Sunday, May 24, 2026

Is organic farming the solution to enhance natural drought resilience in crops?

UMA scientists demonstrate how this agricultural technique enriches soil microorganisms and helps plants cope with climate change

University of Malaga

A study led by researchers from the Department of Microbiology at the University of Malaga has revealed how organic farming –the one that uses natural substances and processes, avoiding the use of synthetic chemicals– can, in the long term, help crops become more resistant to drought in a natural way.

This research team, which also belongs to the Institute of Subtropical and Mediterranean Horticulture ‘La Mayora’ (IHSM), has demonstrated that this sustainable agricultural management system enriches specific groups of soil microorganisms, particularly bacteria, helping plants to stand up to climate change.

Specifically, this research confirms that soils treated organically for decades favor the increase of bacteria, especially the genus Bacillus, which are characterized by being highly resilient to survive in extreme conditions and act as a ‘protective shield’ of plants. The results of this research have been published in the journal ‘npj Biofilms and microbiomes’, of the Nature group.

Invisible allies of plants

For the development of this study, two avocado orchards were compared: one managed organically, without chemicals and with organic matter, and the other conventionally, using fertilizers and intensive management, both located in the area of the Axarquía in Malaga.

“By comparing the rhizosphere (the soil attached to plant roots) of crops under organic and conventional management over 20 years, we identified important differences in their physicochemical properties that play a key role in the composition of microbial communities, observing an abundance of bacteria of the genus Bacillus”, explains the researcher and first author of this paper Blanca Ruiz Muñoz.

In a second phase, in the laboratory, the researchers isolated bacteria of the genus Bacillus and evaluated their effect on plants. Through different trials, they observed that some of these microorganisms improved plant physiological state and growth under drought conditions. “Therefore, it is not only that these bacteria are better prepared to survive under stressful conditions such as scarcity of water, but also play a direct role in plant survival,” they say.

Towards a new form of agriculture

According to these experts, these findings are especially relevant in southern Spain, with very dry areas, where more resilient crops would mean fewer losses; moreover, they would also bring other important benefits such as reduction of the use of fertilizers and chemicals, in favor of ‘bioinoculants’, products formulated with microorganisms that are beneficial to soil.

“It’s not only about cultivating plants, but also about managing and ‘training’ soil microorganisms to move toward another form of agriculture,” concludes Professor José A. Gutiérrez Barranquero, another of the authors of this paper.

In short, the way crops are cultivated today could enhance the ability of future crops to withstand climate change, so the key to surviving drought could lie underground.

Together with the UMA-IHSM research team, composed of Blanca Ruiz Muñoz, Víctor Carrión, Francisco Cazorla and José A. Gutiérrez Barranquero, researcher Kevin M. Bretscher, from the Institute of Biology of the University of Leiden, is also part of this publication.

Bibliography:

Ruiz-Muñoz, B., Bretscher, K.M., Carrión, V.J. Cazorla, F.M., Gutiérrez-Barranquero, J.A. Long-term organic farming shapes the avocado rhizosphere microbiota through the enrichment of drought-tolerant Bacillus spp.. npj Biofilms Microbiomes (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-026-00957-1

Journal

npj Biofilms and Microbiomes

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Long-term organic farming shapes the avocado rhizosphere microbiota through the enrichment of drought-tolerant Bacillus spp.

Scientists map which genes are active in a developing seed to build hardier crops

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

Seeds like wheat, rice, and corn are at the center of the global food supply and provide most of the daily calories consumed worldwide. But despite their importance, scientists still do not fully understand many of the basic biological processes that allow these seeds to grow, transport nutrients, and develop traits that determine crop resiliency.

With fluctuating environmental conditions and other stressors threatening agriculture, there is a need to develop hardier crops better able to withstand heat, drought, and changing soil conditions. Scientists are increasingly looking to understand the hidden biology of seed development that could one day help them achieve this.

