News tagged with plant genetics

Tiny plants could cut costs, shrink environmental footprint

Tall, waving corn fields that line Midwestern roads may one day be replaced by dwarfed versions that require less water, fertilizer and other inputs, thanks to a fungicide commonly used on golf courses.

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 15, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (6) | comments 2 | 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

Plant genomes may help next generation respond to climate change

In the face of climate change, animals have an advantage over plants: They can move. But a new study led by Brown University researchers shows that plants may have some tricks of their own.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Oct 06, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

EU food agency rejects France ban on Monsanto GM maize

Europe's food safety agency EFSA on Monday rejected the grounds for a temporary French ban on a genetically modified strain of maize made by US company Monsanto.

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 21, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Jumping gene enabled key step in corn domestication

Corn split off from its closest relative teosinte, a wild Mexican grass, about 10,000 years ago thanks to the breeding efforts of early Mexican farmers. Today it's hard to tell that the two plants were ever close kin: Corn ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Sep 25, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Plant growth without light control: Synthetic photoreceptor stimulates germination and development

Plants are dependent on the sun. Sunlight does not only supply them with energy, but also controls their development steps. So-called photoreceptors activate the processes of germination, leaf development, ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 16, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

New genetic study helps to solve Darwin's mystery about the ancient evolution of flowering plants

(PhysOrg.com) -- The evolution and diversification of the more than 300,000 living species of flowering plants may have been "jump started" much earlier than previously calculated, a new study indicates. According ...

Biology / Evolution

created Apr 10, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (6) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Big pest, small genome: Blueprint of spider mite may yield better pesticides

(PhysOrg.com) -- An international research team decoded the genetic blueprint of the two-spotted spider mite, raising hope for new ways to attack the major pest, which resists pesticides and destroys crops ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Nov 23, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Honeybee deaths linked to seed insecticide exposure

Honeybee populations have been in serious decline for years, and Purdue University scientists may have identified one of the factors that cause bee deaths around agricultural fields.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jan 12, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (18) | comments 25 | with audio podcast

FANCM plays key role in inheritance

Scientists of KIT and the University of Birmingham have identified relevant new functions of a gene that plays a crucial role in Fanconi anemia, a life-threatening disease.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Apr 30, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Barley takes a leaf out of reindeer's book in the land of the midnight sun

Barley grown in Scandinavian countries is adapted in a similar way to reindeer to cope with the extremes of day length at high latitudes. Researchers have found a genetic mutation in some Scandinavian barley ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created May 11, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New mathematical model explains how hosts survive parasite attacks

In nature, how do host species survive parasite attacks? This has not been well understood, until now. A new mathematical model shows that when a host and its parasite each have multiple traits governing their ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Mar 04, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (8) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists find identical DNA codes in different plant species

Analyzing massive amounts of data officially became a national priority recently when the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy announced the Big Data Research and Development Initiative. A multi-disciplinary ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Apr 09, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

Genetic information migrates from plant to plant

Plant scientists were confounded by the fact that the DNA extracted from the plants’ green chloroplasts sometimes showed the greatest similarities when related species grew in the same area. They tried ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 03, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

1001 Genome-Project: On the way to a complete catalog of the Arabidopsis genome

People can develop new technologies and animals may migrate to other regions. However, plants are tied to their location. Nevertheless, they have found ways to ensure their survival. This is the case for the ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Aug 28, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast