In nature, plants engage in a never-ending battle to avoid being eaten. Unable to run away, plant species have evolved defenses to deter herbivores; they have spines, produce nasty chemicals, or grow tough leaves that are ...
Ecology
Aug 21, 2017
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113
A year ago, the Howe lab developed a plant that upended a common misconception that plants can defend or grow, but not both. Theirs could.
Biotechnology
Jul 11, 2017
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1
Next time you chew a stick of mint gum or pop a peppermint candy, think of insects.
Plants & Animals
Apr 5, 2016
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85
Obscured by polluted haze, workers are putting the finishing touches to towering smokestacks on a multi-billion-dollar coal-to-oil plant in China that will pump out vast amounts of carbon dioxide when in operation.
Environment
Nov 18, 2015
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38
In a deception that likely has evolved over thousands of years, a caterpillar that feeds on corn leaves induces the plant to turn off its defenses against insect predators, allowing the caterpillar to eat more and grow faster, ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 9, 2015
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93
In 1964, renowned biologists Peter Raven and Paul Erhlich published a landmark study that introduced the concept of co-evolution. Using butterflies and plants as primary examples, the team determined that two species can ...
Evolution
Jun 22, 2015
1
54
In the animal kingdom, predators use a full range of strategies, such as camouflage, speed and optical illusions, to catch their prey. Meanwhile, prey species resort to the same tactics to escape from their predators. Such ...
Biotechnology
Jun 8, 2015
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29
Modern, machine-friendly agriculture is dominated by monocultures. One single cultivar - one genotype of a crop species - is cultivated on large areas. Favored cultivars are optimized for high yields and often contain only ...
Ecology
Apr 15, 2015
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26
A team of researchers from 26 institutions around the world has sequenced the Hessian fly genome, shedding light on how the insect creates growth-stunting galls in wheat.
Biotechnology
Mar 2, 2015
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25
Sugars are usually known as energy storage units in plants and the insects that feed on them. But, sugars may also be part of a deadly game of tag between plant and insect according to scientists at the Max Planck Institute ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 25, 2014
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