Nibbles: Aspergillus domestication, Aurochs resynthesis, Drought resistance, Protected areas, Ford Denison, Ancient diets

The National Fungus of Japan explains itself.
The aurochs recreated in fact and fiction. And more.
Yes, that’s what we need to make good on all those GM drought-resistance promises: a new model system. And now for something a little more serious.
Some protected areas don’t work terribly well. Here comes the science.
Darwinian Agriculture explained by the man himself.
Ancient diets deduced from teeth crap and crap crap.

A paean to diverse diets is just what we all need.
And another one, from the MIT Technology Review of all places.
Menawhile, there’s only one reference to dietary diversity in the World Bank’s investment framework for nutrition.
Maybe you have to quantify that diversity before you can save it? Now where have I heard that before?
Meanwhile, Europe reports on biodiversity-friendly farming practices. Does that include the biodiversity of the actual crops? Perhaps surprisingly, yes!
You want biodiversity-friendly farming practices? Talk to Indigenous people. The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) has launched an e-consultation on “Preserving, strengthening and promoting Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems and traditional practices for sustainable food systems.”
There’s diversity in asparagus too.
Genebanks can help with those biodiversity-friendly practices, diverse diets and rops and Indigenous practices.
Even big international genebanks.
Even the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
But some are in trouble.
Though others are coming back.