Genetically modified tobacco plants produce antibodies to treat rabies
Smoking tobacco might be bad for your health, but a genetically altered version of the plant might provide a relatively inexpensive cure for the deadly rabies virus. In a new research report appearing in The FASEB Journal, scient ...
New study raises questions about long-held theories of human evolution
What came first: the bipedal human ancestor or the grassland encroaching on the forest? A new analysis of the past 12 million years' of vegetation change in the cradle of humanity is challenging long-held beliefs about the ...
Prehistoric bugs from 230 million years ago found in amber (Update)
(Phys.org)—An international team of scientists has discovered the oldest record of arthropods—invertebrate animals that include insects, arachnids, and crustaceans—preserved in amber. The specimens, ...
Gorillas filmed performing amazing feat of intellectual ability
(Phys.org) -- Researchers working in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda have filmed gorillas dismantling snares set by poachers to catch smaller game. Previously, anecdotal evidence had suggested that silverback ...
Shrinking leaves point to climate change
Physicists discover mechanisms of wrinkle and crumple formation
Smooth wrinkles and sharply crumpled regions are familiar motifs in biological and synthetic sheets, such as plant leaves and crushed foils, say physicists Benny Davidovitch, Narayanan Menon and colleagues ...
Stomata development in plants unraveled -- a valuable discovery for environmental research
Gent researchers at VIB have unraveled the action mechanism of the main plant hormone that regulates the development of stomata. This breakthrough has important implications for environmental research and for the protection ...
Far-out photosynthesis
Photosynthesis maintains Earth's habitability for life as we know it, and shapes the way we search for habitable worlds around distant stars. Scientists have discovered a microbe that can use low-energy light ...
Bacteria tend leafcutter ants' gardens
(PhysOrg.com) -- Leafcutter ants, the tiny red dots known for carrying green leaves as they march through tropical forests, are also talented farmers that cultivate gardens of fungi and bacteria. Ants eat ...
New satellite observations reveal link between forests and acid rain
A team from LATMOS/IPSL, working in collaboration with Belgian researchers from the Institut d'Aeronomie Spatiale de Belgique (IASB) and the Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), have revealed the existence ...
Blue light irradiation promotes growth, increases antioxidants in lettuce seedlings
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 ...
Lowering the color of crystals in sugar factories
Like diamonds, sugar crystals ideally are very pure and low in color. Now studies led by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) chemist Gillian Eggleston have provided a better understanding of the source of undesirable color ...
First rainforests arose when plants solved plumbing problem
A team of scientists, including several from the Smithsonian Institution, discovered that leaves of flowering plants in the world's first rainforests had more veins per unit area than leaves ever had before. ...