http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org)—Gravity: It's the law in these parts. But to reach the stars, humans may have to learn to live outside the law. http://phys.org/news275043355.html Space & Earth Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:56:09 EST news275043355 It is well known that plant growth patterns are influenced by a variety of stimuli, gravity being one amongst many. On Earth plant roots exhibit characteristic behaviours called 'waving' and 'skewing', which were thought to be gravity-dependent events. However, Arabidopsis plants grown on the International Space Station (ISS) have proved this theory wrong, according to a study published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Plant Biology: root 'waving' and 'skewing' occur in spaceflight plants independently of gravity. http://phys.org/news274069969.html Biology Fri, 07 Dec 2012 02:40:01 EST news274069969 (Phys.org)—Why is NASA conducting plant research aboard the International Space Station? Because during future long-duration missions, life in space may depend on it. http://phys.org/news273741123.html Space & Earth Mon, 03 Dec 2012 07:12:35 EST news273741123 The molecular mechanisms whereby a spectrum of dahlias, from white to yellow to red to purple, get their colour are already well known, but the black dahlia has hitherto remained a mystery. Now, a study published in BioMed Central's open-access journal BMC Plant Biology reveals for the first time that the distinctive black-red colouring is based on an increased accumulation of anthocyanins as a result of drastically reduced concentrations of flavones. http://phys.org/news272810895.html Biology Thu, 22 Nov 2012 19:00:03 EST news272810895 (Phys.org)—Farmers around the world are a step closer to eliminating the chemical spraying of field peas for the destructive pea weevil, thanks to research by agricultural scientists from The University of Western Australia. http://phys.org/news270288495.html Biology Wed, 24 Oct 2012 09:09:16 EST news270288495 (Phys.org)—A discovery at The University of Western Australia that microbes helped shape rare spheres of iron-oxide on Earth may aid the newly landed Curiosity Rover in its search for the first verifiable signs of extra-terrestrial life in similar rocks on Mars. http://phys.org/news266658020.html Space & Earth Wed, 12 Sep 2012 08:40:32 EST news266658020 New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Plant Biology shows how targeting two bacterial genes into an ornamental plant (Pelargonium), can produce long-lived and pollen-free plants. http://phys.org/news265599690.html Biology Fri, 31 Aug 2012 02:41:42 EST news265599690 Programmed cell death (PCD) is a highly regulated process that occurs in all animals and plants as part of normal development and in response to the environment. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Plant Biology is the first to document the physiological events in the lace plant (Aponogeton madagascariensis) which occur via PCD to produce the characteristic holes in its leaves. http://phys.org/news262369844.html Biology Tue, 24 Jul 2012 20:00:01 EST news262369844 Dodder vines are parasitic plants that suck water, nutrients and information from other plants as they spread over them. Plant biologists at the University of California, Davis, have now shown that they can make plants resistant to dodder by attacking the junctions where the parasite taps into the host. http://phys.org/news262368450.html Biology Tue, 24 Jul 2012 17:07:36 EST news262368450 (Phys.org) -- Researchers at The University of Western Australia will investigate how native freshwater fish in northwest Australia are dealing with changes to their habitat caused by climate change and mining. http://phys.org/news261994553.html Biology Fri, 20 Jul 2012 09:15:59 EST news261994553 Researchers at The University of Western Australia, in collaboration with research partners overseas, have identified which lines of chickpea grow better in moderately salty soil. http://phys.org/news261041401.html Biology Mon, 09 Jul 2012 08:30:24 EST news261041401 (Phys.org) -- Quantum physics and plant biology seem like two branches of science that could not be more different, but surprisingly they may in fact be intimately tied. http://phys.org/news256889606.html Physics Tue, 22 May 2012 07:13:33 EST news256889606 (Phys.org) -- For the first time, scientists have identified how a plant's skin is assembled. http://phys.org/news256886364.html Biology Tue, 22 May 2012 06:19:55 EST news256886364 Plants elongate their stems when grown at high temperature to facilitate the cooling of their leaves, according to new research from the University of Bristol published today in Current Biology. Understanding why plants alter their architecture in response to heat is important as increasing global temperatures pose a threat to future food production. http://phys.org/news256820336.html Biology Mon, 21 May 2012 12:00:01 EST news256820336 The radiata pine is the tree species par excellence in the Basque Country's forests. Like other types of pine, the lack of water is one of the factors having the greatest effect on its survival and productivity. Until now, the Basque Country's high, steady rainfall has encouraged the cultivation and good productivity of this species. This situation could change over the coming years if, in line with the predictions of climate change, average temperatures rise and droughts become more frequent and intense. So, new varieties of the radiata pine that are more resistant to the effects of climate change will have to be introduced. It is significant that the Basque Country's radiata pine should have been one of the ecotypes that has suffered most from the lack of water. http://phys.org/news254049584.html Biology Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:20:08 EST news254049584 In addition to being among his most vibrant and celebrated works, Vincent van Gogh's series of sunflower paintings also depict a mutation whose genetic basis