Plants

  1. Math

    Chia seedlings verify Alan Turing’s ideas about patterns in nature

    New experiments confirm that complex patterns in plants emerge from a model proposed by mathematician Alan Turing.

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  2. Agriculture

    Dry farming could help agriculture in the western U.S. amid climate change

    Some farmers in the western United States are forgoing irrigation, which can save on water and produce more flavorful fruits and vegetables.

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  3. Life

    Plant/animal hybrid proteins could help crops fend off diseases

    Pikobodies, bioengineered proteins that are part plant and part animal (thanks, llamas), loan plant immune systems a uniquely animal trait: flexibility.

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  4. Paleontology

    The oldest known pollen-carrying insects lived about 280 million years ago

    Pollen stuck to fossils of earwig-like Tillyardembia pushes back the earliest record of potential insect pollinators by about 120 million years.

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  5. Life

    Chemical signals from fungi tell bark beetles which trees to infest

    As fungi break down defensive chemicals in trees, some byproducts act as signals to bark beetle pests, telling them which trees are most vulnerable.

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  6. Animals

    A rare rabbit plays an important ecological role by spreading seeds

    Rabbits aren’t thought of as seed dispersers, but the Amami rabbit of Japan has now been recorded munching on a plant’s seeds and pooping them out.

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  7. Plants

    Why dandelion seeds are so good at spreading widely

    Individual seeds on a dandelion flower are programmed to let go for a specific wind direction, allowing them to spread widely as the wind shifts.

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  8. Ecosystems

    A Caribbean island gets everyone involved in protecting beloved species

    Scientists on Saba are introducing island residents to conservation of Caribbean orchids, red-billed tropicbirds and urchins.

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  9. Climate

    How Kenyans help themselves and the planet by saving mangrove trees

    Communities in Kenya took action to restore their coastal mangrove forests, reaping economic and environmental benefits. Others are following suit.

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  10. Plants

    The worldwide water-lifting power of plants is enormous

    The energy used per year by the world’s plants to lift sap rivals the amount of energy generated by all hydroelectric dams, a new study suggests.

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  11. Environment

    Flower shape and size impact bees’ chances of catching gut parasites

    Bumblebees have higher chances of contracting a gut parasite from short, wide flowers than from blooms with other shapes, experiments show.

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  12. Plants

    This pitcher plant species sets its deathtraps underground

    Scientists didn’t expect the carnivorous, eggplant-shaped pitchers to be sturdy enough to survive below the surface.

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