Crop science booms in 'The Triangle' and strives to address population growth
A recent growth spurt promises intense new research with the potential to transform how — and how well — the world is fed, says an article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society.
Melody M. Bomgardner, a senior editor at C&EN, notes that the park, which is nestled between the higher education triad Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, has grown, thanks in part to a symbiotic relationship with the universities in those cities.
Biotech firms in “The Triangle” have long relied on nearby graduates to fill their research ranks. Resident agricultural company Syngenta has benefited since 1984. Now the area has attracted companies with its friendliness to genetic engineering.
In 2012, international giant Bayer CropScience relocated its seed business headquarters from France to the North Carolina hub. BASF made a similar move with its plant sciences base after meeting resistance in Europe to genetically modified crops.
The article says that since 2011 the area's firms have added 500,000 square feet of new research facilities and greenhouses to study important topics, such as pesticides against rootworm, threats to honeybees and drought tolerance.
Although the countless projects are incredibly varied, the scientists' overall mission is unified. Altogether they add up to no small task — helping the world double its agricultural output by 2050 when the population is expected to reach 9 billion.
The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 161,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.
Media Contact
All latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry
Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.
Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.
Newest articles
Machine learning algorithm reveals long-theorized glass phase in crystal
Scientists have found evidence of an elusive, glassy phase of matter that emerges when a crystal’s perfect internal pattern is disrupted. X-ray technology and machine learning converge to shed light…
Mapping plant functional diversity from space
HKU ecologists revolutionize ecosystem monitoring with novel field-satellite integration. An international team of researchers, led by Professor Jin WU from the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Hong…
Inverters with constant full load capability
…enable an increase in the performance of electric drives. Overheating components significantly limit the performance of drivetrains in electric vehicles. Inverters in particular are subject to a high thermal load,…
