Cats may be as intelligent as dogs.

Japanese scientists say cats are as good as dogs at certain memory tests, suggesting they may be just as smart. A study - involving 49 domestic cats - shows felines can recall memories of pleasant experiences, such as eating a favourite snack. Dogs show this type of recollection - a unique memory of a specific event known as episodic memory. Humans often consciously try to reconstruct past events that have taken place in their lives, such as what they ate for breakfast, their first day in a new job or a family wedding. These memories are linked with an individual take on events, so they are unique to that person. Saho Takagi, a psychologist at Kyoto University, said cats, as well as dogs, used memories of a single past experience, which may imply they have episodic memory similar to that of humans. Episodic memory is viewed as being related to introspective function of the mind; our study may imply a type of consciousness in cats,continue

Climate Change And Large-Scale Adoption Of Big Data Hydroponics.

Climate Change And Large-Scale Adoption Of Big Data Hydroponics.Food and water (in)security, changing weather patterns, and shifts in global demographics REQUIRE large-scale adoption of advanced hydroponics. Why? Because Global Food Systems are under attack and advances from agricultural mechanization in the 1920s and the Green Revolution from 1940-1960 have largely been exhausted. Farmers and ranchers are already facing devastating impacts from the realities of Climate Change – including severe floods, extreme heat and drought, and increased pressures from changing disease and pest patterns. This has resulted in protein unavailability and further malnourishment in many of the developing nations .continue

Beans and Sustainable Agriculture:.

Pulses are an amazing protein and might save the Planet,Pulses like chickpea and pigeonpea contribute towards the new Sustainable Development Goals to reduce poverty and hunger, improve health and gender equity, promote responsible consumption and help adapt to climate change. Beans as a means for sustainable agriculture for the following reasons; 1)Lower Carbon footprint. 2) Water . 3) Nitrogen Fixing & Soil Microbial Diversity. Pulses have a lower carbon footprint in production than most animal sources of protein. One study showed that one kilogram of legume only emits 0.5kg in Co2 equivalent, whereas 1kg of beef produces 9.5 kg in CO2 equivalent . Lentils are one of the foodstuff that contributes the least emissions, far fewer than turkey, salmon or other common sources of protein. How do Beans reduce Carbon Emissions? 1)Low water use results in low energy use. 2)Reduces nonrenewable energy in the entire crop rotation by 22-24%. 3)Pulse-Pulse-Wheat cropping has 34% less carbon footprint compared to a Cereal-Cereal-Wheat cropping pattern. 4) Better farming practices, including use of pulse crops, can lower the average carbon footprint by 24 to 37%. 5) Nitrogen fertilizers contribute to carbon footprint as its energy footprint is over 7.5 times more than other fertilizers such as phosphate and potash. 6) Pulses help reduce use of chemical fertilizers by fixing nitrogen. continue

Sustainability and Global Food Systems .

Farmers and ranchers are already facing devastating impacts from the realities of Climate Change – including severe floods, extreme heat and drought, and increased pressures from changing disease and pest patterns. Major advantages of conservation agriculture are:1)Reduced wind and water erosion of topsoil. 2)Increased water use efficiency through improved water infiltration and retention. 3)Increased nutrient use efficiency through enhanced nutrient cycling and fertilizer placement adjacent to seed. 4) Reduced oscillation of surface soil temperatures. 5)Increased soil organic matter and diverse soil biology. 6)Reduced fuel, labor and overall crop establishment costs. It’s a win-win situation for the environment AND the economy when it comes to introducing legumes into agricultural systems, says new research,Good for you, good for the planet, and good for the smallholder farmer. Pulses like chickpea and pigeonpea contribute towards the new Sustainable Development Goals to reduce poverty and hunger, improve health and gender equity, promote responsible consumption and help adapt to climate change. continue

Trifarm launches online portal for farmers.

Trifarm launches online portal for farmers.The new website, ‘trifarmltd.com’ connects producers and buyers of agricultural products in a novel way. The online portal is built on a predictive model which allows farmers to input crop data, enabling buyers to forecast market conditions months in advance. cccFounder of the company, Garvin Francis, stated that this platform will solve one of the major issues facing agriculture, which is market access – linking buyers such as hotels, restaurants and agro-processors to producers. For years, stakeholders were unable to access a market-forecasting model such as this. He continued to state that the potential benefits of this initiative are significant, noting that one hurdle in its implementation is the ability of farmers to make the transition online. Through a sustained re-tooling campaign, the company intends to equip farmers with the best practices required for this new platform. continue

Growing Hunger for Brazilian Chicken as Bird Flu Spreads.

The bird flu outbreak sweeping across Asia and Europe means you may soon be eating more Brazilian chicken. The world’s top exporter has been untouched by the highly contagious virus that led to widespread culling of birds -- more than 30 million in South Korea alone. After some key importing nations banned poultry from infected countries, Brazil is expected to see further demand for its products. The avian influenza outbreak is also good news for other virus-free nations that can fill the supply gap, such as the U.S., which is the second-biggest exporter and mostly evaded contamination since cases escalated in October. Because migrating wild birds carry the disease, there’s a risk that it will keep spreading, Societe Generale SA said in a report earlier this month.continue

Your dog loves you five times more than cat.

A new study has shown that your dog loves you 5 times more than cat. The study which found that the canines release the love hormone when they see their owners while the felines barely produce any. Scientists already know that canines and humans release the love hormone known as oxytocin when they are together. The scientist took saliva samples from 10 cats and 10 dogs prior to a 10-minute playtime session with their owners. He then took another saliva sample from all of the participants after their playtime encounter, testing it for the presence of oxytocin. According to the results, a 57.2% increase of the hormone oxytocin was found in dogs; whereas a 12% increase of the hormone was found in cats. "From this sample it is true to say that these dogs love their owners five times more than the cats do It was really surprised to discover that dogs produced such high levels of oxytocin,showing the dog level of 57.2% is a very powerful response, it shows these dogs really care about their owners.see