Cells, Genes & Molecules
Jet lagged plants pave the way to first digital plant
Scientists have made a significant step towards building the world’s first digital plant by developing a sophisticated computational model which has also solved one of
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Your lawn can identify the traces of vehicle pollution
Mobile and plant-based measurements of fossil fuel CO2 can help quantify decarbonization progress in cities
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Attracting bees is not always a smooth process for plants
Cambridge researchers have shown that plants can regulate the chemistry of their petal surface to create iridescent signals visible to bees.
Growth & Development
The future of sweet corn turns sour
Heat during flowering damages the kernels before they develop.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Plants remember how much warmer than usual it was last year
Stress memories using epigenetics are helping plants adapt to climate change.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
How does it feel?
Plants might not feel pain as such, but they need a way to get damage signals around their body. A new study uncovers some of the process.
Ecosystems
Lianas more likely to infest smaller trees
Sometimes it takes a shorter plant to help a liana get to the top.
Ecosystems
The importance of light for grassland plant diversity
Field experiment shows that competition for light is the key mechanism driving loss of plant diversity under eutrophication and lack of grazing.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Plant hormones to help prevent Striga invasion
Blocking the biosynthesis of canonical strigolactones by TIS108, a specific enzyme inhibitor, significantly lowered Striga infestation without affecting rice growth.
Close Encounters
Bats protect young trees from insect damage, with three times fewer bugs
Not only did the bats reduce the number of caterpillars, they also reduced defoliation by a factor of five.
Ecosystems
Vegetation regulates energy exchange in the arctic
Despite the importance of high-latitude surface energy budgets for land-climate interactions in the rapidly changing Arctic, uncertainties in their prediction persist.
Close Encounters
Want to save the bees? Pay attention to pathogens and flowers
Researchers at UMass Amherst deploy fluorescent paint, pipettes, tents, tweezers and scissors to trace three-way connection between plants, pathogens and bees