Botany News

February 13, 2025

Top Headlines

Global Warming and Mass Extinctions: What We Can Learn from Plants from the Last Ice Age

Feb. 12, 2025 — Global warming is producing a rapid loss of plant species -- according to estimates, roughly 600 plant species have died out since 1750 -- twice the number of animal species lost. But which species ...

Colorado Forests Are Releasing More Carbon Than They Capture Each Year

Feb. 11, 2025 — Colorado's forests store a massive amount of carbon, but dying trees -- mostly due to insects and disease -- have caused the state's forests to emit more carbon than they absorbed in recent years, according to a new ...

Tracking Algae Species Interactions to Help Predict Harmful Algae Blooms

Feb. 7, 2025 — Because of climate change, harmful algal blooms are increasing in frequency and intensity. New science helps demystify the frequent harmful algal blooms in the Pacific off the coast of Chile by studying how algae species interact with each other and ...

Researchers Achieve Total Synthesis of Ibogaine

Feb. 6, 2025 — Researchers have achieved total chemical synthesis of the psychoactive compound ibogaine and its analogs from pyridine. The discovery will make it easier to explore the therapeutic possibilities of ...

Latest Headlines

updated 5:47pm EST

Large Differences in Water-Seeking Ability Found in U.S. Corn Varieties

Feb. 6, 2025 — A study has identified key genetic pathways in corn that help its roots branch out to find water in soil; the varieties adapted to temperate regions like the U.S. corn belt showed large differences ...

New Agroforestry Maps Plot Environmental, Social, and Economic Benefits of Trees

Feb. 6, 2025 — There's a longstanding attitude in many farming communities that trees and agriculture don't mix. But agroforestry can provide a multitude of ...

Climate Warming Leads to More Frequent Beech Tree Reproduction, at the Expense of Growth

Feb. 6, 2025 — A new long-term study reveals alarming insights into the impact of climate change on European beech (Fagus sylvatica), one of Europe's most ...

Plant Power: A New Method to Model How Plants Move Water Globally

Feb. 5, 2025 — Earth systems models are an important tool for studying complex processes occurring around the planet, such as those in and between the atmosphere and biosphere, and they help researchers and ...

Why Do Plants Transport Energy So Efficiently and Quickly?

Feb. 4, 2025 — Photosynthesis -- mainly carried out by plants -- is based on a remarkably efficient energy conversion process. To generate chemical energy, sunlight must first be captured and transported further. ...

High-Yield Rice Breed Emits Up to 70% Less Methane

Feb. 3, 2025 — Rice cultivation is responsible for around 12% of global methane emissions, and these emissions are expected to increase with global warming and as the human population continues to grow. Now, ...

Burn Grasslands to Maintain Them: What Is Good for Biodiversity?

Jan. 31, 2025 — As grasslands get abandoned, controlled burning is discussed as a labor-saving method of keeping forests at bay. A research team found that this method results in higher biodiversity and a higher ...

New 'Matchless' Grass Variety Yields High Seed Count Without Need for Field Burning

Jan. 30, 2025 — A new grass variety, 'Matchless,' offers seed growers higher yields without the harmful impacts of burning. It also provides consumers with the ...

Promoting Cacao Production Without Sacrificing Biodiversity

Jan. 30, 2025 — The productivity of cacao trees decreases with time, forcing farmers to renew their plantations by either cutting down the old trees or establishing a new crop elsewhere. Frequently, new plantations ...

A Window Into the Future of Amazonia

Jan. 29, 2025 — New research from a team of tropical biologists forecasts some of the changes that may occur in the Amazon rainforest as temperatures rise due to climate ...

Research Contrasts Drought Sensitivity of Eurasian and North American Grasslands

Jan. 29, 2025 — Grasslands in Asia and North America differ in their responses to drought, according to a new article. The findings show that differences in the dominant grasses and lower species diversity in the ...

Complexity of Tree-Planting Schemes

Jan. 28, 2025 — Research with smallholder farmers in Kenya shows that tree-planting schemes must account for complex local issues and ...

A Mite-Y Use of Electricity

Jan. 28, 2025 — Mites who hitchhike on the beaks of hummingbirds use a surprising method to help them on their journey: electricity. These hummingbird flower mites feed on nectar and live within specific flowers for ...

