News tagged with plant molecular biology

Precise molecular surgery in the plant genome

Crop plants have always been adapted to the needs of man by breeding for them to carry more fruit, survive droughts, or resist pests. Green biotechnology now adds new tools to the classical breeding methods ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Apr 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Scientists discover 'switch' in plants to create flowers

Flowering is the most crucial act that plants undergo, as the fruits of such labor include crops on which the world depends, and seeds from which the next generation grows.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 17, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 2

Diversification of land plants

Researchers have reconstructed phylogenetic relationships among all 706 families of land plants.

Biology / Evolution

created Apr 05, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 0

New methods for better purification of wastewater

Before wastewater reaches recipient waters, nutrients must be removed in order to avoid eutrophication and large algal blooms, which may result in serious damage to animal and plant life. Robert Almstrand at the University ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Mar 05, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

'Rules' may govern genome evolution in young plant species

A new University of Florida study shows a hybrid plant species may experience rapid genome evolution in predictable patterns, meaning evolution repeats itself in populations of independent origin.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jan 19, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Reclaiming the land after a forest fire

Wildfires cause tragic losses to life, property, and the environment. But even after the fire rages, the damage is far from done. Without vegetation, bare, burnt soil lies vulnerable to erosion, which can impede efforts towards ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 22, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Tiny protein helps bacteria 'talk' and triggers defensive response in plants

Scientists have discovered a new signal that helps invading bacteria communicate but also helps targeted rice plants coordinate defensive attacks on the disease-causing invaders, a finding that could lead to new methods of ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Dec 12, 2011 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Spring's rising soil temperatures see hormones wake seeds from their winter slumber

Dormant seeds in the soil detect and respond to seasonal changes in soil temperature by changing their sensitivity to plant hormones, new research by the University of Warwick has found.

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 12, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Research team clarifies mechanics of first new cell cycle to be described in more than 20 years

An international team of researchers led by investigators in the U.S. and Germany has shed light on the inner workings of the endocycle, a common cell cycle that fuels growth in plants, animals and some human tissues and ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Oct 30, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 3 | 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

Breeding ozone-tolerant crops

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists working with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that future levels of ground-level ozone could reduce soybean yields by an average 23 percent.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Aug 22, 2011 | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Scientists take a giant step for people -- with plants!

Science usually progresses in small steps, but on rare occasions, a new combination of research expertise and cutting-edge technology produces a 'great leap forward.' An international team of scientists, whose ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jul 28, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

In time for spring, biologist illuminates how seedlings regulate growth

With seedlings and shoots still poking their leafy tops out of the soil, it's hard to read the newly published research of Brown University biologist Alison DeLong without musing that it provides a deeper understanding of ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Apr 21, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Walk in the park yields biological treasure

A newly identified relationship between a fly and a weedy mustard-type plant promises to answer many long-standing questions surrounding the evolutionary arms race between plant-eating insects and their host ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 19, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Too much of a good thing: Human activities overload ecosystems with nitrogen

Humans are overloading ecosystems with nitrogen through the burning of fossil fuels and an increase in nitrogen-producing industrial and agricultural activities, according to a new study. While nitrogen is ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Oct 07, 2010 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (9) | comments 22 | with audio podcast