Carnivorous plants: No escape for mosquitoes

Physically bound to a specific location, plants have to devise special ways to secure their supply of vital nutrients. Most plants have developed a root system to the nutrients they need in order to survive out of the soil. ...

The first tendril-like soft robot able to climb

Researchers at IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia created the first soft robot mimicking plant tendrils. It is able to curl and climb using the same physical principles determining water transport in plants. The research ...

Rare birds, wildflowers: 'Secret garden' opens after century

Pink and yellow wildflowers burst from a lush bed of grass hidden from public view for more than a century. Towering trees and snow-capped mountains encircle the wild meadow, beckoning visitors to a largely untouched piece ...

This plant sucks! (But how?)

The bladderwort has a trap faster than the blink of an eye. It uses powerful suction to snatch its prey. A recently published review is helping reveal exactly how a plant can suck so much.

Hunting secrets of the Venus flytrap (hint: they can count)

Carnivorous plants such as the Venus flytrap depend on meals of insects to survive in nutrient-poor soil. They sense the arrival of juicy insects, lured by the plants' fruity scent, with the aid of sensitive trigger hairs ...

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