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Smaller plants punch above their weight in the forest, say Queen's biologists
New findings from Queen's University biologists show that in the plant world, bigger isn't necessarily better.    view more (2009-07-15)

Shatter-resistant brassicas
An international team of scientists has cracked the problem of pod shatter in brassica crops such as oilseed rape.   view more (2009-05-28)

Grazing animals help spread plant disease
Researchers have discovered that grazing animals such as deer and rabbits are actually helping to spread plant disease - quadrupling its prevalence in some cases - and encouraging an invasion of annual grasses that threaten more than 20 million acres of native grasslands in California.   view more (2008-12-30)

Salk scientists untangle steroid hormone signaling in plants
When given extra shots of the plant steroid brassinolide, plants "pump up" like major league baseball players do on steroids.   view more (2006-05-04)

Researchers find nature's shut-off switch for cellulose production
Purdue University researchers found a mechanism that naturally shuts down cellulose production in plants, and learning how to keep that switch turned on may be key to enhancing biomass production for plant-based biofuels.   view more (2008-12-18)

Global warming increasing the dispersal of flora in Northern forests
As a result of stronger winds caused by global warming, seeds and pollen are being carried over longer distances.    view more (2009-06-12)

University of Sussex launches world's first degree programme in 'seed banking'
Biologists are being offered the chance to help save the planet by enrolling in an innovative new postgraduate degree at the University of Sussex this autumn. Together with the world-renowned Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the University is to offer the world's first degree programme in 'seed banking', which includes strategies for safeguarding the... view more... (2003-05-30)

Parasitic plants sniff out hosts
Parasitic plants do not haphazardly flail about looking for a host but sense volatile chemicals produced by other plants and identify potential hosts by their emissions.   view more (2006-09-29)

Elevated Carbon Dioxide Changes Soil Microbe Mix Below Plants
A detailed analysis of soil samples taken from a forest ecosystem with artificially elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) reveals distinct changes in the mix of microorganisms living in the soil below trembling aspen.   view more (2007-12-20)

Brown Scientists Say Biodiversity Is Crucial to Ecosystem Productivity
In the first experiment involving a natural environment, scientists at Brown University have shown that richer plant diversity significantly enhances an ecosystem's productivity.   view more (2008-04-25)

Drought sensitivity shapes species distribution patterns in tropical forests
Looking at a rainforest it's easy to see that there are hundreds of different tropical plant species that inhabit the forest. Although the patterns of plant distributions in tropical forests have been widely studied, the reasonings behind these patterns are not as well known.   view more (2007-05-15)

Helping plants avoid the price of war
The U.S and allies are under growing pressure to present a clear plan for the clean up of the effects of war in both Afghanistan and Iraq. New research, to be presented today at the Society for Experimental Biology's annual conference, reveals how plants could form a key aspect of future plans. By using plants that avoid the radioactive hangover... view more... (2003-04-03)

'Dung of the devil' plant roots point to new swine flu drugs
Scientists in China have discovered that roots of a plant used a century ago during the great Spanish influenza pandemic contains substances with powerful effects in laboratory experiments in killing the H1N1 swine flu virus that now threatens the world.   view more (2009-09-10)

Ironing out malnutrition
Two of the three keys are in place to unlock the secret to controlling and enhancing plant iron uptake. Scientists are poised to identify the final step in the process that could supply the world with iron-rich crops. Collaboration between American and French scientists has led to the identification of three key genes involved in iron uptake in... view more... (2001-04-02)

Tiptoe through the tulips
Scientists have discovered that plant leaves activate defence mechanisms against plant eating insects within twenty seconds of an insect walking across them. Dr Alan Bown will be presenting the results of his footsteps research at the Society for Experimental Biology conference on Tuesday 9 April.   view more (2002-04-04)

A plant's arsenal of crystalline darts and sand
Pet owners have heard the warnings to keep certain poisonous houseplants away from their pets, such as Dieffenbachia (dumbcane), Philodendron, peace lily, and pothos. For houseplants like these and others, the problem may not just be a poison, but the presence of tiny crystals throughout the plant.   view more (2009-08-07)

Desert rhubarb -- a self-irrigating plant
Researchers from the Department of Science Education-Biology at the University of Haifa-Oranim have managed to make out the "self-irrigating" mechanism of the desert rhubarb, which enables it to harvest 16 times the amount of water than otherwise expected for a plant in this region based on the quantities of rain in the desert.   view more (2009-07-02)

Some plants may compensate for herbivore damage by stimulating nutrient release in the soil
Browsing by mammals often has a serious impact on the growth of tree saplings and the regeneration of forests. However, there is much uncertainty with regard to effects on soil nutrient cycling and in turn, potential consequences for the growth of plants. In a paper to be published in the June issue of Ecology Letters, researchers from Lancaster... view more... (2004-05-13)

Researchers develop flood-tolerant California rice
Rice grown anywhere in the world soon could be made completely flood-tolerant because of new research by UC Riverside geneticists, done in collaboration with scientists at UC Davis and the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines.   view more (2006-08-23)

MU Researchers Make Discovery in Molecular Mechanics of Phototropism
In a paper published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists at the University of Missouri-Columbia reported molecular-level discoveries about the mechanisms of phototropism, the directional growth of plants toward or away from light.    view more (2007-07-09)
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