Botanic Gardens Must Team Up to Save Wild Plants from Extinction

Jan. 27, 2025 — The world's botanic gardens must pull together to protect global plant biodiversity in the face of the extinction crisis, amid restrictions on wild-collecting, say ...

New Insights Into the Immune Response of Plants

Jan. 27, 2025 — Biologists have identified important components and mechanisms of the molecular machinery that transmits information about a pathogen encounter within the plant ...

How Camellias Evolved With the Formation of the Japanese Archipelago?

Jan. 26, 2025 — Japan Sea element plants are generally thought to have evolved from closely related species on the Pacific side. Camellia japonica and Camellia rusticana were also believed to follow this pattern. ...

Plant's Name-Giving Feature Found to Be New Offspring-Ensuring Method

Jan. 23, 2025 — 130 years after a fungus-eating plant received its name, a researcher has uncovered the purpose of the structure that inspired its name -- revealing a novel mechanism by which plants ensure ...

Plants More Likely to Be 'Eavesdroppers' Than Altruists When Tapping Into Underground Networks

Jan. 22, 2025 — A new study has used a modelling approach to show that it is unlikely that plants would evolve to warn other plants of impending attack. Instead of using their communication networks to transmit ...

Researcher Studies the Power of Native Plants to Combat Road Salt Pollution

Jan. 17, 2025 — Salt pollution from road deicing salts threatens freshwater ecosystems and urban green infrastructure. New research on salt-tolerant plants like cattails highlights their potential role in mitigating ...

Reading the Genome and Understanding Evolution: Symbioses and Gene Transfer in Leaf Beetles

Jan. 17, 2025 — Scientists explored the evolutionary success of leaf beetles, the most diverse herbivores on Earth. They showed that symbioses with bacteria have evolved repeatedly and independently in different ...

Microbial Cell Factories May Help Get to the Root of Understudied Plant Molecules

Jan. 16, 2025 — A new tool could make it easier to study scarce plant molecules. Researchers have developed so-called microbial cell factories -- using E. coli and yeast -- to produce a special class of plant ...

Gene-Edited Soil Bacteria Could Provide Third Source of Nitrogen for Corn Production

Jan. 16, 2025 — If corn was ever jealous of soybean's relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, advancements in gene editing could one day even the playing field. A recent study shows that gene-edited ...

Protein Protects Biological Nitrogen Fixation from Oxidative Stress

Jan. 15, 2025 — A research team has discovered how the 'Shethna protein II' protects the nitrogen-fixing enzyme nitrogenase from damage. The oxygen sensor protein could help to make nitrogenase usable in ...

How Cryogenic Microscopy Could Help Strengthen Food Security

Jan. 15, 2025 — A research team reports on a novel observation of a plant protection mechanism in response to salt stress. The study opens new avenues of research to strengthen food ...

Could This Fundamental Discovery Revolutionize Fertilizer Use in Farming?

Jan. 15, 2025 — Researchers have discovered a biological mechanism that makes plant roots more welcoming to beneficial soil ...

What Makes Some Plant Species 'Ripe' for Domestication

Jan. 14, 2025 — Researchers have proposed that some wild plant species possess certain attributes which make them more suitable for human cultivation than ...

Study on Hemp May Lead to More Sustainable Farming Methods

Jan. 14, 2025 — A new study of hemp microbes may lead to more sustainable farming methods, using nature to boost the growth of the plant which has become increasingly popular for its versatile uses: CBD-rich ...

Just as Gouda: Improving the Quality of Cheese Alternatives

Jan. 14, 2025 — Scientists are working to produce plant-based cheese with all the characteristics of real cheese, but with better health benefits. To create a cheesy product with the same texture as the real thing, ...

Study Shows How Plant Roots Access Deeper Soils in Search of Water

Jan. 10, 2025 — Scientists have discovered how plants adapt their root systems in drought conditions to grow steeper into the soil to access deeper water ...

Don't Write Off Logged Tropical Forests -- Converting to Oil Palm Plantations Has Even Wider Effects on Ecosystems

Jan. 9, 2025 — A research team has carried out the most comprehensive assessment to date of how logging and conversion to oil palm plantations affect tropical forest ecosystems. The results demonstrate that logging ...