Seed microorganisms override soil microorganisms when colonizing plants
New research shows that when it comes to colonizing plants, microorganisms from seeds have more staying power than microorganisms from the soil......»»
Green Roofs Are Great. Blue-Green Roofs Are Even Better
Amsterdam is experimenting with roofs that not only grow plants but capture water for a building’s residents. Welcome to the squeezable sponge city of tomorrow......»»
Scientists find common genes defending coffee plants against devastating disease
Arabica coffee is the most economically important coffee globally and accounts for 60% of coffee products worldwide. But the plants it hails from are vulnerable to a disease that, in the 1800s, devastated Sri Lanka's coffee empire......»»
Mycoheterotrophic plants as a key to the "Wood Wide Web"
Bayreuth researchers shed light on the natural evidence for the occurrence and function of networks of fungi and plants—so-called mycorrhizal networks. Through this "Wood Wide Web," plants can exchange resources and even information with each other.....»»
Uncovering key players in gene silencing: Insights into plant growth and human diseases
Monash University biologists have shed light on the intricate molecular mechanisms that are responsible for gene silencing induced by expanded repeats in an international study published today in Nature Plants......»»
Effects of organic matter input and temperature change on soil aggregate-associated respiration and microbial carbon use
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is one of the most dramatically affected regions by global warming. For a long time, the region has been exposed by low temperature and soil moisture, which led to the severe inhibition of the soil biological activities and.....»»
Rewild the soil: The largest urban rewilding project is going underground
The largest urban rewilding project in the U.K. is happening on an old golf course......»»
US-made chips will cost Apple more, despite govt subsidies
Apple has pledged to buy US-made chips once TSMC’s Arizona plants come online, but the company may have to pay more for them. TSMC’s chief exec has said that it plans to charge customers more for chips made outside of Taiwan, due to the higher.....»»
The Rise of the Carbon Farmer
Farmers around the world are reigniting the less intensive agricultural practices of yesteryear—to improve soil health, raise yields, and trap carbon in the atmosphere back down in the soil......»»
Soil bacteria link their life strategies to soil conditions: Study
Soil bacteria help regulate the cycling of carbon and nutrients on Earth. Over time, these bacteria have evolved strategies that determine where they live, what they do, and how they deal with a changing environment. However, microbiologists do not f.....»»
Stellantis avoids plant shutdowns by paying auto supplier "under hostage threat"
The automaker paid MacLean-Fogg Component Solutions of Illinois to keep pinions and gears flowing to a pair of plants in Kokomo, Ind......»»
Anthropocene activities dramatically alter deep underground fluid flux, researchers find
Much of Earth's water is hidden hundreds of meters beneath our feet, among soil particles and deep within rock pores and fractures......»»
New class of antimicrobials discovered in soil bacteria
Researchers have discovered toxic protein particles, shaped like umbrellas, that soil bacteria known as Streptomyces secrete to squelch competitors, especially others of their own species......»»
Climate change is wiping out rare bacteria in a "greening" Antarctica
Plenty is known about the existential threat of climate change to plants and animals. But by comparison, we know very little about how microorganisms will be affected by climate change......»»
NASA observations find what helps heat roots of "moss" on sun
Did you know the sun has moss? Due to its resemblance to the earthly plants, scientists have named a small-scale, bright, patchy structure made of plasma in the solar atmosphere "moss." This moss, which was first identified in 1999 by NASA's TRACE mi.....»»
Discovery of bacterial proteins that induce asexual reproduction in insects
From microbes in the human gut to symbiotic algae in coral reefs, research in recent decades has increasingly revealed the pivotal roles that microorganisms (or microbial species) play in shaping the biology of host organisms and of broader ecosystem.....»»
Scientists discover how soil microbes survive in harsh desert environments
Prolonged droughts followed by sudden bursts of rainfall—how do desert soil bacteria manage to survive such harsh conditions? This long-debated question has now been answered by an ERC project led by microbiologist Dagmar Woebken from the Centre fo.....»»
CO₂ worsens wildfires by helping plants grow, model experiments show
By fueling the growth of plants that become kindling, carbon dioxide is driving an increase in the severity and frequency of wildfires, according to a UC Riverside study......»»
Pioneering crop productivity and sustainability in the face of water scarcity
A research team has shed light on the early morning "golden hours" as a pivotal time for achieving optimal water use efficiency (WUE) in crops, revealing that plants can maintain lower transpiration rates and higher photosynthetic activity under favo.....»»
Study finds patterns of crop-specific fertilizer-nitrogen losses, opportunities for sustainable mitigation
Nitrogen fertilizers play an essential role in ensuring global food security. However, the applied fertilizer-nitrogen, particularly that exceeding crop demand and soil N retention capacity, can potentially escape into the environment and lead to a v.....»»
Uranium-immobilizing bacteria in clay rock: Exploring how microorganisms can influence the behavior of radioactive waste
When designing repositories for high-level radioactive waste in deep geological layers, various factors must be carefully considered to ensure their long-term safety. Among other things, natural communities of microorganisms can influence the behavio.....»»