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 ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 11, 2009
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Contradictions and puzzles surround the giant fossil Prototaxites. The fossils resemble tree trunks, and yet they are from a time before trees existed. The stable carbon isotope values are similar to those of fungi, but the ...
Archaeology
Feb 10, 2010
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Plants eat the darndest things. Scientists have discovered a small flowering plant living in the sandy soils of Brazil that traps nematodes, or roundworms, with sticky underground leaves -- and gobbles them up.
Plants & Animals
Jan 9, 2012
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A team of authors from Uganda and the U.K. with backgrounds in botany, agriculture and the coffee industry has published an article in the journal Nature Plants, pointing out that that the world's coffee growers may soon ...
Jeff Benca is an admitted über-geek when it comes to prehistoric plants, so it was no surprise that, when he submitted a paper describing a new species of long-extinct lycopod for publication, he ditched the standard line ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 11, 2014
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Although Charles Darwin is most well-known for his book On the Origin of Species, in which he described the process of natural selection, he greatly contributed to many specific fields within biology. As the bicentennial ...
Evolution
Dec 9, 2009
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Ferns play an important role in California's redwood forests by transferring moisture from fog to the forest floor -- even when it's not raining. If these plants can successfullly adapt to reduced rainfall, ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 19, 2010
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Using particles that are 1/100,000 the width of a human hair to deliver drugs to cells or assist plants in fighting off pests may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but these scenarios may be a common occurrence ...
Bio & Medicine
Nov 16, 2010
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Without the process of domestication, humans would still be hunters and gatherers, and modern civilization would look very different. Fortunately, for all of us who do not relish the thought of spending our days searching ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 19, 2009
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As the mercury rises outdoors, it's a fitting time to consider the effects of summertime droughts and global warming on ecosystems. Complex interactions among temperature, water cycling, and plant communities create a tangled ...
Ecology
Jul 8, 2010
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Botany, plant science(s), or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses. Botany covers a wide range of scientific disciplines including structure, growth, reproduction, metabolism, development, diseases, chemical properties, and evolutionary relationships among taxonomic groups. Botany began with early human efforts to identify edible, medicinal and poisonous plants, making it one of the oldest branches of science. Today botanists study over 550,000 species of living organisms.
The term "botany" comes from Greek βοτάνη, meaning "pasture, grass, fodder", perhaps via the idea of a livestock keeper needing to know which plants are safe for livestock to eat.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
