Better farming through nanotechnology: An argument for applying medical insights to agriculture

In a review article, scientists from Appalachian State University (Boone, NC), Caltech, Carnegie Mellon University, the Connecticut Agricultural Research Station (New Haven, CT), Cornell University, North Carolina State University, Purdue University, the University of Arkansas, the University of California, Riverside, the University of California San Diego, the University of Central Florida, and the University of Kentucky highlight some of the best-known strategies for improving agriculture with nanotechnology. The researchers describe specific approaches borrowed from nanomedicine that could be used to deliver pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides to specific biological targets. Doing this type of delivery could make plants more resilient to disease and harmful environmental factors like extreme heat or high salt content in soil.