Now, researchers in the lab of Mary Gehring at Whitehead Institute, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) affiliate, have created a detailed gene expression “map” of seed development in Arabidopsis thaliana, a small flowering plant in the mustard family that is widely used to study plant biology and is closely related to major crops like canola.

This map, also known as a transcriptional atlas, shows which genes are turned on or off in different cell types as the seed develops. Active genes make messenger RNA (mRNA) that guides the production of proteins necessary for cellular processes. By tracking which genes are active where, researchers can better understand the role each cell type plays across different stages of seed development.

The work, published May 21 in Nature Plants, offers scientists new clues about how plants coordinate key biological processes tied to agriculturally significant traits, including seed size and nutrient storage.

“Seeds are fundamental to sustaining human life,” says Caroline (Carly) Martin, lead author of the paper and a graduate student in the Gehring Lab. “By building this atlas, we now have a framework researchers can use to start asking much more precise questions about how seeds develop and if those processes might eventually be improved in different crops.”

Unlike previous atlases of Arabidopsis, which do not distinguish many cell types due to technological limitations, the new atlas provides a more complete and higher resolution view of the developing seed. The researchers have captured seed development at three precisely timed stages after pollination when the plant embryo, the nutrient-rich tissue that feeds it (called the endosperm), and the surrounding tissues from the mother plant rapidly grow and reorganize. Using this dataset, they have identified where genes that regulate how seeds grow and store nutrients are active.

The researchers have found a small group of cells near the plant embryo that activate genes involved in producing brassinosteroids, plant hormones that regulate growth. Previous studies had shown that disrupting the production of this hormone can reduce seed size, but it was not known where within the developing seed the hormone is made.

The new data shows that these hormone-producing cells sit directly next to cells in the endosperm that might respond to the hormone. This close arrangement suggests the two cell types may work together to help fine-tune seed size.

The atlas has also revealed that the endosperm, which nourishes the embryo during development and later becomes the edible portion of many staple crops, contains far more specialized cell types than previously understood by researchers.

The team has identified a small “founder” population of cells that may help establish a key region of the endosperm located at the boundary where nutrients enter the seed from the mother plant.

Because the amount and timing of resources supplied by the mother plant determine how much energy the seed can store, this region of the endosperm helps shape the seed’s nutritional profile. These reserves — oils, starches, and proteins — are essential for both seed development and human nutrition.

These findings, taken together, could allow researchers to better understand — and even guide — seed development to improve crop productivity.

“We’re already seeing that seed filling in many crops is vulnerable to heat stress,” says Gehring, who is also a professor of biology at MIT and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). “If we are to solve the humanitarian crises of food insecurity and malnutrition, we need to understand, at a fundamental level, how seeds of different crops form, store nutrients, and survive environmental stress.”

About Whitehead Institute:

Whitehead Institute is a nonprofit, independent biomedical research institute founded in 1982. The institute advances pioneering research in cancer, developmental biology, genetics, genomics, and related fields, with a mission to pursue bold, curiosity-driven science that deepens our understanding of life and improves human health. Led by 24 principal investigators and a global community of trainees and scholars, Whitehead Institute maintains a teaching affiliation with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) but is fully independent in its research programs, governance, and finances.

Journal

Nature Plants

DOI

10.1038/s41477-026-02295-8

Article Publication Date

21-May-2026

New Regius Professor puts people at heart of climate debate

University of Reading

image:
Regius Professor Hannah Cloke at the University of Reading
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Credit: University of Reading

One of the UK’s leading experts on weather and flooding, Professor Hannah Cloke OBE, has been appointed Regius Professor of Meteorology and Climate at the University of Reading.

The appointment is a rare honour recognising her position as a world-leading scientist in her field, becoming only the second holder of the University of Reading’s sole Regius Professorship.

To mark the appointment, Professor Cloke will deliver a keynote public talk in Reading next month, exploring how human imagination is at the heart of weather and climate science. The talk will explore what is happening to our weather, and why; what this could mean for Reading and towns and cities like it across the country; and how science can put people in charge of their own futures, by helping communities to prepare and respond.