has, until now, been a bit of a mystery. http://phys.org/news252260799.html Biology Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:27:50 EST news252260799 The Plant Metabolic Network, which is based at Carnegie's Department of Plant Biology, has launched four new online databases that offer an unprecedented view of the biochemical pathways controlling the metabolism of corn, soybeans, wine grapes, and cassava—four important species of crop plant. The new databases will serve as a critical resource for scientists working with these species to increase crop production, enhance biofuel development, or explore novel medicines. http://phys.org/news252247227.html Biology Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:40:40 EST news252247227 Plant science is key to addressing the major challenges facing humanity in the 21st Century, according to Carnegie's David Ehrhardt and Wolf Frommer. In a Perspective published in The Plant Cell, the two researchers argue that the development of new technology is key to transforming plant biology in order to meet human needs. http://phys.org/news249931099.html Biology Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:19:33 EST news249931099 Indiana University biologists have found that specific types of RNA polymerase enzymes, the molecular machines that convert DNA into RNA, can differ in function based on variation in the parts -- in this case protein subunits -- used to assemble those machines. http://phys.org/news249829805.html Biology Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:12:57 EST news249829805 Genomes are catalogs of hereditary information that determine whether an organism becomes a plant, animal, fungus or microbe, and whether the organism is adapted to its surroundings. Determining the sequence of DNA within genomes is crucial to human medicine, crop genetics, biotechnology, forensic science, threatened species management, and evolutionary studies. The last 5 years have witnessed tremendous advances in DNA sequencing technologies, and it is now possible to sequence millions of fragments of DNA in a single analysis, and at a fraction of their previous cost. These "next-generation" methods are spurring a revolution in plant biology by providing powerful tools to examine previously-unimagined questions, in any plant of interest. http://phys.org/news249557528.html Biology Mon, 27 Feb 2012 09:50:02 EST news249557528 In a study of the molecular underpinnings of plants' pest resistance, Rice University biologists have shown that plants both anticipate daytime raids by hungry insects and make sophisticated preparations to fend them off. http://phys.org/news248376419.html Biology Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:27:28 EST news248376419 (PhysOrg.com) -- Sex plays a much more important role in the reproduction of vitally important seagrasses than previously thought, according to important new findings by researchers from The University of Western Australia. http://phys.org/news246008651.html Biology Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:44:49 EST news246008651 Plants are critical in supporting life on Earth, and with help from an experiment that flew onboard space shuttle Discovery's STS-131 mission, they also could transform living in space. http://phys.org/news241951107.html Space & Earth Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:00:01 EST news241951107 A mathematics institute which opened in Senegal this week is the first step to creating a west African science centre, which backers hope could produce the continent's own Albert Einstein. http://phys.org/news234843403.html Other Sciences Sat, 10 Sep 2011 03:30:01 EST news234843403 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists working with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that future levels of ground-level ozone could reduce soybean yields by an average 23 percent. http://phys.org/news233230594.html Biology Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:16:55 EST news233230594 (PhysOrg.com) -- Fossils of leaves, flowers, fruits and buds found in Patagonia, Argentina, have been identified as Eucalyptus and date to 51.9 million years ago, making them the oldest scientifically validated Eucalyptus macrofossils and the only ones conclusively identified as naturally occurring outside of Australasia. http://phys.org/news230280994.html Other Sciences Tue, 19 Jul 2011 07:57:19 EST news230280994 The seeds sprouting in your spring garden may still be struggling to reach the sun. If so, they are consuming a finite energy pack contained within each seed. Once those resources are depleted, the plant cell nucleus must be ready to switch on a "green" photosynthetic program. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies recently showed a new way that those signals are relayed. http://phys.org/news224931630.html Biology Wed, 18 May 2011 10:01:25 EST news224931630 Mark Twain called it "the most delicious fruit known to man." But the cherimoya, or custard apple, and its close relations the sugar apple and soursop, also have lots of big, awkward seeds. Now new research by plant scientists in the United States and Spain could show how to make this and other fruits seedless. http://phys.org/news219341251.html Biology Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:08:17 EST news219341251 Plants have for the first time been cloned as seeds. The research by aUC Davis plant scientists and their international collaborators, published Feb. 18 in the journal Science, is a major step towards making hybrid crop plants that can retain favorable traits from generation to generation. http://phys.org/news217174110.html Biology Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:08:50 EST news217174110 Two Kansas State University researchers focusing on rice genetics are providing a better understanding of how pathogens take over a plant's nutrients. http://phys.org/news211806289.html Biology Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:05:21 EST news211806289