Mosses, as a topic, encompass the study of non-vascular bryophytes within the phylum Bryophyta, focusing on their morphology, life cycles, ecology, and evolutionary significance. Research addresses their dominant haploid gametophyte stage, specialized structures such as rhizoids and sporophytes with sporangia, and their reliance on water for fertilization. Topics include desiccation tolerance, carbon and nutrient cycling in ecosystems, roles in soil formation and water regulation, and use as bioindicators of pollution and climate change. Molecular and genomic studies investigate phylogenetic relationships, adaptation mechanisms, and developmental regulation in these structurally simple but ecologically important land plants.
New findings shed light on the mechanisms behind a natural purification process and identify the key microbial "teammates" that enable mosses to remove metals from water. A promising moss species was discovered in abandoned ...
Ecology
Dec 15, 2025
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If you were to wander along the parts of Antarctica that are ice-free, you might be surprised to see something soft and luxurious growing right at your feet: deep green carpets of moss that look like draped green velvet nestled ...
Ecology
Dec 2, 2025
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Through DNA analysis of old air samples collected by the Swedish Armed Forces, researchers at Lund University in Sweden can show that spore dispersal of northern mosses has shifted over the past 35 years. It now starts several ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 26, 2025
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Mosses thrive in the most extreme environments on Earth, from the peaks of the Himalayas to the sands of Death Valley, the Antarctic tundra to the lava fields of active volcanoes. Inspired by moss's resilience, researchers ...
Space Exploration
Nov 20, 2025
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109
Tiny plants, like moss, are easy to overlook. They're often as small as an eyelash, and they tend to grow on the ground in dark, wet places. But these small plants sometimes turn out to be big clues in forensic cases.
Plants & Animals
Nov 11, 2025
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Land plants—such as mosses, ferns and trees—are some of the most structurally complex photosynthesizing organisms on Earth. But their evolutionary story is deeply tied to their ancestors: simpler green algae that lived hundreds ...
Evolution
Nov 3, 2025
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101
A study led by Prof. Zhang Daoyuan from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has uncovered the phosphorylation-mediated regulatory mechanisms of desiccation tolerance of Syntrichia ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 2, 2025
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25
Unless one is a trained fighter jet pilot, or a Formula 1 driver, humans tend not to do well at higher gravity, but tiny green moss plants seem to thrive under such conditions.
Researchers at the Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), have uncovered a long-sought mechanism employed by primitive land plants such as bryophytes (including mosses and liverwort) to regulate plant ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 1, 2025
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