News tagged with plant sciences

The gene that boosts sugar beet yields

A European team of researchers has discovered a gene with the potential to increase sugar beet yields. Presented in the journal Current Biology, the findings of the study show how the long-sought bolting gene B ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 22, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Ancient plant-fungal partnerships reveal how the world became green

Prehistoric plants grown in state-of-the-art growth chambers recreating environmental conditions from more than 400 million years ago have shown scientists from the University of Sheffield how soil dwelling fungi played a ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

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

Support for climate change action drops, poll finds

Americans' support for government action on global warming remains high but has dropped during the past two years, according to a new survey by Stanford researchers in collaboration with Ipsos Public Affairs. Political rhetoric ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created May 08, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 11

Discovery may allow plant breeders to 'switch off' flower production

(Phys.org) -- A research project has discovered a new gene with an important role in generating flower-bearing structures (inflorescences) in plants.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Apr 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Plant perfumes woo beneficial bugs

Scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have discovered that maize crops emit chemical signals which attract growth-promoting microbes to live amongst their roots. This is the ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Apr 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers find mechanism that gives plants 'balance'

When a plant goes into defense mode in order to protect itself against harsh weather or disease, that's good for the plant, but bad for the farmer growing the plant. Bad because when a plant acts to defend ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Apr 23, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

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

Climate change helps then quickly stunts growth, decade-long study shows

(Phys.org) -- Global warming may initially make the grass greener, but not for long, according to new research conducted at Northern Arizona University.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Apr 10, 2012 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (18) | comments 163 | 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

Is rainfall a greater threat to China's agriculture than warming?

New research into the impact of climate change on Chinese cereal crops has found rainfall has a greater impact than rising temperature. The research, published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture found ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Apr 04, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Team releases findings from 2011 cruise to measure the concentration, distribution, and impacts of Fukushima radiation

(PhysOrg.com) -- An international research team is reporting the results of a research cruise they organized to study the amount, spread, and impacts of radiation released into the ocean from the tsunami-crippled ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Apr 02, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New paper describes method for cleaning up nuclear waste

While the costs associated with storing nuclear waste and the possibility of it leaching into the environment remain legitimate concerns, they may no longer be obstacles on the road to cleaner energy.

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Mar 20, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (12) | comments 16 | with audio podcast

Fukushima lesson: Prepare for unanticipated nuclear accidents

A year after the crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, scientists and engineers remain largely in the dark when it comes to fundamental knowledge about how nuclear fuels behave under extreme conditions, ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Mar 08, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Why do plant roots grow down and not up?

(PhysOrg.com) -- It is essential for roots to grow down so they can explore the soil and maximise their water uptake. But how they know that is a question that has fascinated scientists since Darwin. Now scientists ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Mar 08, 2012 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (7) | comments 7 | with audio podcast