National Geographic

The tree sap used in making maple syrup contains half as much sugar as it did in the 1950s and 1960s in the forests of New England, says National Geographic. "The sugar maple is stressed to the point of decline and many scientists studying this beloved tree believe rising temperatures are the cause."

British researchers have genetically engineered a chicken that is less susceptible to bird flu than other chickens and that does not infect its flockmates. "But these promising chickens ... won't likely gate-crash their way into poultry production any time soon," says Reuters.

The watermelon, a part of summer cookouts and picnics, once was a bitter little fruit about two inches in diameter, writes Rebecca Rupp in a National Geographic blog post.

"The solution to avian flu" could be a genetically modified chicken that doesn't infect other fowl when it's hit by the deadly virus, says a National Geographic blog post.

"Cannibalism may seem like nature’s way of coping with Florida’s growing lionfish invasion, but it is unlikely to offer a cure," says National Geographic.

The Spanish energy company Abengoa opened the world's largest cellulosic refinery in Hugoton, about 90 miles southwest of Dodge City, Kansas, said Biofuels Digest.

Researchers say the Global Positioning System, which helps drivers navigate the roads and which monitors tiny movements of the earth's surface as a possible indicator of developing earthquakes, has measured the huge loss of water due to severe drought in the West, says National Geographic.

Farmers and landowners in California are spending millions of dollars to drill increasingly deeper wells in California, says National Geographic.

Farm leaders in Ohio say producers have worked for years to reduce their use of fertilizer and to reduce runoff through using no-till cultivation and planting filter strips near waterways, says AgWeb.