This week in the world of nature and gardening: GMOs score a major US victory, a Native American tribe donates water to the dry Rio Grande, and roses get electronic implants.
Study Suggests Foraged Food is Safe
Above: Photo by Graeme Robertson via the Guardian.
The Boston-based League of Urban Canners led an inquiry to learn if urban foraged fruits and herbs contain higher levels of lead or other contaminants than store-bought produce. The study of 166 samples did contain some lead, but at levels significantly lower than the EPA's acceptable levels for tap water, and the foraged fruit had higher levels of most beneficial micronutrients than the store-bought fruit. Read it at Scientific American.
Cyborg Roses
Above: A 'Graham Thomas' rose featured in Garden Visit: A Modern CA Garden Inspired by the Classics.
Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have incorporated plant-compatible electronic material into roses, in hopes of developing tools for biologists to record or regulate the physiology of plants, akin to human-implanted medical devices. Read more at Nature.
Insecticides Make for Bumbling Bees
Above: Photo via A Healthy Life for Me.
A study conducted at Royal Holloway University in London suggests that neonicotinoids—the most widely used insecticides in the world—affect bees' behavior by impairing memory and navigational abilities and reducing the foraging skills of workers, ultimately slowing the growth of existing colonies. Read the study details, including some debate on its findings, in the Atlantic.
Pueblo Tribe Donates Water
Above: A dry river bed of the Rio Grande in Texas. Photo via NPR.
Cited as a first-of-its-kind donation, the Pueblo of Sandia tribe in New Mexico has agreed to donate water to supplement flow into the Middle Rio Grande. The water will be managed by the Audubon Society and used to bolster flows needed by fish and wildlife when the river bed dries out in summer. Read more at Audubon.
GMO Salmon Approved in US
Above: A genetically engineered salmon in back compared to a non-GMO sibling about the same age. Photo via New York Times.
In news that may have implications for the broader US and global GMO debate, the US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved genetically engineered salmon fit for human consumption, making it the first genetically altered animal to be approved. The salmon, called the AquAdvantage, is an Atlantic salmon engineered to grow to market size in as little as half the time as a non-engineered salmon. The fish will not be required to be labeled genetically altered, consistent with US policy on current modified food crops. Read the story at the New York Times.
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