Professor Hannah Cloke, who joined the University of Reading in 2012, said: “The weather is rightly a British obsession, because it affects every part of our lives. By understanding it better, we can make better decisions and prepare for what’s ahead.

“Weather and climate science are too important to leave to the scientists. With extreme weather affecting homes, health and neighbourhoods, people should know that we have the power to see and shape our own future. This event is an opportunity to ask questions, share ideas and explore what lies ahead with curiosity and confidence.”

"The climate futures we dare to imagine” will take place at Reading Town Hall on Monday 15 June (7–8.30pm) as part of Reading Climate Festival. The event will include a panel discussion and opportunities for audience questions.

Find out more and book your place: The climate futures we dare to imagine

Global reputation

The title of Regius Professor is awarded by the Sovereign and is given only to a small number of universities in recognition of outstanding research.

Professor Hannah Cloke has been honoured with the title for her internationally recognised work in hydrology and meteorology, specialising in floods, climate extremes, and disaster risk reduction.

A Research Fellow at the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), Professor Cloke has developed flood forecasts and heat hazard warning systems. In 2019, Regius Professor Cloke was awarded an OBE for services to flood forecasting and the development of hazard early warning systems.

Professor Cloke supervises a large and internationally diverse cohort of PhD researchers, working closely with operational partners including the Met Office, Environment Agency, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to ensure research delivers real-world impact.

Professor Robert Van de Noort, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading, said [DRAFT]: "Professor Hannah Cloke helps people see the world around them more clearly, and show what changing weather means for us all.

“Her research has already helped communities around the world prepare for floods and extreme weather, and her ability to clearly explain complex ideas helps us dare to dream of new futures. Anyone with wants to understand more about our changing weather, and what it means for Reading and beyond, should come to her talk and join the conversation.”

Professor Keith Shine was the first holder of the post, having been appointed in 2013. In the role, Keith has made many important contributions to understanding how energy from sunlight and heat moves through the atmosphere, pioneering methods to quantify the role of greenhouse gases, air pollution, clouds and aviation in driving climate change.

Speak to Hannah Cloke

Alongside her internationally recognised research, Regius Professor Hannah Cloke is a leading public voice on climate, flooding, and environmental risk. She regularly provides expert commentary for national and international broadcasters and publications, helping audiences understand the links between extreme weather, flooding, and climate change. Beyond broadcast and print media, she advised on the Chloe's Ark climate drama on BBC Radio 4, collaborated with the Science Museum on public engagement projects, and advised governments and filmmakers on flooding, climate change and extreme weather.

Journalists, broadcasters and organisations are invited to contact the University of Reading Press Office for interview opportunities.

For enquiries, contact the University of Reading Press Office on 0118 378 5757 or pressoffice@reading.ac.uk.

Read more about Professor Hannah Cloke’s research and expertise:

European State of the Climate report: expert comments

‘Japan earthquake could be a precursor for something bigger’

Britain’s relentless rain shows climate predictions playing out as expected

How diverse voices are transforming the UN’s climate science

Hurricane Melissa: impact of climate change

'Storm Éowyn's winds turn everyday objects into missiles’

21ST CENTURY ALCHEMY

How does gold keep its glitter? Tulane University researchers uncover why it resists tarnish

Tulane University

Gold has been prized for thousands of years for its enduring shine, but Tulane University researchers have discovered that gold’s resistance to tarnishing depends on more than its chemistry.

In a new study published in Physical Review Letters, researchers found that atoms on certain gold surfaces naturally rearrange themselves into protective patterns that dramatically suppress reactions with oxygen.

The discovery helps explain why gold jewelry and other gold objects can remain untarnished for centuries — and could also point the way toward designing more effective gold-based catalysts for industrial and energy-related applications.

