Latest news with #cropresilience
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists make key breakthrough that could save staple foods from worsening crisis: 'This will revolutionize the way we think about agriculture'
Scientists make key breakthrough that could save staple foods from worsening crisis: 'This will revolutionize the way we think about agriculture' An international team led by researchers from Monash University in Australia has developed a new model for thermosensing plants that redefines previously held theories about how plants sense and respond to temperature. Their findings, published in the journal Science, explain that instead of using a single "thermometer" to sense temperature, like humans do, plants have a decentralized genetic network of proteins and biological processes. A changing climate has already affected crop yields and plant health, which makes this shift in perspective about how plants deal with temperature shifts extremely useful. "Understanding how plants naturally integrate temperature into their growth and defence systems opens the door to precision breeding and AI-assisted approaches to enhance crop resilience," said lead researcher Professor Sureshkumar Balasubramanian. "Effectively, this means we can grow designer crops that are tailored to the local climate of a particular region." A United Nations report has warned that in the next 30 years, food supplies and food security could be threatened by the negative impacts of a warming planet. Action needs to be taken to mitigate the effects and bolster the food system's resilience. There have been various advancements in helping plants deal with these climate shifts, including using zinc to protect plants from heat and slowing down the plant aging process through genetic engineering. Around a decade's worth of research into farming practices has shown that reduced tilling and more varied crops can help soil retain more nitrogen, which is essential to growth. Sorghum, which is a naturally resistant cereal grain, is being studied to better understand its molecular structure, which could help improve breeding practices for other plants. The results of this new comprehensive review about how plants sense temperatures can offer solutions to a broad range of plant species across different regions. This could help farmers breed resilient crops specifically tailored to their locality. What is the biggest reason you don't grow food at home? Not enough time Not enough space It seems too hard I have a garden already Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "Now that we have been able to identify exactly which elements within the plants are temperature-responsive, we can genetically manipulate them with greater accuracy," said Dr Sridevi Sureshkumar. "We can determine the specific combinations of manipulations that can produce bespoke solutions. Think of it like personalised medicine but for plants; this will revolutionize the way we think about agriculture moving forward." Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Flagship Pioneering Unveils Terrana Biosciences to Deliver Adaptive, Targeted Agricultural Solutions through a Novel RNA Technology Platform
Solutions focus on enhancing crop resilience, protecting yields, and addressing critical challenges in the global food system The company emerges after four years of platform development with an initial commitment of $50 million from Flagship Pioneering CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Flagship Pioneering, the bioplatform innovation company, today unveiled Terrana Biosciences™, a company pioneering RNA-based agricultural solutions to deliver protective and enhanced crop traits without altering the plant genome. Through its proprietary RNA technology platform, Terrana is developing targeted products designed to work at any time in a plant's lifecycle, enabling a continuous product pipeline that is adaptive and responsive to variable climate conditions and capable of generating new solutions at a fraction of the time and cost associated with conventional agriculture approaches. Flagship has initially committed $50 million to Terrana to scale operations and develop its first products in crop protection and yield. "At Flagship Pioneering, we build groundbreaking platforms that address the world's most pressing challenges. With Terrana, we are bringing an entirely new dimension of innovation to agriculture through similar RNA technology that we pioneered in human health," said Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D., Co-Founder of Terrana, Founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering. "This approach will empower farmers with precise, adaptive solutions to combat threats to crops in fields and orchards and enhance resiliency, sustainability, and productivity in the global food system." Trees and crops naturally use a vast ecosystem of self-replicating RNAs to influence trait expression. These native RNAs are abundant, diverse, and are already part of the plant's own biology, functioning like a native language that helps to communicate traits like growth, stress response, and development. Using advanced AI and computational models, Terrana has assembled a vast library of RNAs and built a design system that enables efficient assembly of novel functional crop traits, generated with unprecedented precision, versatility and speed. The platform has already created three novel technology classes, demonstrated proof of concept in tomatoes, corn, and soy, and generated a pipeline of 15+ potential products in specialty and row crops. Tools developed using Terrana's platform will enable farmers to fight and prevent disease and pests, adapt quickly to climatic conditions, and maintain soil health. Terrana's solutions are fine-tuned for amplification, mobility in plants, stability in different environments, and heritability across plant generations. Terrana's product candidates also avoid the trade-offs of existing conventional approaches, which often can be applied only at a specific time in the plant's life cycle and come with negative environmental impacts. "RNA-based technology has delivered lifesaving advancements in human health. We are now applying this same approach to reimagine what's possible for agriculture," said Ignacio Martinez, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Terrana and General Partner at Flagship Pioneering. "Using the language of nature, we can give plants new instructions, yielding adaptable solutions rooted directly in the plant's natural physiology. Our approach opens a new world of possibilities in annual and perennial crops for the benefit of farmers, people and the planet." "Today, farmers make many important and costly decisions about seeds, fertilizers and crop protection before the crop year even begins, requiring them to rely on projections and historical trends from prior growing seasons rather than responding to real-time conditions on the ground," said Ryan Rapp, Co-Founder and CEO of Terrana Biosciences and Origination Partner at Flagship. "What's more, the increased pace of climate fluctuations and disease threats far exceeds today's slow and expensive R&D processes, leaving farmers all too often behind the curve. Terrana's ability to unlock all aspects of seed and crop traits in plants enables an entirely new set of agile solutions that can be applied at any time in the growing season, from seed to postharvest. In an increasingly unpredictable environment – from wildly fluctuating global markets to extreme weather events to fast-moving pest and disease pressures – farmers need these new tools to enable timely, efficient, nimble and, critically, cost-saving decision making." In addition to Rapp, Terrana's leadership team includes Matthew Lingard, Chief Technology Officer of Terrana and Senior Principal at Flagship, Folashade Sabitu, Head of Regulatory and Ramtin Ahmadi, Vice President of Strategy and Operations. Terrana also benefits from guidance from a board of directors that includes Martinez, longtime leader in global agriculture Hugh Grant, Invaio's CEO and Flagship CEO-Partner Amy O'Shea, and Flagship's Chair of Asia Pacific and Strategic Advisor, André Andonian. To learn more about Terrana, visit About Terrana Biosciences Terrana Biosciences combines RNA technology with advanced computational biology to deliver sustainable solutions for modern agriculture. Through its proprietary platform, the company is pioneering new technology classes and generatively designing versatile RNA-based products for every aspect of plant health, from seed to stem. Founded by Flagship Pioneering in 2021, Terrana is led by an experienced team, including RNA and plant pathology experts. About Flagship Pioneering Flagship Pioneering invents and builds bioplatform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health or sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in more than $60 billion in aggregate value. Flagship is operating with $14 billion of assets under management as of its latest capital raise, announced in July 2024. The current Flagship ecosystem comprises over 40 companies, including Foghorn Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FHTX), Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), Sana Biotechnology (NASDAQ: SANA), Generate Biomedicines, Inari, Indigo Agriculture, Lila Sciences, Tessera Therapeutics and Valo Health. Media Contact: press@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Flagship Pioneering Sign in to access your portfolio
