A parasite researcher from NYU is hoping to tackle African sleeping sickness in Kenya by creating genetically enhanced cows that cannot catch or transmit the disease. Jayne Raper believes that to truly help people, sometimes you have to start with another species. In this case, cows. Unlike Raper, a parasite researcher at New York University, most … Continue reading
For many people the terms ‘greenhouse gas’ and ‘climate change’ conjure up images of smokestacks billowing noxious clouds, gridlocked traffic, the cracked bottom of a dried-up lake bed, or a polar bear clinging to a melting ice floe. Rarely do you see images of farmers ploughing fields, planting seeds or feeding animals. Indeed, until recently, … Continue reading
Scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute and the University of Nairobi recently bred a test-tube calf using a technique called in vitro embryo production (IVEP). The technology, they say makes it possible to rapidly multiply and breed genetically superior cattle within a short generation interval. Is this much different from previous technologies? IVEP does … Continue reading
As African leaders prepare to present an ambitious proposal to industrialized countries for coping with climate change in the part of the world that is most vulnerable to its impacts, a new study points to where and how some of this money should be spent. Published in the peer-reviewed journal Agricultural Systems, the study projects … Continue reading
A global collaborative has produced a first draft of the genome of a domesticated pig, an achievement that will lead to insights in agriculture, medicine, conservation and evolution. A red-haired Duroc pig from a farm at the University of Illinois will now be among the growing list of domesticated animals that have had their genomes … Continue reading
CGIAR reforms take research decisions too far away, says Hartmann, director-general of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). This year (2009) marks the end of an era in agricultural research. Not only has Nobel Prize-winning agronomist Norman Borlaug died, but the network of research centres with which he was closely associated is in the … Continue reading
Three years after Kenya got its first test-tube babies, the Daily Nation can reveal another first from the world of test tubes – a healthy calf. The calf, which the Daily Nation has named Bully, is one of two test tube calves born three weeks ago in an experiment by veterinary scientists from the University … Continue reading
A parasite researcher in NYU is hoping totackle African Sleeping Sickness by creating genetically enhanced cows that cannot catch or transmit the disease. She’s been planning the project since 2006, when she attended a workshop in Nairobi. At the meeting, local farmers explained how they need cattle to survive. Most of them can’t afford to … Continue reading
Things Fall Apart Things have quickly fallen apart in this particular drought in the Horn’s vast drylands because of a toxic mix of underlying factors. Land Use Among the things not being redressed are land-use policies and practices that fail to account for population increases and thus are restricting herders to ever smaller, drier and … Continue reading
The Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) has posted the results of a summary of an e-consultation on the future of agricultural research in Africa. Four regional e-consultations were conducted in preparation for a 28-31 March 2010 physical meeting in Montpellier, France. The summary of the African e-consultation, organized and summarized by the … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 