid down by the 3D-printing-like process as the overall bristle is formed, sort of like a conveyor belt. 'Every 30 to 40 minutes, a tooth is initiated,' says Ikeda, a cell biologist at the University of Vienna and lead author of the study. 'So, a new tooth is starting while the old one is synthesized.' All of these structures are made out of chitin, which is the second most common biopolymer on Earth, and importantly, one that is tolerated really well by the human body. This may mean that by studying polychaete bristles, scientists can develop new surgical stitches or adhesives that start out strong but are eventually absorbed into the human body. There are also plans to develop a new kind of cement for dental work, say the researchers. Helm says the new study only makes him more curious about these weird and wonderful creatures. 'It's really mind-blowing to see how nature is able to create a diversity of shapes and forms that humans are unable to replicate,' he says. 'What is groundbreaking in the new study is the fact that [the researchers] uncovered several ultrastructural and molecular details that were not known to science so far. Especially when it comes to the shaping of the bristles.' He notes that it goes to show how important it is to conduct unbiased, basic research. 'Without basic research, such biological materials or processes will never be usable for medical applications,' he says. 'The study shows that there are still many open questions.' Worms have been on this planet for more than 500 million years—which is about 100 million years before trees existed. Who knows what else these often-overlooked lifeforms have to teach us?
Free Malaysia Today
10-06-2025
- Science
- Free Malaysia Today
Only 1 country fully self-sufficient without global food trade
Researchers are assessing food self-sufficiency of countries around the world if food imports and exports between countries suddenly stopped. (Envato Elements pic) PARIS : What would happen if food imports and exports between countries suddenly stopped? Researchers have looked at this hypothetical situation to assess the food self-sufficiency of countries around the world. According to their estimates, only one nation would be able to feed its population in seven food categories if this catastrophic scenario were to occur. Published in the journal Nature Food, the study was conducted by researchers from the University of Göttingen (Germany) and the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). They used data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) to assess the ability of 186 countries to supply themselves with legumes, nuts and seeds, vegetables, fruit, starchy foods, dairy products, meat, and fish. Taking these seven major food categories into account, only one country on the list would be capable of self-sufficiency, ie, capable of providing food for its inhabitants across all seven categories without depending on other countries. This is Guyana, a South American country with a population of around 800,000. Next come China and Vietnam, which would be able to supply themselves with six out of seven food categories. Out of 186 countries, 154 can meet the requirements of two to five of the seven food groups. But overall, the picture is worrying. Only one country in seven is self-sufficient in five or more food groups. Most of these nations are located in Europe and South America. The other countries have low production and depend almost exclusively on a single trading partner for more than half of their imports. 'Low self-sufficiency and overdependence on a few countries for imports threaten their capability to respond to global shocks, particularly for small states,' the report stated. Worse still, some countries are unable to achieve self-sufficiency in any of the food groups studied. This is the case in Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Macao, Qatar, and Yemen. Establishing more resilient supply chains This finding is all the more alarming given the recent restrictions imposed by the United States since Donald Trump returned to power in January 2025. 'International food trade and cooperation is essential for healthy and sustainable diets. However, heavy reliance on imports from single countries can leave nations vulnerable. 'Building resilient food supply chains is imperative for ensuring public health,' cautioned the study's first author, Jonas Stehl, a researcher at the University of Göttingen, quoted in a news release. The need for nations to be self-sufficient is also crucial in tackling the climate crisis. While a large majority of European countries overproduce meat and dairy products, demand for these foods is very low in African countries. Less than half of countries produce enough foods such as beans and peas, as well as nuts and seeds, while only a quarter produce enough vegetables to meet domestic demand. 'Climate shocks are reshaping the agriculture sector and will continue to intensify. Open trade and innovation are essential to secure healthy, low-carbon diets,' said study co-author, Alexander Vonderschmidt, PhD researcher at the University of Edinburgh's Division of Global Agriculture and Food Systems.
India.com
06-06-2025
- General
- India.com
World's only nation that grows 100 percent of its own food; not US, India, Japan, India, Canada, China, Pakistan, Turkey, the country is...
Representational Image Food self-sufficiency: Food security is one of the primary necessities of any modern nation, as food self-sufficiency would essentially prevent a major disaster in the country in wake of a war or if global trade is halted. But is there any country on the planet that has achieved complete self-sufficiency in food? No, the answer is not any major world power like United States, Japan, Russia, China, India, Canada, Pakistan, or Turkey? The only country which is completely self-sufficient in all seven food groups is Guyana, a tiny South American country with a population of just 800,000 (8 lakh). World's only food self-sufficient country? A small nation located in South America, Guyana is the only country which has achieved complete self-sufficiency in a in all seven food groups- grains, pulses, fruits, vegetables, milk, meat and fish. Guyana's secret lies in its highly-planned agriculture, and balancing of resources, which are so efficiently distributed that the country has the ability to feed its own people, even if every border is closed and the Guyana is cut off from global trade. According to a joint research conducted by the University of Göttingen (Germany) and the University of Edinburgh (UK), Guyana is only country in the world with complete self-sufficiency in food. What about other countries? The study, published in the Nature FoodIt journal, examined food-production capacity of 186 countries worldwide and found that Guyana was only one that achieved self-sufficiency in all seven food groups, while China and Vietnam are almost self-sufficient in six food group. As per the study, only 1 in 7 countries (around 14 percent), have achieved self-sufficiency in five or more groups, while over 1/3 of countries are self-sufficient in only two or fewer food groups. In contrast, several countries do not even have self-sufficiency in a single food group. The countries include, Iraq, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Macau, Qatar, Yemen, among other. Economic unions lag behind in food self-reliance While many might believe that a group of nations could perform better together, the study reveals otherwise. As per the data collected by the study, major economic unions are not faring any better, with Gulf Cooperation Council being self-sufficient only in meat, while West Africa and Caribbean Union have become self-reliant in a few groups. No economic grouping has achieved self-sufficiency in vegetables, according to the study. Food self-sufficiency in India and United States Despite being a giant agriculture-based economy, India has yet to achieve self-sufficiency in every food group, and is heavily dependent upon food imports, especially cooking oil, pulses, and fruit to meet its food requirements. This is primarily due to India's growing population and climate. Similarly, while the US uses advanced technology to augment its agriculture, yet self-sufficient in every food group due to lack of diet diversity, and depends upon imports for many essential commodities like seafood or tropical fruits.
