Pollinators Attracted by Hidden Patterns in Petals
To better attract pollinators, plants change the chemical and physical properties of their petals to produce alluring colors.
Read MoreTo better attract pollinators, plants change the chemical and physical properties of their petals to produce alluring colors.
Read MoreDroughts can wreak havoc on food supply and crop production, but a new study shows that ethanol can help crops survive.
Read MoreSpringtime plants are proving their worth more than ever as most of the world continues to shelter in place from COVID-19.
Read MoreBy Jacqueline Mattos Plants are ancestral organisms that have evolved over millions of years, leading to the broad diversity we see today. Green plants evolved from a common ancestor into approximately 450,000–500,000 species today. There are many gaps in understanding of their diversification that scientists still struggle to fill. In a recent paper published in Nature, researchers from the One Thousand Plant Transcriptomes Initiative reviewed and analyzed genomic data from 1,124 plant species and provided the most complete evolutionary relationship tree for green plants to date. Genomes, transcriptomes, and phylogenetics…
Read MoreBy Radhika Desikan Does age really matter? For us humans, age seems to be a very sensitive issue relevant to how we live our lives. And while it also matters to plants, it does so at a different level. Some of our tissues, like skin, have cells that are constantly dividing (to replace dead cells) and therefore differ in age, but what defines our age as an organism is not the life span of individual cells in our body, but rather the length of time that has passed since our…
Read MoreHow do plants know which way is up and which way is down? No matter which way you put a seed in the soil, it will always send its roots down and its shoots up.
Read MoreIs it time to strengthen the endangered species act? Species are disappearing at a rapid pace, and the ESA is finding it hard to keep up.
Read MoreBy Steven Spence Going Out in a Blaze of Glory Autumn … the year’s last, loveliest smile. (William Cullen Bryant) Fall is my favorite season for many reasons, but foremost among them is the joy I feel when surrounded by thousands of patches of light in a cacophony of colors all rustling in the wind. There are only a few special weeks each year to enjoy this transition from the searing heat of summer to winter’s icy grip. Whenever something captivates my imagination (or optic nerves) I want to learn…
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