Botany News

November 20, 2024

Top Headlines

Mixed Forests Reduce the Risk of Forest Damage in a Warmer Climate

Nov. 20, 2024 — Forests with few tree species pose considerably higher risk of being damaged and especially vulnerable is the introduced lodgepole ...

Bioengineered Yeast Mass Produces Herbal Medicine

Nov. 12, 2024 — Herbal medicine is difficult to produce on an industrial scale. A team of bioengineers have now manipulated the cellular machinery in a species of yeast so that one such molecule can now be produced in a fermenter at unprecedented concentrations. ...

Populations Overheat as Major Cities Fail Canopy Goals

Nov. 19, 2024 — A new study measuring access to nature for eight major global cities found most still have inadequate canopy cover, despite access to an abundance of ...

Building Roots in Glass, a Bio-Inspired Approach to Creating 3D Microvascular Networks Using Plants and Fungi

Nov. 19, 2024 — Researchers have developed a new bio-inspired approach to building complex 3D microfluidic networks by utilizing plant roots and fungal hyphae as molds. The team grew plants and fungi in ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:19pm EST

Will Agricultural Weeds Finally Claim the Upper Hand in a Changing Climate?

Nov. 19, 2024 — A few years back, a group of weed scientists showed that soil-applied herbicides are less effective against agricultural weeds in the context of our changing climate. Now, the same research group has ...

A Single Cell's Siesta

Nov. 18, 2024 — Too much of a good thing is no good at all. Living organisms enjoy sunlight -- in fact, many need it to stay alive -- but they tend to avoid light that is too bright. Animals go to their shelter, ...

Tree Islands Restore Nature in Oil Palm Plantations

Nov. 18, 2024 — Southeast Asia's tropical forests are renowned for their biodiversity, but at the same time face significant threats from the expansion of oil palm plantations. With global demand for palm oil ...

Biodiversity in the City: Designing Urban Spaces for Humans and Animals

Nov. 15, 2024 — Animals and plants also live and thrive on public squares. This creates opportunities for greater biodiversity and well-being for the human population. Researchers have studied at 103 locations in ...

Linking Data on Genetics, Traits and Environment Gives Crop Breeders a Wider Lens

Nov. 13, 2024 — The interplay between the genetic makeup of crops and the conditions in which they grow is difficult to untangle. A research team aims to help ...

New Species Discovered With Refined DNA Technology

Nov. 13, 2024 — Sometimes plants are so similar to each other that the methods developed by 18th century scientist Carl Linnaeus for identifying species are not enough. Completely new species of daisies have been ...

New Study Reveals Half a Century of Change on Britain's Iconic Limestone Pavements

Nov. 14, 2024 — Fifty years of change on iconic limestone pavements has revealed mixed fortunes for one of the most distinctive landscapes in the UK. The findings, ...

Robot Identifies Plants by 'Touching' Their Leaves

Nov. 13, 2024 — Researchers have developed a robot that identifies different plant species at various stages of growth by 'touching' their leaves with an electrode. The robot can measure properties such as surface ...

More Evidence That Europe's Ancient Landscapes Were Open Woodlands: Oak, Hazel and Yew Were Abundant

Nov. 12, 2024 — A new study finds that the disturbance-demanding plant species oak, hazel and yew were abundant in Europe's forests before modern humans arrived, ...

Solar-Powered Animal Cells

Oct. 30, 2024 — Energy-making chloroplasts from algae have been inserted into hamster cells, enabling the cells to photosynthesize light, according to new research in Japan. It was previously thought that combining ...

Facing the Wind: How Trees Behave Across Various Forest Settings and Weather Events

Nov. 12, 2024 — A recent study on Cryptomeria japonica plots shows that trees dissipate wind energy by switching between two swaying behaviors at specific wind speeds, offering insights that may help in improved ...

In Greening Arctic, Caribou and Muskoxen Play Key Role

Nov. 12, 2024 — A new study highlights the importance of caribou and muskoxen to the greening Arctic tundra, linking grazing with plant phenology and abundance in the Arctic ...

Secret Behind the Corpse Flower's Famous Stench

Nov. 11, 2024 — A new study on titan arum -- commonly known as the corpse flower for its smell like rotting flesh -- uncovers fundamental genetic pathways and biological mechanisms that produce heat and odorous ...

