How can we feed the world? It’s a key question for the 21st century, one that vexes scientists, policy makers and, of course, farmers. In a paper in the February 12th issue of the journal Science , researchers warn that unless the focus is on helping small farmers in developing countries, the efforts to feed all the world’s people will most likely fail.

These small-scale farmers may raise just a few crops and graze a handful of animals. They’ve been mostly ignored by agricultural assistance agencies--but according to the researchers, these farmers feed most of the world’s poorest billion people. They face challenges from an increasing population; land that’s overfarmed and worn out; and climate change, bringing with it worsening drought or increased rainfall.

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How can we feed the world? It’s a key question for the 21st century, one that vexes scientists, policy makers and, of course, farmers. In a paper in the February 12th issue of the journal Science , researchers warn that unless the focus is on helping small farmers in developing countries, the efforts to feed all the world’s people will most likely fail.

These small-scale farmers may raise just a few crops and graze a handful of animals. They’ve been mostly ignored by agricultural assistance agencies--but according to the researchers, these farmers feed most of the world’s poorest billion people. They face challenges from an increasing population; land that’s overfarmed and worn out; and climate change, bringing with it worsening drought or increased rainfall.

[More]

Why do people with fragile X syndrome, a genetic defect that is the best-known cause of autism and inherited mental retardation, recoil from hugs and physical touch? New research has found in fragile X syndrome there is delayed development of the sensory cortex, the part of the brain that responds to touch, according to a study from Northwestern University. This delay may trigger a domino effect and cause further problems with wiring of the brain.

In the wake of the earthquake in Haiti, geography students are participating in a global effort to enhance the international response and recovery effort by helping to assess damage, using images hosted by Google Earth and the Virtual Disaster Viewer, which shares imagery of disasters from various sources.

An intense three-week course of radiation therapy is just as effective as the standard five-week regimen for women with early stage breast cancer.

Researchers have developed a method for controlling the properties of magnets that could be used to improve the storage capacity of next-generation computer hard drives.

Scientists have uncovered a new gene that could help save the sight of patients with a type of inherited blindness.

A recent study demonstrates that with advanced imaging technique, the vesicular stomatitis virus can be modified to serve as an anti-cancer agent because it displays high selectivity in killing cancer cells while sparing normal cells. It can also be engineered as a potent vaccine against HIV/AIDS.

Snowpocalypse. Snowmageddon. Whatever your preferred appellation, this week's winter storms brought misery to denizens of the U.S. east coast and prompted some at least to question the scientific theory of climate change .  

After all, shouldn't global warming deliver us from ice, snow and cold? The site of the Winter Olympics seems to think so, Vancouver experienced the warmest January on record and may have to import snow. Thirty-two people have died during an ongoing heat wave in Brazil. In fact, globally speaking, this January was the warmest in the last three decades.  

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Members of a group or team will work harder when they're competing against a group with lower status than when pitted against a more highly ranked group, according to a new study. The results run contrary to the common belief that underdogs have more motivation because they have the chance to 'knock the higher-status group down a peg.'