The Noah"s Ark for plants beneath the English countryside
Inside bomb-proof frozen vaults underneath the English countryside hides a treasure trove of 40,000 species of wild plant seeds from around the world, many of which are in danger of disappearing......»»
Biologists discover how plants evolved multiple ways to override genetic instructions
Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered the origin of a curious duplication that gives plants multiple ways to override instructions that are coded into their DNA. This research could help scientists exploit a plant's existin.....»»
Bioinspired hydrogels harness sunlight: A step closer to artificial photosynthesis
Mimicking how plants convert sunlight into energy has long been a dream for scientists aiming to create renewable energy solutions. Artificial photosynthesis is a process that seeks to replicate nature's method, using sunlight to drive chemical react.....»»
New research may lead to potatoes that are less reliant on nitrogen fertilizers
Because nitrogen fertilizers contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions, scientists are looking for ways to modify agricultural plants so that they rely on less nitrogen. In research published in New Phytologist, investigators have found that bloc.....»»
New policy aims to introduce bilingual education in South Africa
Language has always been used as a political football in South Africa. This can be traced back to the competing English and Dutch colonizers, from the 17th to the early 20th centuries, each group trying to assert linguistic as well as economic and so.....»»
Secrets and lies: Spies of the Stuart era played a dangerous game in the shadows of an unstable Europe
Stuart monarchs were repeatedly challenged by dangerous threats—a gunpowder plot, a civil war and political revolution. As a result, by the restoration of Charles II in 1660, the English government had come to rely on a shadowy trade of secrets for.....»»
Spraying rice with zinc oxide nanoparticles protects yields during heat waves, study finds
A small team of horticulturists in China and the U.S. has found that spraying rice plants with a zinc oxide nanoparticle solution helps them better handle the stress of a heat wave. In their study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of.....»»
Svalbard Global Seed Vault evokes epic imagery and controversy because of the symbolic value of seeds
Two-thirds of the world's food comes today from just nine plants: sugar cane, maize (corn), rice, wheat, potatoes, soybeans, oil-palm fruit, sugar beet and cassava. In the past, farmers grew tens of thousands of crop varieties around the world. This.....»»
Study reveals effect of slope position on nonstructural carbohydrates in biological soil crusts
Nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs) provide energy for metabolic processes in plants and play a key role in plant growth, defense and osmoregulation. However, the regulation of NSC in biological soil crusts across different slope positions remains unc.....»»
Dams have taken half the water from Australia"s second biggest river—and climate change will make it even worse
The largest wetland on Australia's second longest river, the Murrumbidgee in the southern Murray-Darling Basin, is drying up. This is bad news for the plants, animals and people who rely on the vast Lowbidgee Floodplain. So it's important to understa.....»»
Only 3% of South Africans can name all five national animals and plants. Why these symbols matter
Alongside a national flag, anthem and coat of arms, most countries have one or more plant and animal species that they designate as national symbols. The national animal of China, for example, is the giant panda, a nation-wide source of pride and dip.....»»
UN summit approves fund to share benefits of nature"s sequenced genetic data
A UN nature summit agreed in Colombia Saturday on the creation of a fund to share the profits of digitally sequenced genetic data taken from animals and plants with the communities they come from......»»
Deep sea rocks suggest oxygen can be made without photosynthesis, deepening the mystery of life
Oxygen, the molecule that supports intelligent life as we know it, is largely made by plants. Whether underwater or on land, they do this by photosynthesizing carbon dioxide. However, a recent study demonstrates that oxygen may be produced without th.....»»
U.S. regulators raise questions about siting data centers at power plants
U.S. regulators raise questions about siting data centers at power plants.....»»
African Sahara "greening" can alter Northern Hemisphere climate, modeling study finds
Africa's Sahara Desert may be considered a vast expanse of barren sand with limited vegetation, an extreme environment for plants and animals to thrive, but life always finds a way. Indeed, vegetation growth in the desert has waxed and waned over mil.....»»
Fungi may not think, but they can communicate
Fungi form distinct networks depending on how food sources are arranged. Fungi can be enigmatic organisms. Mushrooms or other structures may be visible above the soil, but beneath.....»»
The reasons flowers wilt could explain how plants spend (and save) their energy
Wilting flowers might not signal poor flower or plant health, but rather the effects of a sophisticated resource management strategy in plants, millions of years in the making......»»
Researchers study effect of phosphorous and irradiance on the invasive plant Chromolaena odorata
Resource competition is an important factor affecting the invasion success of alien plants, and environmental factors influence the competition outcomes between invasive and native plants. Chromolaena odorata has been listed as one of the main invasi.....»»
New Age ritual that send "bad energies" up in smoke may contribute to overharvesting of wild plants
A commercialized New Age ritual is causing not only "unwanted energies" to go up in smoke, but also foreign wild plants. A study by Utrecht University researchers Isabela Pombo Geertsma and Anastasia Stefanaki, alongside colleagues from Wageningen UR.....»»
Global fleet of undersea robots reveals the phytoplankton hidden beneath the ocean"s surface
Phytoplankton—microscopic plant-like organisms—are the foundation of the marine food web, sustaining everything from tiny fish to multi-ton whales while also playing a critical role in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere......»»
Bones from shipwreck suggest right- or left-handedness could affect how clavicle chemistry changes with age
A new study of human skeletal remains from the wreck of the 16th century English warship "Mary Rose" suggests that whether a person is right- versus left-handed may influence how their clavicle bone chemistry changes as they age. Dr. Sheona Shankland.....»»