Following the machines, people and ideas shaping agriculture. Selected developments, clear context and a link to the original source.
Robotics. Intelligence. Agriculture.
9 stories matching “University of Cambridge”.
Cambridge researchers combined live imaging and gene-expression mapping to show that fungal structures inside rice roots differ in lifespan and nutrient-transfer activity, complicating simple measures of beneficial colonisation.
Cambridge and Berkeley researchers found that removing antenna protein CP26 changes photosynthetic behaviour through structural effects, challenging assumptions about its direct role in dissipating excess absorbed light energy.
A 56-hour microscopy sequence from Cambridge captures living mycorrhizal structures in motion, giving researchers a dynamic view of plant–fungal partnerships that static images could not previously provide.
A Cambridge–Solynta collaboration is developing virus-based delivery of gene-editing components in potatoes, aiming to reduce reliance on tissue culture while progressing towards stable, heritable edits in plants.
Cambridge and Copenhagen researchers found that elevated carbon dioxide strengthened rice reliance on beneficial fungi for phosphorus, with the PT11 transporter helping coordinate changes in root nutrient acquisition.
Cambridge researchers report faster plant–nematode screening using custom robots and computer vision, aiming to identify resistance genes before extending work from model plants to food crops such as potatoes.
In July 2019, Cambridge reported field tests of a lettuce-harvesting prototype that identified suitable heads and controlled cutting and gripping, while openly acknowledging that human workers remained faster.
A study reports 84% crop-classification accuracy using an open-source satellite model, while highlighting limitations in ground data and mixed-crop evaluation.
Cambridge researchers report a major increase in laboratory screening capacity by automating images of plant-parasitic nematodes, with crop applications still a next step.
