A newly developed high-speed clinostat enabled researchers at Okayama University of Science to observe shrimp feeding under simulated microgravity for the first time. The study provides new evidence supporting the feasibility of space aquaculture and advances technologies needed for long-term human exploration of the Moon and Mars.A newly developed high-speed clinostat enabled researchers at Okayama University of Science to observe shrimp feeding under simulated microgravity for the first time. The study provides new evidence supporting the feasibility of space aquaculture and advances technologies needed for long-term human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

Adding moderate amounts of biochar made from discarded mulberry branches to fish feed may offer a practical way to support intestinal health and reduce harmful nitrogen compounds in aquaculture water, according to a new study in largemouth bass.

Rice straw is often returned directly to fields to improve soil health, but in highly saline-sodic soils, where salt, alkalinity, and poor structure slow decomposition, that strategy may not work fast enough. A new study published in Biochar reports that converting rice straw into biochar before returning it to the field can offer a more effective route for sustainable rice production in salt-affected regions.

By the time farmers see curling leaves or stunted growth in their fields, their crops may already have spent days under stress. A new innovation in plant “wearable” sensors aims to catch those distress signals earlier—before the plant visibly suffers, allowing farmers to respond and help their crops thrive.

Decaying matter shapes life in soil, but it can also create hostile zones for growing roots. Professor Jiří Friml of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and international collaborators have now identified “saprotropism,” a root response that guides plants away from decaying plant-derived matter—but not animal-derived decay. The study, led by Yuzhou Zhang, Professor at Northwest A&F University in China and published in Science, reveals how roots adapt their growth direction by sensing local pH gradients around rot.

Clean water is essential for human health, agriculture, and ecosystems, yet many industrial waste streams still contain dyes, nutrients, salts, and other contaminants that are difficult to remove efficiently. In a new study published in Sustainable Carbon Materials, researchers developed a sawdust based adsorbent that could help turn low value wood waste into a practical material for wastewater treatment.

Research has shed intriguing new light on the genetics underlying the diverse plant organ shapes we see in agriculture and nature.