Latest news with #seedbank
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Corn genetics lab faces relocation, pending 2026 federal budget
URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — One month ago WCIA reported that the University of Illinois' soybean collection facility might relocate to Missouri. Now, another agricultural research center might be forced to move to a bordering state as well. University of Illinois's National Soybean Germplasm Collection is the largest soybean seed bank in North America. The Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center houses more than 100,000 genetic corn mutants. Illini Solar Car team wins national competition The federal budget item would relocate the soybean collection to Columbia, Missouri and the corn stock center to Ames, Iowa — locations an Illinois professor said might be unfit to take care of them. 'They don't have the facilities right now and the capabilities right now to absorb that collection here from the University of Illinois,' said Dr. Martin Bohn, an associate professor in crop sciences. 'The research enterprise that we are engaged in, studying the genetics of important characteristics, you know, will be broken.' According to the College of ACES at the University of Illinois, the relocation would not save money for the federal government. Instead, it would cost more to relocate the facilities. They also said the item is being discussed in a senate appropriation committee and there's no timeline for when the center might have to move. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
ABC News
23-06-2025
- Science
- ABC News
Leningrad: The siege, scientists, and the world's rarest seeds
Try to stop famine, or save your own life? This was the impossible choice facing the Russian scientists behind the world's first seed bank during World War 2, when the Soviet city of Leningrad came under siege by the Nazis. Food was so scarce at the time that throughout the city people were forced to eat wallpaper, boiled leather, even their own pets, to stay alive. But this set of Russian botanists, with their vaults full of seeds and hidden garden of plants, refused to eat them even as they starved to death. Their sacrifice ultimately saved species of plants and crops that plant breeders have since relied on to feed the world. In this episode of No One Saw it Coming, podcast host Marc Fennell speaks to award-winning writer and games critic Simon Parkin about the decision that botanist Nikolai Vavilov and his team made, that would go on to change millions of lives and the food we eat today. If you've binged all the episodes of No One Saw It Coming, listen to Marc's other award-winning history podcast Stuff The British Stole, on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. Get in touch: Got a story for us? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at noonesawitcoming@
ABC News
22-06-2025
- General
- ABC News
Need for Seed: Depletion of vital seeds essential for bushfire regeneration
Victoria's native species seed bank was depleted following re-seeding efforts after the Black Summer bushfires. Next to no seed has been collected since the shut-down of the timber industry and retrenchment of seed-harvesting contractors.
