How scientists discovered salmon that need less food to grow Norwegian researchers have identified young salmon that can be farmed using less feed than their not-as-efficient brethren.
Tomatoes used to taste bad. Not anymore. What do tomatoes, coffee, potatoes and beets have in common? An expanding number of varieties.
Norwegian farmers keep tabs on cattle with GPS British and continental beef cattle have not been bred to thrive in Norwegian forests. But they're doing well, according to the researcher who has used GPS to help track their grazing patterns for three summers.
Chickens do best when they can play, climb and bathe Chickens play more if they grow up in a varied environment with hay bales to peck at, boxes to climb onto and bedding in which to dust bathe. They become more active and build stronger bones, according to a new study.
How healthy is farmed salmon? Is farmed salmon as healthy to eat as wild salmon? And what about the health of the fish themselves?
Why we should use these bacteria in fertilizers OPINION: A certain type of bacteria can reduce emissions as well as help food production. Scientist Kedir Woliy Jillo explains how.
Can salmon lice end up on your dinner plate? Are there any parasites on the fish you buy in the store?
How sustainable is organic food? Organic food seems like it should be good for the environment. But not all Norwegian researchers agree it is sustainable.
Can't agree on harmfulness of GMO maize A Norwegian study suggested that GMO maize could potentially be harmful to the environment. But the study was dismissed by the European Food Safety Authority, who claimed the study was flawed.
Making retired hens into more than a refuse problem In Norway over three million retired laying hens are gassed to death and end up as refuse - anually. A group of Norwegian scientists want to put the hens to better use.
Clearing the name of frozen veggies once and for all More and more people are trying to eat locally grown foods. But especially in winter, local vegetables are most likely to be found in the supermarket’s freezer section.
Goby behaviour says much about sexual selection One fish off the coast of central Norway has set a record for the number of female mates it had. And that’s not all.
Here comes the electric fishing boat The world’s first electrically powered fishing boat will be presented this August in Trondheim, Norway. But more time and development is needed before it can run completely without diesel.
An in-trawl camera for fish A cod swims right past the camera. These images could make it easier to set fishing quotas.
Calves need more motherly care Calves are usually separated from cows right after birth. A new study indicates that they should get more time with their mothers.
Old DNA reveals Viking impacts on flora and fauna Vikings’ navigational skills and travels led to more than plundering and cultural exchanges. It also spread Scandinavian plants and animals to places abroad – and likewise brought foreign flora and fauna to the Nordic countries.
Super salmon training starts early Healthier, stronger, bigger: this is a goal for Norwegian farm-raised salmon—and Harald Takle is their personal trainer.
Rounding up a cattle virus in human noses Watch where you sneeze! Humans can make cows sick by transmitting a virus from barn to barn – sometimes in their noses.
Happy farmer, happy cow To succeed with farm animals, you should enjoy yourself and be kind and calm. The result will be happy cows and more milk.
Peak phosphorus and implications for India OPINION: One of the biggest risks that the world is facing right now is that of the ‘peak phosphorus’ crisis.
Skagerrak prawn stocks on the rebound For years catches of shrimp have been shrinking and fishermen have had good reason to be concerned about their livelihoods. But the crunch on these crustaceans in the Skagerrak seems to be letting up.
Why Japanese connoisseurs love Norwegian mackerel There's nothing fishy about it: an advanced MRI machine explains exactly why the Japanese prefer Norwegian mackerel. The secret is in the fat.
For Norwegians, healthy food and animal welfare are more important than prices They want the incomes of farmers to be in line with other social groups – and they shy away from GMOs.
Fishing: Big increase in catch-and-release Anglers have in the last few years become steadily more likely to release their catches after reeling them in. Most of these fish survive the ordeal, but it is far from painless.
Calves aren’t being given enough milk Calves are subjected to a feeding regimen that is much too harsh, according to animal husbandry researchers. When allowed to drink as much as they wish the animals get healthier, happier and will yield more meat and milk.
Food security hinges on climate adaptation Climate change can have a devastating effect on agriculture in many regions. But much can be done to ensure future food supplies for everyone.
Farmed salmon are as fertile as wild salmon The sperm from farmed male salmon are just as likely as the sperm of wild salmon to succeed in fertilising wild salmon eggs, experiments have shown. Researchers recommend that farmed salmon be made sterile.
Arctic agriculture needs new crops Countries in the far north need to cultivate new varieties of crops if they hope to main local food production.
More fish found deeper in the ocean The amount of fish in the world is being reassessed upwards. Some ten billion tonnes of fish that live at depths down to a kilometre are not fished at all. A University of Bergen professor thinks this biomass will be much more important for humankind in the future.
Spawning cod packed with vitamins Cod migrate from the Barents Sea to the Lofoten Islands in North Norway to spawn every winter. The fishing season for these large spawning cod, called skrei in Norwegian, is currently open. A traditional North Norwegian serving of the fish is a super source of vitamin D.
Biggest threats to farmers have four legs Big animals are more dangerous for Norwegian farmers than even-bigger tractors, a new analysis shows. Cows are the chief culprits, causing the most work accidents on Norway's farms.
Primitive worms threaten harvests They live in the soil, are numerous, and can be microscopic. Yet nematodes can effectively kill off fruit trees and cereals.
Norwegians in the dark on red meat's carbon footprint Confusion reigns when it comes to defining environmental friendly consumption of red meat. Norwegian politicians can’t agree with one another and consumers are ho-hum on the whole issue.
Salmon are shrewder in a natural environment Juvenile fish get some smarts after spending eight weeks in a more stimulating tank.
Valuable secret hidden in codfish ear collection Cod have annual growth rings in the bony structures in their ears. Scientists in Greenland have collected these structures for nearly a century and have made a discovery that could help avert a new fisheries collapse.
