With 72 species currently identified, Espeletia is a plant genus endemic to the paramo, a moist alpine biome unique to the northern Andes. This genus, which inhabits the world's most diverse high-altitude ecosystem, is an ...
Ecology
Sep 20, 2017
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3
It cannot run away from the fly that does it so much damage, but tall goldenrod can protect itself by first "smelling" its attacker and then initiating its defenses, according to an international team of researchers.
Biotechnology
Aug 24, 2017
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41
Researchers at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability in Denmark have developed a method of producing P450 enzymes used by plants to defend against predators and microbes in bacterial cell factories. The ...
Biotechnology
Jun 2, 2017
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5
Plants need nitrogen to grow, and intensive agriculture requires the input of nitrogen compounds. However, classical, nitrate-based fertilization is responsible for considerable environmental problems, such as the contamination ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 25, 2017
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2
Over millions of years under attack from insects, milkweed plants have developed considerable defenses. These include incredible toxicity – sufficient to kill a horse or sheep – which emanates from a milkweed's leaves ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 15, 2017
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52
When leaf beetle larvae eat goldenrod, the damaged plant emits a chemical message, which informs the insect that the plant is damaged and is a poor source of food. The airborne chemicals are also noticed by undamaged neighboring ...
Ecology
Jan 25, 2017
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44
John Innes Centre scientists have made a breakthrough in understanding how valuable anti-cancer compounds are produced in the Madagascar Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus).
Biotechnology
Jan 13, 2017
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6
A wide range of microorganisms, including fungi and phytopathogenic bacteria, are capable of emitting volatile compounds which boost plant growth and flowering, and in accumulating up reserves as demonstrated in a study led ...
Biotechnology
Nov 22, 2016
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10
Indoor air pollution is an important environmental threat to human health, leading to symptoms of "sick building syndrome." But researchers report that surrounding oneself with certain house plants could combat the potentially ...
Other
Aug 24, 2016
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149
Catharanthus roseus (rosy periwinkle) is a plant that produces organic compounds used to treat cancer, arrhythmia, and other medical conditions. A Japanese research group has revealed the details of the metabolism process ...
Biotechnology
Mar 21, 2016
0
33
