Photosynthesis gene can help crops grow in adverse conditions

A gene that helps plants to remain healthy during times of stress has been identified by researchers at Oxford University. Its presence helps plants to tolerate environmental pressures like drought—and it could help create ...

What causes algal blooms, and how we can stop them?

Outbreaks of algae have killed up to a million fish in the Murray Darling Basin over the last two weeks. The phenomena of "algae blooms", when the population of algae in a river rapidly grows and dies, can be devastating ...

Worm sugarcoats bacterial toxins to stave off death

(Phys.org)—Pathogenic bacteria kill their animal or plant hosts through the production of toxic molecules. But how do animals and plants defend themselves against these toxins? Researchers from the Boyce Thompson Institute ...

'Cowcatcher' enzyme fixes single-strand DNA

Every time one of your cells divides, it exposes its most essential component to great danger: its genome, the sum total of all its genetic information, embodied in the double-stranded helix of DNA. Prior to cell division, ...

How plants harness 'bad' molecules for good ends

When most people think of a plant, they picture stems, leaves, flowers, and all the parts that are visible above ground. But Duke biologist Philip Benfey is more interested in the hidden half of the plant that is buried beneath ...

Unraveling plant reactions to injury

Better understanding of plant defense systems, and the potential to generate stress-tolerant plants and even new malaria drugs, may all stem from the documentation of a molecular mechanism that plays a significant role in ...

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