Feature Channels: Plants

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More realistically representing crops and agricultural practices dramatically improves simulations of carbon and energy exchange.

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In North America’s hottest, driest desert, climate change is causing the decline of plants once thought nearly immortal and replacing them with shorter shrubs that can take advantage of sporadic rainfall and warmer temperatures.

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Wistar Institute researchers identified hopeaphenol, a natural plant-based compound, as possessing antiviral properties that are effective against HIV.

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The partnership will enable both organizations to engage in discussions and dialogue on key global issues related to animal science and phytobiomes research.

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A team of botanists from Ecuador, Germany, and the United States has described two new species of carnivorous plants with striking appearance.

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A new discovery by scientists at the University of Bristol changes ideas about the origin of branching in plants.

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Saint Louis University’s Cannabis Science and Operations Certificate program was named the 2023 Outstanding Program by the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA). The award recognizes outstanding professional and continuing education programs allowing students to earn academic credit.

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Rising temperatures and higher CO₂ levels are fueling longer and more intense pollen seasons, negatively impacting the health of those with allergies. A medical expert and public health scientist both offer strategies to fight back.

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Farmers in Thailand still largely use chemical herbicides, especially paraquat and atrazine, to control weeds on their farms. According to research by the Office of Agricultural Economics, in 2019, Thailand imported almost 10 million kilograms of paraquat and close to 3.5 million kilograms of atrazine. The residues of these herbicides cause harm to the environment, living creatures, and our health.

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The growing period of hardwood forests in eastern North America has increased by an average of one month over the past century as temperatures have steadily risen, a new study has found.

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Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridioides difficile, Candida auris, Drug-resistant Shigella. These bacteria not only have difficult names to pronounce, but they are also difficult to fight off. These bacteria may infect humans and animals, and the infections they cause are harder to treat than those caused by non-resistant bacteria. Antimicrobial resistance is an urgent global public health threat.

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Researchers have revealed for the first time how a key gene in plants allows them to use their energy more efficiently, enabling them to grow more roots and capture more water and nutrients.

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New Swansea University research has looked at the long-term environmental impact of different methods to control Japanese knotweed.

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Growing edible mushrooms alongside trees can produce a valuable food source for millions of people while capturing carbon, mitigating the impact of climate change, a new study by University of Stirling scientists has found.

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A new University of Illinois project is using advanced object recognition technology to keep toxin-contaminated wheat kernels out of the food supply and to help researchers make wheat more resistant to fusarium head blight, or scab disease, the crop’s top nemesis.

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For most people, getting burrs stuck to your clothes during a hike is nothing more than a nuisance, something to pick off and throw out when you get home. But for scientists at the Center for Engineering MechanoBiology (CEMB), the hooks on these little hitchhikers are inspiring new suturing schemes for surgical reattachment of tendon to bone.

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Growing in the heart of the world’s deepest valley are two plants that have fooled scientists for decades.

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A scientific instrument at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory could help create a noninvasive cancer treatment derived from a common tropical plant. Pancratistatin is a chemical compound found in the spider lily, a native Hawaiian flower. Unlike traditional treatments, it kills cancer cells while keeping healthy cells intact.

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The faba bean genome, which at 13 billion bases is more than four times the size of the human genome, has been sequenced for the first time and is published today (08 March 2023), in Nature.

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Mezcal is a distilled alcohol made from the boiled and fermented sap of agave plants. Most mezcal beverages — including all brands of tequila — are sold as pure distillates, but a few have an added stowaway bottled inside: worms.

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Coffee is important to the economies of coffee producing regions. A study published in PLOS Climate by Doug Richardson at CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia and colleagues suggests that climate change may significantly affect land where coffee is cultivated.

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A research team led by Iowa State University agronomy professor Brian Hornbuckle is studying how to use satellite-based sensors to remotely detect daily changes in water content and temperature of plants in fields across the Corn Belt, a system that could act as an early warning system for crop stress.

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Conifers are generally better than broadleaved trees at purifying air from pollutants.

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Scientists at the University of Sussex have successfully trialed new biodegradable health sensors that could change the way we experience personal healthcare and fitness monitoring technology.

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This study is led by Dr. Shuli Niu (Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences).

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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s popular outreach series, “Science on Saturday,” will continue its programming into March at the Grand Theatre Center for the Arts in Tracy, California.

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Several phrases can be used to describe Shelby Ply, a senior in environmental engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, including: aspiring environmental engineer, accelerated master’s degree student, decorated collegiate athlete, proud alumna of Rolla High School and equestrian aficionado.

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Not all pollution comes from people. When global temperatures increase by 4 degrees Celsius, harmful plant emissions and dust will also increase by as much as 14 percent, according to new UC Riverside research.

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Ants play a key role in forest regeneration, according to a new paper from Binghamton University, State University of New York.

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Rebecca Bart, PhD, member at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and her colleagues from Washington University in St. Louis will be featured on a global stage at South by Southwest (SXSW) on March 11 at 2:30 PM at the JW Marriott, Austin Texas.  SXSW is one of the most sought-after annual conferences in the world, attended by leaders and innovators in business, entertainment, and culture.

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To reduce biodiversity loss in agricultural landscapes, more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices are needed.

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Giant trees are the largest and longest living organisms on the Earth and play an important ecological role in the natural world. Moreover, human societies recognize relatively large trees, and position them in significant sociocultural roles.

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Below are some of the latest articles that have been added to the Chemistry news channel on Newswise.

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ROCKVILLE, MD – Our current solar panels aren’t very efficient; they are only able to convert up to about 20 percent of the sun’s energy into electricity. As a result, to generate a lot of electricity, the panels require a lot of space—sometimes leading forests to be cut down or farms to be replaced by solar.

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Lecturers of the Faculty of Science, and the Center of Learning Network for Region (CLNR) Chulalongkorn University successfully planted trees in the forests in Nan and Saraburi provinces through innovative seedlings with ectomycorrhiza fungi, motivating villagers and farmers to “plant trees and get mushrooms”, for extra income.

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Iowa State University researchers may have solved a long-standing challenge associated with accelerated development of pure genetic lines.

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Betalains are a class of plant pigments that are responsible for the characteristic red-violet (betacyanin) or yellow (betaxanthin) color of certain fruits and vegetables.

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Turning to plants as an energy source is something we take for granted. Every day, we power our bodies and feed our livestock with plants. Ongoing climate change poses a threat to this energy source as some of our most-used crops are facing stressors like never before.But a promising new candidate, sorghum, is changing the game.

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Most people own houseplants and eagerly grow them on windowsills and shelves only to be disappointed when they wilt or die - new research has shown that the problem could be that we’re feeding them all wrong and we need to pay attention to the roots outside the soil.

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Plants can move in ways that might surprise you. Some of them even show “sleep movements,” folding or raising their leaves each night before opening them again the next day.

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How seeds implant themselves in soil can seem magical. Take some varieties of Erodium, whose five-petalled flowers of purple, pink or white look like geraniums.

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Scientists have for the first time constructed the reference genome for the source of the popular fibre supplement, psyllium husk, which could boost supplies of the versatile plant-derived product.

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A fungus that plagues rice crops worldwide gains entry to plant cells in a way that leaves it vulnerable to simple chemical blockers, a discovery that could lead to new fungicides to reduce the substantial annual losses of rice and other valuable cereals.