Populations of the European corn borer, a major pest of maize plants, fell significantly in areas where Bt maize (genetically modified maize) was planted alongside non-Bt maize, in a recent US study. This means that farmers who plant conventional maize crops could reap this benefit from farmers who plant Bt maize in the same landscape.

Research from the UK and the Netherlands suggests that applying a new risk analysis approach for GM food products could improve the chances of the products being accepted by the public. The approach considers benefits as well as risks.

New research suggests that fungi could be used to control insect-borne diseases common in livestock. The study shows for the first time that a fungus can effectively kill adult midges in the family of insects that carry bluetongue virus (BTV). Bluetongue outbreaks have caused significant losses on European farms in recent years, and the study indicates that using the fungus as a means of biological control could help reduce reliance on chemical insecticides, in the absence of effective vaccines.

Scientists have discovered a novel way to produce bioplastic, which could be more cost-effective on a commercial scale than current techniques. The new technique, which uses microscopic algae to synthesise a widely used polyester, has the potential to revolutionise plastic production, say the researchers.

People are more willing to buy genetically modified (GM) foods than they may admit to, according to a new study. The study found a substantial difference between the number of people who said they would buy GM foods when surveyed and the number who actually bought GM labelled products at fruit stalls.

Major controversy surrounding synthetic biology is possible but unlikely in the near future, according to the results of a new study. The researchers assessed the potential for social and political conflicts by drawing comparisons with the controversy surrounding genetic modification (GM) in the 1990s. They argue that controversy over new technologies is influenced by how they are implemented, and healthy debate surrounding synthetic biology is likely to limit conflict.

Researchers have identified plant fungi in the Ecuadorian rainforest that can digest plastic. The discovery hints that there may be a wide range of effective waste-consuming microbes in existence, according to the study, which found that several different fungi, including one called Pestalotiopsis microspora, can break down the widely used plastic, polyurethane.

Crane fly larvae cause considerable damage to agricultural crops and young trees throughout Europe. New research has demonstrated that certain strains of fungi have significant potential to control crane fly infestations, thus reducing the use of chemical insecticides and enabling more environmentally-friendly strategies for pest control.

Pests that cause millions of euros in damage to Europe’s forests every year could be controlled using fungi. A new study finds that certain strains and formulations of fungi are extremely effective in killing large pine weevils. Control of the weevils using fungi may provide forest managers with an alternative to chemical pesticides.

A recent analysis highlights advances in the field of synthetic biology and efforts to develop approaches that will prevent non-natural organisms from interfering with natural organisms and ecosystems. It suggests that synthetic organisms could be developed with inbuilt ‘firewalls’ that prevent genetic interactions with other organisms.

Applying a low voltage to polluted river sediment can boost microbes’ natural ability to degrade harmful polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contaminants, according to a new study. The approach could be a cost-effective, sustainable strategy to bioremediate polluted sites.

Transforming public spaces with plants that decontaminate soils can add functional, ecological, economic and social value to derelict areas. A new study calls for consideration of social and environmental factors, as well as remediation needs, to produce effective and innovative landscape design.

It may be possible to use trees to monitor levels of air pollution in cities, new research suggests. A Belgian study found evidence that leaves of urban trees change both chemically and physiologically when exposed to different levels of air pollution. If these changes are carefully quantified, trees could provide cheap and widespread ‘bio-indicators’, the study’s authors suggest.

New low cost methods using bacteria to remove toxic metals from groundwater have been investigated using both actual contaminated groundwater and artificially controlled systems. Environmental conditions, such as changing levels of acidity or alkalinity, can have a significant effect on the removal of toxins, results show.

Bacteria taken from underground petroleum reserves could be used to effectively break down crude oil from spills at sea, new research has found. The study measured the breakdown of crude oil components in simulated seawater by four bacterial strains that had been isolated from petroleum reservoirs, as well as by four genetically modified stains. The findings raise the possibility of tailor-making organisms to clean up specific types of contamination.

Seaweed may prove to be a valuable tool to monitor metal pollution in coastal waters, new research has found. Spiral wrack seaweed (Fucus spiralis), which is common to rocky coastlines across western Europe, was found to contain concentrations of metals that rose and fell in line with concentrations in the surrounding seawater. This makes it a good candidate for inclusion in the European environmental specimen banks as part of an environmental monitoring network under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

A new study from Poland has confirmed the potential of fungal Trichoderma species to control diseases of oilseed rape crops. The use of Trichoderma can reduce the growth of disease-causing oilseed rape pathogens, which may allow a decrease in the use of harmful pesticides.

Microbes and biocatalytic enzymes could offer useful tools for cleaning soils polluted with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), suggests a new review of remediation approaches. However, risk assessments and further work are needed before their use can be extended beyond the lab to realworld situations. This comprehensive overview of available and novel methods indicates their constraints and potential for future development and research.

Researchers have analysed the ability of two organic nanomaterials to remove the heavy metal chromium from water. In the laboratory, the nanomaterials successfully took up around 95% of the chromium. Further work is needed to confirm the feasibility of using these nanomaterials to purify water in real-world conditions.

Although nanomaterials are already in widespread use, their risk to the environment is not completely understood. Researchers in the US have developed a next-generation risk-assessment model to better understand nanomaterials’ environmental impact. Applied to the San Francisco Bay area, the model predicted that even soluble nanomaterials could accumulate at toxic levels.

Researchers have published a paper providing evidence that a ‘cooling-off effect’ can lead to increased public acceptance of new environmental technologies over time. The scientists analysed survey results from over 1 000 respondents in Germany, using solar radiation management (SRM), a controversial climate-engineering technique, as a test case. They found that, following a cooling-off period of either one month, 12 months, or 18 months, acceptance of SRM increased significantly — and that the longer the cooling-off period, the larger the increase. These findings have far-reaching implications, both for the deployment of SRM and for climate policymakers seeking to more accurately measure the public acceptability of novel interventions.

