If a tree falls in the forest—whether or not anyone registers the sound—one thing is for sure: there are lots of fungi around. Within a forest's soil, hundreds of species decompose debris, mobilize nutrients from that ...
Ecology
12 hours ago
0
113
Serious wine drinkers often have their preferences: Some prefer sweet hints of chocolate in a Malbec from Argentina, while others are drawn to a spicy and fruity Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. Wine connoisseurs firmly ...
Ecology
Apr 22, 2024
0
58
Humans wouldn't last long without plant mitochondria and chloroplasts. These essential compartments of plant cells famously capture sunlight and power plant life—and so, ultimately, provide all the food we eat. But there's ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Nov 6, 2023
0
5
Plants existed on Earth for hundreds of millions of years before the first flowers bloomed. But when flowering plants did evolve, more than 140 million years ago, they were a huge evolutionary success.
Evolution
Jun 6, 2023
0
79
A family of 'promiscuous' proteins found in all land plants is responsible for many different plant functions, despite remaining relatively unchanged for over 450 million years.
Molecular & Computational biology
Apr 3, 2023
0
64
Scientists analyzing one of the largest genomic datasets of plants have discovered how the first plants on Earth evolved the mechanisms used to control water and transpire on land hundreds of millions of years ago. The study ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 16, 2022
0
787
In Star Trek, characters carry a little handheld device called a tricorder that they can point at objects to analyze and identify them. When the show's writers cooked up the idea in the 1960s, it was purely science fiction, ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 19, 2021
0
190
White clover is a weed that grows the world over—there's a good chance you have some growing in your yard today. The plant that yard-preeners love to hate was spawned about 20,000 years ago when two European clover species ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 19, 2021
0
698
A combination of drought, heat and insects is responsible for the death of more than 12 million trees in California, according to a new study from UC Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS). ...
Environment
Jun 9, 2015
0
542
Parasitic plants, sworn enemy of many a farmer, can carry surprising benefits for wildlife, according to new research.
Plants & Animals
Mar 18, 2013
1
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