Heartier Heinz? How Scientists Are Learning to Help Tomatoes Beat the Heat

Nov. 8, 2024 — Biologists found what makes some types of tomatoes more heat-tolerant, yielding insights that could help crops adapt to climate ...

Greener and Cleaner: Yeast-Green Algae Mix Improves Water Treatment

Nov. 8, 2024 — Researchers have discovered that the combination of green algae and yeast enhances the efficiency of wastewater ...

How Plants Grow Thicker, Not Just Taller

Nov. 8, 2024 — Using a computer model that reveals how plants grow thicker over time, biologists have uncovered how cells are activated to produce wood tissue. Understanding the genetic and molecular signals behind ...

Defense or Growth -- How Plants Allocate Resources

Nov. 7, 2024 — The more a plant species invests in defense, the less potential it has for growth, according to a study. Research made possible by open science provides new insights into plant adaptation and ...

Planting Trees in the Arctic Could Make Global Warming Worse, Not Better, Say Scientists

Nov. 7, 2024 — Tree planting has been widely touted as a cost-effective way of reducing global warming, due to trees' ability to store large quantities of carbon from the atmosphere. But, an international ...

How Gophers Brought Mount St. Helens Back to Life in One Day

Nov. 6, 2024 — When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, lava incinerated anything living for miles around. As an experiment, scientists dropped gophers onto parts of the scorched mountain for only 24 hours. The ...

Researchers Develop Artificial Plants That Purify Indoor Air, Generate Electricity

Nov. 5, 2024 — Scientists are repurposing their research about bacteria-powered biobatteries into a new idea for artificial plants that can feed off carbon dioxide, give off oxygen and even generate a little ...

Indigenous Cultural Burning Has Protected Australia's Landscape for Millennia, Study Finds

Nov. 1, 2024 — Ancient cultural burning practices carried out by Indigenous Australians limited fuel availability and prevented high intensity fires in southeastern Australia for thousands of years, according to ...

Water Fern Gains More Evidence as Safe Potential Global Food Insecurity Solution

Nov. 1, 2024 — Is the floating freshwater fern commonly called Carolina azolla the potential answer to global food insecurity or a possible threat to humanity? On the heels of a study published earlier this year on ...

Trees Cool Better Than Reflective Roofs in Vulnerable Houston Neighborhoods

Nov. 1, 2024 — As heatwaves become more intense, cities are looking for strategies that can help keep neighborhoods cooler. A new tool has already helped identify potential solutions in Houston, a city where the ...

The Reasons Flowers Wilt Could Explain How Plants Spend (and Save) Their Energy

Nov. 1, 2024 — Wilting flowers might not signal poor flower or plant health, but rather the effects of a sophisticated resource management strategy in plants, millions of years in the ...

Remote Control Eddies: Upwelled Nutrients Boost Productivity Around Hawaiian Islands

Oct. 31, 2024 — Oceanographers showed that eddies on the leeward side of the Hawaiian Islands can supply nutrients, not only locally, but also to the opposite side of the island chain and stimulate blooms of ...

Stem Cell-Like Approach in Plants Sheds Light on Specialized Cell Wall Formation

Oct. 31, 2024 — Using a new method to isolate and reprogram plant cells into other cell types, biologists explored how banding patterns that increase the stability of plant cell walls are created and how their ...

A New Piece in the Grass Pea Puzzle -- Updated Genome Sequence Published

Oct. 31, 2024 — An international research collaboration has completed the most detailed genome assembly to date of grass pea (Lathyrus ...

Droughts' Impact on Pasturelands Is Measured in Order to Guide Extensive Livestock Management on Spain's Dehesas

Oct. 30, 2024 — A study using meteorological data and remote sensors, aims to furnish livestock farmers with information to promote more efficient ...

Invasive Plants Drive Homogenization of Soil Microbial Communities Across U.S.

Oct. 28, 2024 — A new study reveals that invasive plants are reshaping soil microbial communities across the U.S., making them more uniform and altering how ecosystems ...

Plant Diversity Enhances Soil Carbon Retention

Oct. 24, 2024 — A new study shows that increasing plant diversity in agriculture can be used to improve the carbon sequestration potential of agricultural soils. As the agricultural sector strives to reduce its ...