MIT Nanosensor Can Alert a Smartphone When Plants Are Stressed
Carbon nanotubes embedded in leaves detect chemical signals that are produced when a plant is damaged. MIT engineers have developed a way to closely track…
Plant Science News
Genetic Analysis Reveals the Fascinating Evolutionary Origins of Catmint AKA Catnip
Researchers discover the evolutionary origins of the cat attractant nepetalactone. Catmint, also known as catnip, is well-known for its intoxicating effect on cats. The odor…
How Lasers and Vibrations Could Guarantee the Perfect Avocado
Lasers and vibrations reliably assess individual fruits’ ripeness Test could reduce waste by 10% and help meet consumer demands for ‘ready to eat’ avocados A…
How to Boost Plant Biomass: Genetic Biologists Uncover Molecular Link to Growth
Findings have implications for increasing plant nitrogen use efficiency, reducing reliance on fertilizers. Plant scientists have long known that crop yield is proportional to the…
Revealed: Plants Molecular ‘Alarm’ System That Protects Them From Predators
Scientists uncover how oral secretions of the cotton leaf worm trigger defense responses in a plant. In nature, every species must be equipped with a…
Scientists Improve Photosynthesis in Quest to Create Heat-Tolerant Wheat
Researchers working on molecular-level responses in crops have taken a step closer to their goal of producing heat-tolerant wheat. Smart thermostats tell air conditioners to…
Wetter Climate Likely to Intensify Global Warming Due to Increased CO2 Release by Microbes
Greater tropical rainfall may increase microbes’ release of CO2 from soils into air. A study in the May 6, 2020, issue of Nature indicates the…
Snapshot of Evolution Captured by Newly Discovered 400 Million-Year-Old Plant
Researchers have discovered an ancient plant species whose reproductive biology captures the evolution from one to two spore sizes – an essential transition to the…
A Humble Bug Holds Key to Relieving Millions of Allergy Sufferers
CABI has led a team of scientists on new research which reveals that a humble bug can help relieve more than 2 million sufferers of…
Long-Living Tropical Trees Play Much Larger Role in Carbon Storage Than Previously Thought
A group of trees that grow fast, live long lives and reproduce slowly account for the bulk of the biomass–and carbon storage–in some tropical rainforests,…
De-Domesticated Weedy Rice Is Unintended Legacy of Green Revolution
A new global study reveals the extent to which high-yielding rice varieties favored in the decades since the “Green Revolution” have a propensity to go…
How Much Carbon Can Tropical Forests Absorb?
Tropical forest ecosystems are an important part of the global carbon cycle as they take up and store large amounts of CO2. It is however…
Remarkable Mechanism Plants Use to Protect Themselves From Sun Damage
Study reveals a mechanism that plants can use to dissipate excess sunlight as heat. For plants, sunlight can be a double-edged sword. They need it…
Space Lettuce – Growing Nutritious and Safe Crops for Long-Distance Space Missions
Nutritious and safe crops would be a dietary supplement to assist long-distance space missions. Astronauts in space live on processed, pre-packaged space rations such as…
Discovering What Makes Durian Stink – “King of Fruits” Is Known for Its Pungent Odor
First Evidence of Rare Amino Acid in Plants Researchers at the Leibniz-Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich ([email protected]) have confirmed…
Biology Textbooks May Be Wrong: Newly Discovered Driver of Plant Cell Growth Contradicts Current Theories
The shape and growth of plant cells may not rely on increased fluidic pressure, or turgor, inside the cell as previously believed. Rather, a new…
Remarkable Discovery of 1 Billion-Year-Old Green Seaweed Micro-Fossils in China
Virginia Tech paleontologists have made a remarkable discovery in China: 1 billion-year-old micro-fossils of green seaweeds that could be related to the ancestor of the…
Since 1941 It Was Thought to Be the Oldest Bamboo Fossil – But It Wasn’t Bamboo at All
A fossilized leafy branch from the early Eocene in Patagonia described in 1941 is still often cited as the oldest bamboo fossil and the main…
