Mindzilla – Plant Sciences

Plant Sciences

Could Wider Use of Gene Reserves Protect Rare Species?

May 11, 2021
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York, UK — UK landowners and conservationists welcome wider-spread use of Gene Conservation Units (GCUs) to help protect some of the rarest plants and insects, research at the University of York has...

How Plants Find Their Symbiotic Partners

May 5, 2021
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Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany — What would it be like to produce fertilizer in your own basement? Leguminous plants, like peas, beans, and various species of clover, obtain the organic nitrogen they...

For Tomato Genes, One Plus One Doesn’t Always Make Two

April 14, 2021
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Cold Spring Harbor, NY — Both people and tomatoes come in different shapes and sizes. That is because every individual has a unique set of genetic variations–mutations–that affect how genes...

New Biosensor Makes Control Hormone Auxin Visible in Cells

April 8, 2021
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Bayreuth, Germany — The hormone auxin is of central importance for the development of plants. Scientists at the University of Bayreuth and the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen...

Researchers Solve Riddle of Plant Immune System

February 17, 2021
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Göttingen, Germany — How do plants build resilience? An international research team led by the University of Göttingen studied the molecular mechanisms of the plant immune system. They were able to...

Membrane Building Blocks Play Decisive Role in Controlling Cell Growth

February 15, 2021
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Halle, Germany — Lipids are the building blocks of a cell’s envelope – the cell membrane. In addition to their structural function, some lipids also play a regulatory role and decisively...

New Study Reveals Biodiversity Important at Regional Scales

February 12, 2021
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Gloucester Point, VA — New research shows that biodiversity is important not just at the traditional scale of short-term plot experiments–in which ecologists monitor the health of a single meadow,...

Plant-Based Magnetic Nanoparticles with Antifungal Properties

February 11, 2021
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Kaliningrad, Russia — A team of researchers from Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University obtained magnetic nanoparticles using sweet flag (Acorus calamus). Both the roots and the leaves of this plant...

Allergy Seasons are Getting Worse; Blame Climate Change

February 9, 2021
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Salt Lake City, UT — If you live with seasonal allergies and feel like the pollen seasons feel longer and longer every year, you may be right. New research shows that pollen seasons start 20 days earlier,...

In Symbiosis: Plants Control the Genetics of Microbes

February 5, 2021
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Ottawa, ON — Researchers from the University of Ottawa have discovered that plants may be able to control the genetics of their intimate root symbionts – the organism with which they live in...

Building a Corn Cob – Cell by Cell, Gene by Gene

January 27, 2021
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Cold Spring Harbor, NY — Corn hasn’t always been the sweet, juicy delight that we know today. And, without adapting to a rapidly changing climate, it is at risk of losing its place as a food...

Anti-Freeze for Cell Membranes

January 26, 2021
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Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany — A team led by plant biologists at the Universities of Freiburg and Göttingen in Germany has shown for the first time that mosses have a mechanism to protect them against...

Stealing the Spotlight in the Field and Kitchen

January 21, 2021
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Madison, WI — Plant breeders are constantly working to develop new bean varieties to meet the needs and desires of the food industry. But not everyone wants the same thing. Many consumers desire...

How Plants Produce Defensive Toxins without Harming Themselves

January 18, 2021
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Jena, Germany — Plants produce toxic substances to defend themselves against herbivores. In a new study, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena and the University of...

Scientists Make Sustainable Polymer from Sugars in Wood

January 13, 2021
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Bath, UK — Scientists from the University of Bath have made a sustainable polymer using the second most abundant sugar in nature, xylose. Not only does the new nature-inspired material reduce reliance...

Scientists Develop a Cheaper Method that might Help Create Fuels from Plants

January 12, 2021
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COLUMBUS, OH — Scientists have figured out a cheaper, more efficient way to conduct a chemical reaction at the heart of many biological processes, which may lead to better ways to create biofuels from...

Uncovering How Plants See Blue Light

January 11, 2021
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Davis, CA — Plants can perceive and react to light across a wide spectrum. New research from Prof. Nitzan Shabek’s laboratory in the Department of Plant Biology, College of Biological Sciences...

How Climate Change is Disrupting Ecosystems

December 18, 2020
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Zürich, Switzerland — The world is getting warmer and warmer – and many organisms native to lower latitudes or elevations are moving higher. However, novel organisms moving into a new habitat...

Researcher Boosts Vegetable Oil Production in Plant Leaves

December 18, 2020
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Columbia, MO — Since antiquity, cultures around the world have been extracting vegetable oil from plants to use as food and fuel. Some vegetable oils have important health benefits, including lowering...

Academy Scientists Describe 213 Species in 2020

December 11, 2020
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San Francisco, CA — This past year, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added 213 plant and animal species to the tree of life, providing deeper insight into the rich biodiversity of...

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