The shared water resources of the Murray-Darling Basin (Part 1)
This 29-page report is the first of a two-part series which outlines the major water characteristics of the Murray-Darling Basin and evaluates the relative importance of different sources and uses of water and criteria for establishing research priorities.
Revealing the global threat of bird flu
A unique and revealing insight into the global threat posed by the current epidemic of H5N1 avian influenza was provided to more than 150 guests at the 2007 Snowdon Lecture held last night at CSIRO Livestock Industries’ Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) in Geelong.
United Nations goes crazy over ant management
Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation, Rio-Tinto Alcan Gove and CSIRO are celebrating winning the prestigious Biodiversity category of the United Nations Association of Australia World Environment Day Awards tonight.
Managing pests under climate change
Invertebrate pests already cost Australian farmers up to A$500 million a year in lost production but the affect climate change could have on their ability to survive and thrive is still largely unknown.
Unlocking genome of world’s worst insect pest
Scientists from CSIRO and the University of Melbourne in Australia, and the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, are on the brink of a discovery which will facilitate the development of new, safe, more sustainable ways of controlling the world’s worst agricultural insect pest – the moth, Helicoverpa armigera.
Helping grain growers fight an army of pests
Research into how to reduce the impact of insect-attack on young crops will be a major focus of a National Invertebrate Pest Initiative (NIPI) workshop to be held in Melbourne from 2-4 September.
New guidelines for predicting fire behaviour
The findings of Australia’s most extensive study to date of the behaviour of high-intensity bushfires in eucalypt forests – Project Vesta – provides valuable new tools and information for fire managers across Australia.
Bat immunity key to controlling deadly viruses
CSIRO research into how bats can host some of the world’s deadliest viruses without suffering any ill-effects themselves will lead to improved strategies for controlling the spread of bat-borne diseases.
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Community groups and land managers are being urged to renew their efforts to control one of southern Australia’s worst environmental weeds, bridal creeper (Asparagus asparagoides).
Science for tomorrow: new developments
This article from Farming Ahead contains four stories on a ‘trigenomic’ chromosome to help in breeding disease resistant wheat, a new soybean variety to help cane growers, technology uptake by graziers and safeguards against the livestock disease, capripox. (1 page)
Fighting Nipah virus
In 1998-99, an outbreak of a new virus now called Nipah virus killed more than 100 people and thousands of pigs in Malaysia.
Warming could change SA’s weed pests
Hotter temperatures and reduced rainfall in South Australia due to climate change could prompt a period of ‘weed change’ across the state, according to a new report from CSIRO.
Bushfires cloud air pollution problem
Scientists believe more bushfires generated by rising temperatures and lower rainfall will lead to lower air quality over a greater number of days in Australia, particularly in the south-east.
Indian Ocean temperature link to bushfires
The weather conditions that lead to Victoria’s past two major bushfires may be linked to lower than normal sea-surface temperatures in the eastern Indian Ocean, according to researchers from CSIRO’s Wealth from Oceans National Research Flagship.
Science for tomorrow
This one-page extract from Farming Ahead describes research across CSIRO for rural industries.
Aussie ravens ruled out as West Nile virus indicators
Scientists at CSIRO’s Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) in Geelong, Victoria have found that birds are unlikely to be used as part of an ‘early warning’ system designed to alert health authorities to the presence of the deadly West Nile virus in Australia.
Improving wheat yields for global food security
With the world’s population set to reach 8.9 billion by 2050, CSIRO scientists are hunting down and exploiting a number of wheat’s key genetic traits in a bid to substantially boost its grain yield.
Family planning for wild radish
New research into the increasingly herbicide-tolerant wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) has revealed increased potential for two ‘contraceptive’ approaches to controlling the noxious weed.
