Eduardo de la Peña

Two #PestSurveyCard are now available on nematodes of the Xiphinema americanum group:
➡️ link.europa.eu/jQk6pY
➡️ link.europa.eu/DYQBTB

These pests can transmit #viruses that are also regulated, see: bsky.app/profile/efsa...

@son-nemaweb.bsky.social
@eurl-ppns.bsky.social
@agricoedu.bsky.social

Brownish bee resting inside a daffodil flower

Warmth can also be a floral reward. On sunny windless days the air "trapped" within daffodil flowers is ~3°C warmer than the exterior. Earlier today Andrena bicolor bees made brief stops within Narcissus bulbocodium flowers to gain some of the heat lost during flight

New genomic techniques New genomic techniques (NGTs) are breeding techniques that alter the genetic material of plants, animals or microorganisms.

📣 We’ve published our second horizon scan on 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 new genomic techniques (NGTs) in plants.

This biannual review ensures our risk assessment stays aligned with the latest scientific developments.

Read the full report 👉 link.europa.eu/T8hXGJ

#NGT #GMO #RiskAssessment

orange street sign with an exclamation mark that says “event” underneath it

Teaching probability theory like…

Two panel comic. Panel 1: a museum display of a megalodon jaw fossil, with some museum goers standing around it. There is a graphic on the information tablet next to the fossil, depicting the approximation of the megalodon’s full size compared to a human. Panel 2: “3.6 million years ago:” we see the true megalodon as it existed, a small shark with ludicrously large, juicy lips.

World's oldest chocolate was made 5300 years ago—in a South American rainforest Ancient pots shift the nexus of chocolatemaking from Central America to modern Ecuador

On #ValentinesDay, learn more about why our love affair with chocolate is much older than we thought. https://scim.ag/42WrGfI

Ecological predictors of plant responses to sequential herbivory: a meta‐analysis Plants evolved alongside herbivores for over 400 million years and show remarkable plasticity in responses to attack by multiple herbivores. However, it is often debated which herbivore traits predi...

The original paper by Zoe Delamore, @juliakoricheva.bsky.social and Erik Poelman can be found here:

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Sequential herbivory and the results of Delamore et al. (2025, doi: 10.1111/nph.70822). The figure is a graphical representation of the concept of sequential herbivory, that is, the temporally distinct arrival of multiple herbivores on the same plant, with a summary of the overall findings of the meta-analysis by Delamore et al. on how the generalizable effects of sequential herbivory impact herbivore and plant responses.

Eaten alive: how plants cope with sequential herbivory
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#Commentary by Heinen highlighting the recent work by Delamore et al.
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

@robinheinennl.bsky.social

Protocol for the evaluation of emergency authorisations of insecticides and acaricides submitted under Article 53 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 The protocol provides a structured approach for evaluating emergency authorisations of insecticides and acaricides under Article 53 of EU Regulation 1107/2009. It aims to standardise the evaluation o...

Another step towards more sustainable #pest control methods

We published a protocol for standardising evaluations of emergency authorisations of insecticides & acaricides.

It will help ensure approvals are consistent, & that sustainable alternatives are fully considered.

🔗 doi.org/10.2903/sp.e...

A nice shot of tonight's full moon.

📢 EFSA's 5th European Conference on Xylella fastidiosa | Registration & abstract submission now open!

🗓️ 22–26 June 2026, Bari (Italy)

Join leading experts to discuss the latest science on detection, epidemiology & sustainable management.

✍️ www.efsa.europa.eu/en/events/5t...

#Xylella #PlantHealth

Homenajeamos en DIGITAL.CSIC a Antonio García Bellido, con la recopilación de su extenso y pionero legado científico en Biología del desarrollo. Descubre su perfil científico en digital.csic.es/cris/rp/rp15...

The hydrological situation across a large part of the Iberian Peninsula is alarming, to say the least, and conditions are set to worsen as several powerful atmospheric rivers are forecast; major flooding cannot be ruled out.

