Drought in sub-Saharan Africa is a huge problem that impacts how maize grows and reduces the harvest. Dealing with drought is complex because many different genes are involved. That's why scientists tried something new. Researchers took 236 different types of corn and tested them in multiple
Climate change is making extreme weather events like droughts and floods happen more often and with greater force. This is a big problem, especially in Africa. Africa is super vulnerable to these changes. It's also where a lot of the world's young children die. This is why scientists have been l
After enduring a dry spell that fueled deadly wildfires, Southern California and the Southwest are finally welcoming some much-needed rain. A slow-moving low-pressure system is spreading showers across the region, including Los Angeles and Las Vegas. This system could bring the first significant rai
SoCal is bracing for a big rainstorm this weekend. Meteorologists expect it to hit Sunday morning and last till Monday afternoon. The wettest part is predicted for Sunday night. This slow-moving storm is coming from Canada and will dump a lot of rain on areas recently hit by wildfires. Experts warn
Last year, North Idaho hoped for rain to ease the two-year drought. News from November to January showed that hope turning into a reality. Rain and snow fell, giving a boost to the soil and ski resorts. This weather was just right, not too much, not too little. As of mid-January, snowpack at high el
Ever wonder how plants survive harsh conditions like dry spells or salty soils? One key player is the Sec14 gene family, a group of genes with a special domain that helps regulate lipids, the building blocks of cell membranes. This family has been around since the days of yeast, and it's found in al
Ethiopia's Wollo area is heavily reliant on rain for agriculture, but the amount and distribution of rainfall can vary greatly over time and space. A recent study looked into how much and how often it rained in Wollo from 1981 to 2022. The study used data from the Climate Hazards Group Infrared Prec
Plants face lots of problems due to changes in the weather and how we manage farms. One of these issues is abiotic stress, which is when conditions like drought or too much salt in the soil make it hard for plants to grow. To deal with these problems, plants have special proteins called stress-assoc
Drought can seriously mess with how plants get their phosphorus, a key nutrient. Recent studies might not have fully understood how different drought conditions alter the availability of phosphorus in soil. Scientists decided to test this by growing maize under varying levels of soil wetness in a tr
Imagine you're a grass trying to survive in harsh conditions. You might think that learning to handle drought would also help you deal with cold winters. Scientists are exploring if this is true or not. They studied different types of grasses and how they adapt to different climates. Some grasses th
