Can a plant be altruistic?

The concept of altruism has long been debated in philosophical circles, and more recently, evolutionary biologists have joined the debate. From the perspective of natural selection, altruism may have evolved because any ...

If only the weeds would keep their genes to themselves

Family can be a blessing and a curse, and never more so than in the case of crop plants and their wild relatives. These wild and weedy relatives harbor unique and beneficial genes that may no longer be found in their cultivated ...

The amazing maze of maize evolution

Understanding the evolution and domestication of maize has been a holy grail for many researchers. As one of the most important crops worldwide and as a crop that appears very different from its wild relatives as a result ...

For carnivorous plants, slow but steady wins the race

Like the man-eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors, carnivorous plants rely on animal prey for sustenance. Fortunately for humans, carnivorous plants found in nature are not dependent on a diet of human blood but rather ...

When you've doubled your genes, what's 1 chromosome more or less?

An individual with Down syndrome and a male calico cat have one thing in common -- each has an extra chromosome. For animals, most instances of an extra chromosome result in birth defects or even death, but plants are another ...

How to advance scientific literacy

Society needs science, and scientists need an informed, thoughtful, and open-minded citizenry. Thus, the obvious dependence of American society on science is strikingly inconsistent with the low level of scientific literacy ...

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