Paper alert! Our study about functional motifs is out in PNAS. We use food webs as an example to discuss how small subgraphs drive the dynamics in complex systems. While motifs that determine overall stability are rare, when it comes to reactivity, we show that small groups dominate system behavior.

A motley crew of fossils illuminates an ancient, mysterious extinction event 512-million-year-old marine fossils highlight life and death at the Cambrian explosion’s close

512-million-year-old marine fossils highlight life and death at the Cambrian explosion’s close. https://scim.ag/4t6j94X

Long-term agricultural diversification increases financial profitability, biodiversity, and ecosystem services: a second-order meta-analysis - Nature Communications Feeding a growing population while protecting the environment is a major global challenge. This study suggests that agricultural diversification enhances long-term profitability, biodiversity, soil he...

Do agricultural diversification practices pay off in the long run? Our new paper synthesizes 100+ years of evidence showing that diversification practices become more profitable over time and delivers growing benefits for soils, biodiversity, and carbon.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Photo, by Jerry Hiam, of a Cedar Waxing hanging upside down from a twig to eat a dried crabapple.

🪶 Cedar Waxwings have been seen in 49/50 states this month (sorry Hawaii.) If you head outside this weekend, maybe you'll see one. Hope you find something beautiful.

Climate change could cause more than 500,000 malaria deaths in Africa by 2050 New research published today in Nature warns climate change could substantially increase malaria burden in Africa over the coming decades. The study projects that a middle-of-the-road climate…

#Climate change could cause more than 500,000 #malaria #deaths in #Africa ...

| #ClimateChange | #disease | #infections | #GlobalWarming | #GHGs | Via @sciencex.bsky.social

Around the Lab 💫

Today, CERN’s #PhotoOfTheWeek features a series of images captured by Gregory Milasseau during the 2025 CERN Photowalk competition. #PhysPics25

👉 Vote now and help select the global winners: www.interactions.org/photowalk-vo...

📸 by @gregseth

🚰❌ NUEVO | 257.000 personas sin agua potable en sus casas por exceso de nitratos en 2024 y más de un millón viven en zonas críticas a esta contaminación

332 municipios españoles superaron durante 2024 el límite legal

🚫 No se puede beber, ni cocinar, ni lavarse los dientes

The Iberian wildcat population is at risk of extinction. In Portugal, it is estimated that fewer than 100 individuals remain. In Spain, monitoring carried out in recent years indicates a decline of more than 30% in the species' range.
More info: secem.es/novedades/la...
Imagen: @ Héctor Ruiz

Contenidos del curso

7ª ed. del curso 'Optimizando #Rstats para el análisis de datos en Ecología'

4-8 mayo 2026, Jaca, Huesca

www.aeet.org/events/2026/...

Graphical Abstract

🍍🧬 New article in @aobp.bsky.social addressing how genetic and genomic resources are transforming the improvement of tropical and subtropical fruits, from yield and quality to shelf-life and stress resilience.

Full #openaccess
👉 doi.org/qktv

#PlantScience

Piercing pathogens: A new anti-biofilm strategy A bacterial cell settles onto a nondescript surface. It is plump, healthy and functioning as it should. Nothing appears amiss.

A new anti-biofilm strategy ...

| #biofilm | #pathogen | #bacteria | #infections | By @asm.org via @sciencex.bsky.social

network showing more diverse connections over time for editors and reviewers

cover of the paper with title and authors

last paragraph of the abstract: Synthesis and applications. Our results show that editorial diversification is a practical lever for making peer review more inclusive and better aligned with the global distribution of ecological research. These changes make the publication process fairer and improve the quality and global impact of the papers published.

New paper, Great news:
We have been saying for years that making the editorial board more diverse was needed
We now show that diverse team of editors makes for more diverse reviewers
More Inclusive=Better Science
Things are getting better on this❤️
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Experimental design and device from 6 d before to 28 d after first isoproturon exposure, showing the different tested conditions and taken samples.

Herbicide‐induced metabolic changes in a plant–aphid system: how soil bacteria drive the fate and impact of a residual dose of Isoproturon?

Beringue et al.

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/9FHUHZ...