How plants' threat-detection mechanisms raise the alarm

New work led by Carnegie's Zhiyong Wang untangles a complex cellular signaling process that underpins plants' ability to balance expending energy on growth and defending themselves from pathogens. These findings, published ...

Structure of 'gliding bird' plant protein could lead to better crops

Biologist Xinnian Dong says her "best Christmas gift ever" arrived in the form of a phone call. The call was from her longtime friend and collaborator at Duke University, Pei Zhou, who rang with long-awaited news: they had ...

Hydroponic native plants to detox PFAS-contaminated water

They're the non-stick on Teflon cookware, the stain resistance in Scotchgard, and the suppression factor in firefighting foam, but while the staying power of PFAS chemicals was once revered, it's now infamous as PFAS substances ...

Viewing a microcosm through a physics lens

"What can physics offer biology?" This was how Alison Patteson, assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences' physics department and also a faculty member in the BioInspired Institute, began the explanation of ...

Compounds that suppress immune responses of plants discovered

A group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may prove valuable for investigating the molecular mechanisms inherent in plant immunity, according to plant scientists at RIKEN. Their results may also help improve ...

Bacteria and plants fight alike

A brown blotch on a plant leaf may be a sign that the plant's defenses are hard at work: When a plant is infected by a virus, fungus or bacterium, its immune response keeps the disease from spreading by killing the infected ...

Two branches of plant immune response closely linked

Like animals, plants need to be on a constant lookout to recognize and respond to invasion by microbes. Plant immunity consists of two branches—the initial defense begins with the detection of invaders by receptors at the ...

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