“People have generally thought gold doesn’t tarnish simply because it doesn’t interact strongly with oxygen,” said Matthew Montemore, associate professor in Chemical Engineering in Tulane’s School of Science and Engineering. “What we show is that for two of the most common gold surface types, the surface atoms actually rearrange themselves in a way that makes the gold much more resistant to oxidation.”

Using computer simulations that predict how atoms and electrons behave, Montemore and co-author Santu Biswas, postdoctoral fellow in Tulane’s Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, studied how oxygen molecules interact with two common gold surface structures. They found that without this atomic rearrangement, oxygen molecules could break apart and react with gold much more easily.

Instead, the rearranged surfaces suppress oxygen reactions by a factor of a billion to a trillion, essentially creating a protective atomic-scale barrier that helps gold stay shiny indefinitely.

The findings offer a new explanation for one of gold’s best-known properties while also opening the door to potential advances in catalysis.

Gold-based catalysts — materials that help speed chemical reactions — are already used in some industrial oxidation reactions. But gold’s natural resistance to breaking apart oxygen molecules, the same trait that makes it attractive for jewelry and electronics, can also limit its usefulness in chemical manufacturing and energy applications.

Gold-palladium catalysts are used to make vinyl acetate, a chemical building block for many plastics and other materials. Researchers are also studying gold catalysts for uses such as cleaning up carbon monoxide in car exhaust and making propylene oxide, an important industrial chemical.

“If you can trick gold into dissociating oxygen, it can actually become a very effective catalyst for certain reactions,” Montemore said. “Our work suggests a new strategy for potentially doing that by preventing or reversing these surface rearrangements.”

Researchers have traditionally tried to improve gold catalysts by combining gold with other metals or using tiny gold nanoparticles on oxide surfaces. The new findings suggest surface geometry itself may provide another route to enhancing gold’s catalytic activity.

Journal

Physical Review Letters

DOI

10.1103/g3bc-t1qv

Article Title

Role of reconstruction in the inertness of gold toward oxygen

Article Publication Date

21-May-2026

Record-breaking ice loss in Central Asia in 2025

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Central Asian glaciers are a critical water source for millions of people living downstream in arid regions. During the dry summer months, glacier meltwater sustains rivers that support agriculture, hydropower production, ecosystems and drinking water supplies across countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. “Glaciers in Central Asia act as natural water towers,” Van Tricht explains. “As glaciers shrink, meltwater can temporarily increase, but eventually runoff declines as less ice remains. This raises major concerns for long-term water security in the region.” The strong dependence on these shared water resources, combined with their unequal distribution between countries, already contributes to recurring tensions and so-called water conflicts in Central Asia.

Using field observations from 16 glaciers across the Tien Shan and Pamir mountains, combined with regional glacier modelling, the researchers estimate that glaciers in Central Asia lost around 30 km³ of ice in a single year, equivalent to nearly 2% of the region’s remaining glacier volume. For comparison, this corresponds to roughly 30% of all glacier ice that still remains today in the European Alps. The study shows that the extreme losses were caused by exceptionally warm spring and summer temperatures, combined with a strong reduction in snowfall frequency during the melt season. These conditions triggered an unusually early disappearance of seasonal snow cover, exposing darker glacier ice earlier in the year and strongly amplifying melt through the snow-ice albedo feedback.

“2025 stands out as an exceptional year because the extreme losses occurred almost everywhere across Central Asia simultaneously,” said Dr Lander Van Tricht, lead author of the study. “Nine of the 16 monitored glaciers experienced their most negative mass balance ever observed, while many others ranked among their worst years on record.” The strongest losses occurred in the western Pamir and western Tien Shan, where some glaciers lost between 2 and 4% of their total ice volume in a single year. Regional modelling further indicates that 64% of all experienced their most negative year since at least 1991.

