How corn's ancient ancestor swipes left on crossbreeding

Determining how one species becomes distinct from another has been a subject of fascination dating back to Charles Darwin. New research led by Carnegie's Matthew Evans and published in Nature Communications elucidates the ...

New approach to stem soil erosion

Topsoil and nutrient runoff are two serious challenges of sustainable agriculture. Perennial crops can help solve these problems by preserving cropland productivity without requiring substantial dietary and manufacture shifts. ...

Tiny genetic tweak unlocked corn kernels during domestication

If not for a single genetic mutation, each kernel on a juicy corn cob would be trapped inside a inedible casing as tough as a walnut shell. The mutation switches one amino acid for another at a specific position in a protein ...

Greenhouse 'time machine' sheds light on corn domestication

A grass called teosinte is thought to be the ancestor of corn, but it doesn't look much like corn at all. Smithsonian scientists were surprised to find that teosinte planted in growth chambers under climate conditions that ...

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