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While the pandemic creates a ‘new normal’, many political, environmental and economic dynamics that were concerning us before 2020 have become all the more serious under the cover of COVID-19’s long shadow.
Ending hunger is a major objective of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. A cross-journal collection of articles takes a systematic look at what we might already know about achieving it.
In the Gospel According to Matthew Chapter seven, Verse five, Jesus says “first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye”. We should remember this entreaty before too casually casting accusations of ‘plant blindness’.
The motto of the Royal Society, “nullius in verba”, enjoins scientists to ‘take nobody’s word for it’. Its call to trust nothing unless it can be replicated is no less relevant now than it was 360 years ago.
The last three months have been a dispiriting experience for most plant scientists. But this period of collective isolation is demonstrating the usefulness of alternative ways to come together as a community.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been cutting us all off from the social aspects of human community for several months. High time we checked in on our plant science colleagues to see how they are faring.
Disease is often said to be a great leveller, striking the rich and poor alike. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown into stark contrast the inequalities inherent in our food systems.
Scale can be as problematic in genetics as it is in microscopy or astronomy. Luckily, pan-genomics is here to tackle the complexity of genetics on the large scale.
Epidemic diseases are not a new phenomenon, but easy access to transport in the modern world has accelerated their spread. Perhaps some botanical understanding can help slow them down.
Plant diseases have brought misery and suffering to human populations across the world and across millennia. Declaring 2020 the International Year of Plant Health will hopefully raise awareness of this ancient yet very modern threat.