The researchers also show that the 2025 event is part of a broader global pattern of recent record-breaking glacier melt years, following extreme losses previously observed in, among others, the European Alps and the Pyrenees (2022), western North America (2023), and Svalbard (2024). “In the Alps, extreme glacier melt is often linked to short but intense heatwaves,” Van Tricht added. “In Central Asia, however, the 2025 event was driven by persistently warm conditions from spring until late summer, combined with very limited snowfall during the melt season.”

The study concludes that Central Asian glaciers are becoming increasingly vulnerable as warming temperatures not only enhance melting, but also reduce the frequency of snowfall events that would normally protect glaciers during summer. “We cannot prevent glaciers from responding to climate warming,” Van Tricht said. “But sustained glacier monitoring and improved modelling are essential to better understand future water availability and the impacts on downstream communities.”

Although 2025 was the most extreme glacier melt year ever recorded in Central Asia, the researchers warn that such conditions could increasingly become the new normal in a warming climate.

Reference:

The publication is freely available online at : https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae6712

Journal

Environmental Research

DOI

10.1088/1748-9326/ae6712

Saturday, May 23, 2026

Long-serving CEOs may weaken innovation, study finds

Research into UK firms finds independent directors help maintain innovation and R&D investment to mitigate against caution

University of East London

A new study from the University of East London has found that companies led by long-serving chief executives may become less innovative over time unless challenged by strong independent boards.

The research examined 215 FTSE 350 companies over an 11-year period between 2010 and 2021. It explored how CEO tenure and independent directors influence a company’s “R&D knowledge stock”, which is the research, expertise and technological capability built through investment in innovation.

The study published in the journal Corporate Governance found that CEOs who remain in office for many years often become more cautious and less willing to back risky research and development projects. These companies were more likely to reduce investment in innovation and long-term technological growth.

Firms with higher numbers of independent directors were more likely to continue building innovation capacity with experienced CEOs and independent directors forming an effective partnership, to combine deep company knowledge with outside challenge.

However, both experienced CEOs and independent directors become more cautious and less willing to back risky research and development projects when the company fails to meet performance aspirations, suggesting that independent directors do not have stable risk preferences.

The findings suggest that innovation is shaped not only by technology and finance, but also by leadership culture and corporate governance structures.

Author Dr Igbekele Sunday Osinubi, of the Royal Docks School of Business and Law, said:

“Long-serving CEOs can bring valuable experience and stability, but there is also a risk that leaders become too cautious or too attached to existing ways of thinking. Our findings show that independent directors play an important role in encouraging companies to continue investing in innovation, especially during difficult periods when firms may otherwise retreat from long-term research and development.”

He added:

“This matters beyond individual companies. Innovation drives productivity, competitiveness and economic growth. The study highlights how governance structures can influence whether firms continue building the knowledge and technologies that shape future industries.”

The paper argues that regulators and policymakers should consider governance reforms and incentives that encourage long-term innovation strategies, particularly in firms led by long-serving executives. The findings may also influence how boards think about CEO succession planning, oversight and the balance between short-term financial pressures and long-term investment.

Osinubi, IS (2026) “Long CEO tenure, independent directors and R&D knowledge stock: the moderating effect of performance shortfalls”, Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society. DOI: 10.1108/CG-03-2025-0173.

Journal

Corporate Governance

DOI

10.1108/CG-03-2025-0173

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Article Title

Long CEO tenure, independent directors and R&D knowledge stock: the moderating effect of performance shortfalls

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment

Sunday, May 24, 2026

Is organic farming the solution to enhance natural drought resilience in crops?

Journal

Method of Research

Subject of Research

Article Title

Scientists map which genes are active in a developing seed to build hardier crops

Journal

DOI

Article Publication Date

New Regius Professor puts people at heart of climate debate

Journal

DOI

Article Title

Article Publication Date

Record-breaking ice loss in Central Asia in 2025

Journal

DOI

Saturday, May 23, 2026

Long-serving CEOs may weaken innovation, study finds

Journal

DOI

Method of Research

Article Title

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