Study discovers ferns can produce crop-saving insecticide

A new study has identified novel insecticidal proteins in ferns. Professor Marilyn Anderson at La Trobe University said the discovery could lead to plant-made protein pest control for crop plants that are essential to global ...

Mathematics of scale: Big, small and everything in between

Breathe. As your lungs expand, air fills 500 million tiny alveoli, each a fraction of a millimeter across. As you exhale, these millions of tiny breaths merge effortlessly through larger and larger airways into one ultimate ...

How a floating fern withstands rain

The tropical floating fern Salvinia molesta has developed sophisticated structures to allow water to roll off its leaves quickly—even during heavy rainfall. This relieves the pressure on the leaves floating on the water ...

Ferns took to the trees and thrived

(PhysOrg.com) -- As flowering plants like giant trees quickly rose to dominate plant communities during the Cretaceous period, the ferns that had preceded them hardly saw it as a disappointment.

Herbivore defence in ferns

(Phys.org)—Unlike flowering plants, bracken ferns do not release any odour signals to attract the enemies of their attackers for their own benefit.

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