The chemical 1,4-dioxane, a solvent suspected of causing cancer, is very difficult to clean up once it enters the environment. However, hope is offered by recent scientific developments that use plants, bacteria and fungi to decontaminate water resources. Scientists provided a round-up of these 1,4-dioxane bioremediation techniques in a recent analysis.

Biogas production from waste and manure has the potential to make a contribution to environmental, energy and climate policy objectives. However, farmer engagement has remained persistently low. A new study, involving 461 Danish farmers, has investigated their willingness to participate in collective biogas investment (where two or more farmers collectively own a biogas plant). The study suggests that the majority of farmers are willing to participate in partnership-based biogas investment (PBI) and identifies the main factors driving willingness to participate and the intensity of participation. These findings are relevant to policymaking aimed at increasing biogas production and stakeholder engagement.

Biodegradable waste, or bio-waste, from urban areas is being used to produce a bio-based material to replace plastic — this is relevant to the sustainable development of a circular economy (CE), which requires the innovative use of waste materials. Understanding public attitudes to such materials, and the drivers influencing their uptake, is key to their viability. This study explores how consumers respond to products made from regenerated bio-waste.

Cloud Compute is our latest cloud based data centre service allowing you to self-service and access cloud based infrastructure globally.It's all about choice and flexibility, building the service you need as for long as you need it. Setting up infrastructure that perfectly aligned, faster than ever with near instant provisioning times across private and public availability zones.

Contact centres may have poor reputations but they should be seen as a strategic resource, says Nicola Millard, BT’s in-house futurist

The real-time economy requires instant processes in an increasing number of business functions.

At BT Global Services connections are our business. We are trusted by thousands of enterprises around the world, combining our global strength in networks, IT and innovation with local presence, expertise and delivery. Watch this video to find out how we can help you connect for a better future.

How do you turn a problem into an opportunity? When looking for innovative ways to increase the reach and impact of an annual global event, while reducing travel costs, Andres Bulto talked to BT.

A BT One Enterprise Cisco solution makes voice calls between the UK and India simple and immediate. In most cases they’re free of charge too. Best of all, the employees feel as one with the BT global team.

SASOL has adopted telepresence for collaboration between far-flung executives in Europe, North America and Africa. Running over the BT IP Connect global network it also enables federation with customers and suppliers. The solution’s earned Alec’s team a special recognition award from the CEO for bringing the company’s One SASOL philosophy and vision vibrantly to life

Every year some of the world’s best young musicians would jet into London to audition for a bursary with the Southbank Sinfonia. Simon Over wanted to cut down on those thousands of air miles and hours in transit. He also didn’t want to miss out on youngsters who couldn’t afford the fare.

Cisco unified communications give your teams the freedom to be productive from anywhere, on any device, with Cisco Jabber. Available as one of our Cisco cloud services or as an on-premises solution, Cisco Jabber lets you access presence, instant messaging, voice, video, voice messaging, desktop sharing, and conferencing.Now you can find the right people, see if and how they are available, and collaborate using your preferred method.

Tesco, one of the world’s largest retailers, is using the BT Cloud Contact solution to give its UK customers an enhanced, more flexible and more responsive contact centre service.

As part of the county’s response to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation, view Parks, Recreation and Community Services closures and operating status information.

This week, Myke quizzes Grey about the devices he uses to get his work done, and Grey gets very disappointed about how Myke arranges his iPhone.

This time, Grey and Myke answer questions from listeners, while addressing topics like the utility of the iPad, notification badges, and whether you should have a web browser on your phone.

After trying to find ways to deal with unbearable heat, Grey and Myke discuss how they like to spend their time away from work, and put the 'Great Perspective Zoom Debate' to rest.

More on email! Grey talks about some big changes in his personal email system, and Myke shares his top-tips for avoiding the email you don't want to deal with. Finally, Grey talks about his impressions of using the iOS 9 public beta.

This week Grey and Myke talk about how they deal with travelling, before answering important questions like; 'what Coffee does Grey drink?', 'what advice would you give for someone that wants to be self employed?', and 'Kirk or Picard?'.

This time Grey has a Home screen disaster and Myke admits how he plays Prison Architect, before going on to talk about writing scripts for Youtube videos, and their thoughts on outlining and mind mapping.

This time Grey and Myke tackle various ways to get audiobooks in to Overcast, discuss the creation of _Alphabet_, and cover the tools and processes Grey uses to create the animation for his videos.

This week Grey and Myke get *very* excited about their new computer mice, before sharing more of their views on if it's easier to become an internet personality today, and what you need to do to get there.

Grey describes the 'Rule of Two', Myke wants to know how the 'UK explained' video became a success, and they both discuss Netflix's hiring policies, branding, and ASMR videos.

Myke is jet-lagged, but Grey wants to know all about XOXO. Grey is intrigued about the iPad Pro, and Myke wants to talk about iOS 9. Grey shares a theory about the 16GB iPhone, Myke listens.

Myke makes judgments about Grey's musical choices, Grey explains how he is working with his personal assistant to manage email, and they both lament the current state of email apps.

Myke explains beard oil, Grey mourns the loss of his iMac, and they both discuss the moral minefield of ad blocking.

Myke makes an official statement, Grey drives a truck across Europe, and they both discuss sharing responsibilities in their business.

Grey comes back to the internet, Myke is thinking about New Year's Resolutions, and they both answer some #AskCortex questions.