Counting copepod crap A mind-boggling array of tasks forms the underpinning of our understanding of the factors that affect the climate, both now and as the planet warms. Danes aboard the Norwegian research vessel G.O. Sars are adding to this knowledge by counting specks of zooplankton faeces.
Creatures from the deep and cold Atlantic sea Check out what swims around a thousand metres down off Greenland.
A ship loaded with copepods The sweet smell of plankton envelopes researchers on deck as they haul up buckets of copepods, shrimp, algae and fish. Spring has come to the Labrador Sea. The marine science gold rush is in full swing.
Soviet Cold War oceanographic surveys opened up to western scientists A treasure trove of Barents Sea fisheries data stored for decades in Murmansk can help determine the fate of future offshore oil and gas exploitation in the region.
Tourists split on Norway’s changing landscape Nature is reclaiming Norway’s cultural landscape, but tourists are divided on whether this is good or bad.
Larger offspring when fish pick own mates It might not be so advantageous for us to help endangered animal species by selecting what we consider suitable mates for them.
A cold cure for sick fish When pipefish are sick, they swim towards cooler water to get better. But what will happen when global warming causes the world's seas to heat up?
Want some week-old fish? Most of us would refrain from buying fresh fish that was caught more than three days ago. But if we don’t know the day of catch, we gladly consume fish that is much older.
Soft sea slugs pack a hard punch Sea slugs may sound like they're soft and squishy, but they have poisonous tentacles and eat nearly everything they come across, including each others' eggs. These delicate and often brightly coloured animals are ferocious predators.
Standard research fish lacks a standard diet Zebrafish have been used as a research standard to help scientists expand our understanding of everything from skin cancers to cardiovascular disease. But one Norwegian researcher cautions that research that relies on zebrafish might be less reliable because the fish are not fed a standardised diet.
The oldest spruce in Northern Europe is 532 years old Northern Europe’s oldest spruce is still growing strong in a Norwegian forest. It outdates Martin Luther and was a young tree before Columbus reached the Americas.
New gear eases logging operations New portable gear for cableways makes strenuous Norwegian logging work a little easier.
Damming bogs can curb climate gases Farmers can help reduce CO2 emissions by restoring bogs which were previously drained for agriculture.
Organic salmon has more Omega-3 A small share of Norwegian farmed salmon is produced organically. The organic product has the same quality as other farmed salmon, but has more Omega-3.
Adapting rice cultivation to climate changes India’s millions of peasant farmers need to make their rice crops more robust in the face of the climate changes. A Norwegian-Indian project aims to increase crops also when little water is available.
Prospecting herring waste The messy leftovers from herring processing could be put to better use. Enzymes from the fish parts can soon wind up in detergents or even in juice.
Salmon becomes what it eats The diet of farmed salmon is no small-fry issue. The quality of the fats and proteins in feeds has quite an impact on the taste of the fish.
De-bugging strawberries and raspberries Beetles do a lot of damage to Norwegian strawberries and raspberries. Scientists are seeking effective alternatives to insecticide.
Falling lemming populations Due to irregular winters, the lemming cycle has stopped. This might in time change the whole ecosystem in the Arctic.
Creating sterile farmed fish Fish spend a great deal of energy in sexual maturation and the aquaculture industry would like to avoid that by raising sterile fish. This would also prevent runaway farmed fish from mixing their genes with wild cousins. Norwegian researchers are on the case.
Pull, push and kill cabbage root flies Cabbage root flies can devastate fields of cabbage and broccoli. But a clever defence has been developed using fungi, Chinese cabbage and clover.
Cheap hamburger could be choice steaks Little Norwegian beef ends up being served as steaks. With new feeding and butchering techniques the country’s cattle could provide more whole cuts and less minced or ground beef.
A big salmon blow-up New microscope technology can portray your dinner fish in a new light, through a mix of biology, handicraft – and art.
Old spawners important for salmon rivers Super-veterans among salmon are keys to the survival of river stocks in hard times.
Farmed salmon retains good fats Norwegian farmed salmon is still a good source of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, even though these fish are now fed more vegetable oils than previously.
Waking plankton from hibernation They are the motor of the ecosystem in the oceans of the high North. But we don’t know much about where plankton are during the sunless winters or how they waken in spring.
The mysterious Arctic skate A hundred-kilo barn door with two sharp “penises” glides above the seabed in Norwegian fjords, prowling for a female. Meet the Arctic skate, an ancient and secretive fish.
On the track of the world’s first farmer The very first farmer may have lived in a barren mountain landscape in Turkey over 10,000 years ago.
Genes reveal animal history Reindeer living way up north today are immigrants from the south. This is revealed by their genes, which also divulge other secrets of these animals’ shared history with humankind for thousands of years.
The crucial choice to cultivate the land Agriculture gave us cities and pyramids but it can also lead to poorer health. Why did humans choose to go down this road?
Quota system for preventing whaling American researchers propose a cap-and-trade system that would enable environmentalists to pay whaling countries for each whale it refrains from killing. Norwegian experts don’t think the idea will float.
Is meat from stressed animals unhealthy? We love steak and sausages, but does a high level of axiety in animals make them unhealthy to eat?
Moose are the new cows The Eurasian elk, or moose, is filling in for cows as a forest browser. While Bessie is in the barn or an enclosed pasture, this big herbivore ensures continuity in the overall amount of browsing in outlying land in Norway.
Focus on the locus Large corporations have started producing organic foods, but American consumers are moving their focus on locally produced food. In Norway people might be too well off for such a revolution.
All-in-one algae The alga starts by making hydrogen for fuel cells and consuming CO2. Then it can be converted into useful products like health food, fish fodder, medicines, construction materials and biofuels.
