Possible explanation for more efficient maize growth

Maize has a significantly higher productivity rate compared with many other crops. The particular leaf anatomy and special form of photosynthesis (referred to as C4) developed during its evolution allow maize to grow considerably ...

New knowledge towards increasing carbon dioxide uptake in plants

Imagine being able to grow plants that could absorb even more CO2 from Earth's atmosphere and thereby help solve the world's climate problems. Humans have selected, bred and optimized plants to increase food production and ...

E. coli bacteria offer path to improving photosynthesis

Cornell University scientists have engineered a key plant enzyme and introduced it in Escherichia coli bacteria in order to create an optimal experimental environment for studying how to speed up photosynthesis, a holy grail ...

How did flowering plants evolve to dominate Earth?

To Charles Darwin it was an 'abominable mystery' and it is a question which has continued to vex evolutionists to this day: when did flowering plants evolve and how did they come to dominate plant life on earth? Today a study ...

A new molecular family tree of grasses

The evolutionary relationships among grasses—including important crop plants like wheat, rice, corn, and sugarcane—have been clarified in a new molecular study of the grass family tree. Having a clear picture of the relationships ...

Decoding the secret language of photosynthesis

For decades, scientists have been stumped by the signals plants send themselves to initiate photosynthesis, the process of turning sunlight into sugars. UC Riverside researchers have now decoded those previously opaque signals.

How a protein communicates across long-distances

Cutting out a short part of a protein can lead to strong movements at a distant functional site. This provides a clear example of how the network of interactions inside of a protein can give rise to long-range communication. ...

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