Molecular geneticists have known for about a decade that genomic structural variants can play important roles in the adaptation and speciation of both plants and animals, but…
In order to feed a projected 9 billion people by 2050, farmers need to grow 50% more food on a limited amount of arable land….
For Trees, Carbs Are Key to Surviving Insect Defoliation A recent multi-year outbreak of an invasive moth killed thousands of acres of oak trees across…
A long-term study in California’s Elkhorn Slough revealed the impact of superabundant crabs on salt marsh vegetation and the vulnerability of tidal creek banks to…
Tailoring levels of enzyme has many potential applications, including renewable production of p-hydroxybenzoic acid, improved biofuel production and/or timber durability, and a path for long-term…
Botanists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of British Columbia have discovered a new carnivorous plant in western North America. Triantha occidentalis makes its…
Humans adapt through language and culture, passing down knowledge from one generation to the next. Corn plants can’t talk, so they solve the problem of…
Where does the shape of the Romanesco cauliflower come from? The mystery of the formation of one of the most peculiar plant forms — the…
Plants are DNA hoarders. Adhering to the maxim of never throwing anything out that might be useful later, they often duplicate their entire genome and…
How do you study a group of organisms with over 300,000 species, dispersed across all seven continents, and with up to 50 times as much…
Citrus fruits from the mandarin family have important commercial value but how their diversity arose has been something of a mystery Researchers analyzed the genomes…
Most Rivers Run Dry – Now and Then A new study led by researchers from McGill University and INRAE found that between 51-60% of the…
A new seed-coating process could facilitate agriculture on marginal arid lands by enabling the seeds to retain any available water. As the world continues to…
Not only animals and humans host a complex community of microorganisms – plants do this as well. Researchers at ETH Zurich have recently published two…
Hereditary information is passed from parent to offspring in the genetic code, DNA, and epigenetically through chemically induced modifications around the DNA. New research from…
In the line-up of wild African fruits, the marula is the best known. For thousands of years, people have depended on the trees for food,…
Scientists isolated a molecule, extracted from the leaves of the European chestnut tree, with the power to neutralize dangerous, drug-resistant staph bacteria. Frontiers in Pharmacology…
Scientists Develop the First CRISPR/Cas9-Based Gene Drive in Plants New technology designed to breed more robust crops to improve agricultural yield and resist the effects…