Ask someone about plant-based meats — also called meat substitutes, alternative meat, or even fake meats — and you’ll get a range of opinions on both sides of the fence. That said, while plant-based meats are different from actual meats, the same food safety precautions need to be taken when preparing, serving, and eating them.

Researchers in Italy have conducted a series of experiments to assess the quality of wheat growing under elevated agrivoltaic systems. The have found that it has greater nutritional value for livestock. The CNR Institute for Bioeconomy, the University of Florence, and Italian agrivoltaic specialist REM Tec srl conducted the study on 11.4 hectares of wheat in Borgo Virgilio, in the province of Mantua. The system featured 7,680 Bisol panels and 768 trackers at a height of 4.5 meters, for total PV coverage of 1.3 hectares.

Research scientist John Laurie has just planted the federal government’s first plots of gene-edited wheat at the Lethbridge Research and Development Centre. The edited genes are linked to the plants’ circadian clock. Research scientists in other parts of the world have discovered and isolated a gene called Ppd-1, which regulates how long a plant perceives day length, which translates into date of heading and spike characteristics.

Humanity’s biggest source of fresh water — representing just 0.8% of Earth’s total water — is in underground aquifers. Decades of drought, pollution and overuse are shrinking even that precious supply, and rising sea levels threaten to spoil even more of it with saltwater incursions. A recent survey of groundwater levels at hundreds of wells worldwide found that 71% have fallen since the start of the 21st century. Groundwater loss worsened at more than half of the studied wells during that time. But the survey also revealed, encouragingly, that groundwater disappearance isn’t universal.