A new molecular family tree of grasses

The evolutionary relationships among grasses—including important crop plants like wheat, rice, corn, and sugarcane—have been clarified in a new molecular study of the grass family tree. Having a clear picture of the relationships ...

Key mechanism of photosynthesis elucidated

Some plants master a special form of solar energy utilization that offers great advantages under warm conditions. A recent study now provides new insights into an enzyme that plays a central role in this so-called C4 photosynthesis. ...

Your hair knows what you eat and how much your haircut costs

Millimeter by millimeter, your hair is building a record of your diet. As hair strands are built from amino acids that come from your food, they preserve the chemical traces of the protein in that food. It's a strong enough ...

How did Africa's grasslands get started?

Between 10 million and 6 million years ago, vegetation across much of the world underwent a transformation, as warmth-adapted grasses displaced previously dominant plants, shrubs and trees. The new grasses carried out the ...

Asian elephant outlives stegodon—advantage due to diverse diet

Together with their Chinese colleagues, Senckenberg scientists studied the feeding habits of the Asian elephant and its extinct relative, the stegodon, during the Pleistocene. They reached the conclusion that the Asian elephant ...

Study shows how plants evolve for faster growth

Scientists at the University of Sheffield have taken a step forward in understanding how evolution has changed the photosynthesis process in wild plants to help them grow more rapidly.

page 1 from 3