The disruption of the Strait of Hormuz reaches further than most headlines suggest. As crude oil pushed past US$100 a barrel for the first time in four years, and urea prices rose by more than a quarter within days of the conflict in Iran, the immediate concern in most capitals was energy, security and inflation. In Africa, the calculation is different. Nearly a third of the world’s traded fertilizer passes through that narrow strip of water, and the sharpest agricultural consequences are projected to arrive in the second half of this year when farmers across our continent will be making planting decisions for the season ahead.

Soil salinity increasingly endangers global rice production. Although CBL-CIPK complexes are known to decode salt-induced Ca2+surges to activate ion transporters and antioxidant pathways, the in vivo role of rice OsCBL10 remains unknown, leaving a critical gap in Ca2+-mediated salt-tolerance mechanisms. In this study, we demonstrate that OsCBL10 is a tonoplast-localized Ca2+sensor that is transcriptionally up-regulated by salinity and most highly expressed in anthers and salt-stressed shoots.

A survey in Iran has examined public perceptions of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), revealing how awareness, trust, and socio-demographic factors influence attitudes toward the technology. The study assessed responses from 5,730 mostly young, urban, and educated participants across 16 provinces. The researchers found that while GM technology is generally viewed positively, knowledge remains limited. About 40% of respondents expressed positive attitudes towards GM crops, but 42% reported limited understanding of GMOs