American College of Cardiology President Christopher M. Kramer, MD, FACC, issued the following statement on the release of new Dietary Guidelines for Americans by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Inducible promoters provide remarkable utility when sustained transgene expression compromises plant development or agronomic performance. In this study, four different plant heat shock protein (HSP) promoters were characterized in the vegetative tissues of stably transformed sugarcane to evaluate their efficacy and spatial expression profiles when directing the expression of a uidA reporter gene. This study produced new quantitative knowledge on the temporal and spatial expression of HSP promoters in sugarcane, expanding the promoter toolbox for crop biotechnology to support gene function studies and biotechnology applications, including precision gene editing and complex metabolic engineering.

The CRISPR “gene scissors” have become an important basis for genome-editing technologies in many fields, ranging from biology and medicine to agriculture and industry. A team from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg has now demonstrated that these CRISPR-Cas systems are even more versatile than previously thought. In cooperation with the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and Utah State University (USU) in Logan (USA), the scientists have discovered a novel CRISPR defense mechanism: Unlike known nucleases, Cas12a3 specifically destroys transfer ribonucleic acids (tRNA) that are vital for protein production to shut down infected cells. The team published its findings today in the journal Nature.

Erik Katovich, assistant professor of agricultural and resource economics in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, published a study in The Economic Journal proving the validity of a common belief: large landowners use their money to influence local politics to benefit their operations. Katovich’s study showed that large landholders in the Amazon who donate to winning municipal politicians, like a mayor, are more likely to develop soybean farming on their properties than those who donate to a losing candidate.

In Finland, farmers who have transitioned to regenerative agriculture are forming a regenerative professional partnership with nature in their decision-making, a new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows. Published in Agriculture and Human Values, the study explored the framework of the professional partnership in decision-making between Finnish regenerative farmers and nature. The study involved 86 farmers participating in the Carbon Action Project.