News tagged with plant biology

Some mammals used highly complex teeth to compete with dinosaurs: study

Conventional wisdom holds that during the Mesozoic Era, mammals were small creatures that held on at life's edges. But at least one mammal group, rodent-like creatures called multituberculates, actually flourished ...

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Mar 14, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Are genes our destiny? 'Hidden' code in DNA evolves more rapidly than genetic code, scientists discover

A "hidden" code linked to the DNA of plants allows them to develop and pass down new biological traits far more rapidly than previously thought, according to the findings of a groundbreaking study by researchers ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Sep 16, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (27) | comments 26 | with audio podcast

With secondhand gene, 'freaky mouse' defeats common poison

Over millennia, mice have thrived despite humanity's efforts to keep them at bay. A Rice University scientist argues some mice have found two ways to achieve a single goal -- resistance to common poison.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jul 21, 2011 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 16 | with audio podcast

Being small has its advantages, if you are a leaf

(PhysOrg.com) -- The size of leaves can vary by a factor of 1,000 across plant species, but until now, the reason why has remained a mystery. A new study by an international team of scientists led by UCLA ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jul 06, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Estimate of flowering plant species to be cut by 600,000

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists from the UK, US and elsewhere have been carrying out a comprehensive assessment of flowering plants and adjusting the estimate of their total number. The new estimate is that there ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Sep 23, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 4 | with audio podcast report

Scientists decipher structure of nature's 'light switch'

(PhysOrg.com) -- When the first warm rays of springtime sunshine trigger a burst of new plant growth, it's almost as if someone flicked a switch to turn on the greenery and unleash a floral profusion of color. ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 31, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

At Long Last, How Plants Make Eggs

(PhysOrg.com) -- A long-standing mystery surrounding a fundamental process in plant biology has been solved by a team of scientists at the University of California, Davis.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jun 04, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (9) | comments 3

Getting a grip: 'Velcro'-like structure helps bees stick to flowers (w/Videos)

When bees collect nectar, how do they hold onto the flower? Cambridge University scientists have shown that it is down to small cone-shaped cells on the petals that act like 'velcro' on the bees' feet.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created May 14, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Synthetic chemical offers solution for crops facing drought

Crops and other plants are constantly confronted with adverse environmental conditions, lowering yield and costing farmers billions of dollars annually. Plants use specialized signals, called stress hormones, ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 30, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 1

The story of X -- evolution of a sex chromosome

(PhysOrg.com) -- Move over, Y chromosome - it's time X got some attention. In the first evolutionary study of the chromosome associated with being female, University of California, Berkeley, biologist Doris ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 16, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (11) | comments 1

Researchers unravel role of priming in plant immunity

Scientists have discovered a naturally occurring compound that triggers a plant's immune system, thereby protecting the plant from a secondary bacterial infection.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 02, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Biologists Discover Missing Piece of Plant Clock

(PhysOrg.com) -- Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have identified a key protein that links the morning and evening components of the daily biological clock of plants.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Mar 12, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 1

Researchers uncover how plant skin is assembled

(Phys.org) -- For the first time, scientists have identified how a plant's skin is assembled.

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 22, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Gaseous emissions from dinosaurs may have warmed prehistoric earth

Sauropod dinosaurs could in principle have produced enough of the greenhouse gas methane to warm the climate many millions of years ago, at a time when the Earth was warm and wet. That's according to calculations ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created May 07, 2012 | popularity 2.6 / 5 (15) | comments 252 | with audio podcast

Birds cultivate decorative plants to attract mates

An international team of scientists has uncovered the first evidence of a non-human species cultivating plants for use other than as food. Instead, bowerbirds propagate fruits used as decorations in their ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 23, 2012 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (5) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Botany

Botany, plant science(s), phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the scientific study of plant life and development. Botany covers a wide range of scientific disciplines that study plants, algae, and fungi including: structure, growth, reproduction, metabolism, development, diseases, chemical properties, and evolutionary relationships between the different groups. Botany began with tribal efforts to identify edible, medicinal and poisonous plants, making botany one of the oldest sciences. From this ancient interest in plants, the scope of botany has increased to include the study of over 550,000 species of living organisms.

For more information about Botany, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Related topics: genes , plants