In a Policy Forum, Ben Belton and colleagues discuss the rapidly growing use of drone technology in agricultural applications and the important, yet understudied, benefits and trade-offs involved. “There are strong indications that drones can raise the efficiency and productivity of farming, improve worker safety, and enhance rural livelihoods, but these impacts have yet to be evaluated rigorously,” Belton et al. write. “Applied interdisciplinary research and corresponding policy responses are urgently needed to steer the global drone revolution in ways that make agriculture more sustainable.” Over the past decade, drones have become a profoundly transformative technology. Of their many uses, agriculture has emerged as one of the most significant and fastest-growing domains, particularly in Asia and Latin America. On farms worldwide, drones now undertake tasks ranging from sowing seeds and distributing fertilizers to monitoring crops, surveying livestock, and most prominently, spraying pesticides and other agrochemicals. As such, its thought that drones may help solve the challenge of producing more food with fewer resources. According to Belton et al. drones could enhance farming sustainability by boosting yields, reducing waste, and lowering chemical exposure, while also creating new opportunities for rural livelihoods—though risks of labor displacement, gender inequality, and chemical drift remain. To maximize benefits and manage these challenges, governments should support inclusive adoption through financing, training, and smart regulation. They should invest in research and infrastructure, say the authors, and establish safeguards on labor transitions, environmental safety, and data sovereignty, ensuring drones advance both sustainability and equity.

Adding an electrical jolt to fermentation of industrial food waste speeds up the process and increases the yield of platform chemicals that are valuable components in a wide range of products, new research shows. Researchers also discovered that combining two bacterial species in the electro-fermentation mix not only helped accelerate the process, but allowed for more targeted chemical production.

A research team sheds light on the synthesis of 2-aminonaphthalene-1,5-disulfonic acid (2-ANDSA) diazonium salt, demonstrating how advanced thermal analysis and theoretical modeling can reduce the threat of thermal runaway.

A research team presents the transcriptomic analysis of pearl millet, a highly resilient cereal, revealing how this crop adapts to high temperature, drought, and salt stress.

A research team identified nearly 7,000 phosphorylation sites in close to 2,800 proteins and revealed distinct regulatory patterns tied to growth or dormancy.

Researchers found that commercial broccoli seeds can contribute to the spread of resistance to multiple fungicides.

A new study shows that traditional masculine norms are a significant barrier preventing men from reducing their meat and dairy consumption, and recommends how to better appeal to men to change their dietary ways to mitigate damage to the environment from animal agriculture.