New way to improve antibiotic production

An antibiotic has been found to stimulate its own production. The findings, to be published in PNAS, could make it easier to scale up antibiotic production for commercialisation.

Fungi adapted to mines boost plant growth

(PhysOrg.com) -- Repopulating the moon-like terrain around abandoned mines is slow, plodding work, but a new Indiana University Bloomington report in Applied Soil Ecology suggests symbiotic fungi specifically adapted to toxic ...

NASA maps how soil nutrients affect plant productivity

(Phys.org)—A new analysis led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., has estimated how much the growth of plants worldwide is limited by the amount of nutrients available in their soil. The maps produced ...

Life Underground Critical to Earth's Ecosystems

(PhysOrg.com) -- "I wonder if I shall fall right through the Earth!" mused Alice-in-Wonderland as she tumbled down the rabbit-hole." How funny it'll seem to come out among people that walk with their heads downwards! The ...

Tree rows in modern agriculture reduce damage to environment

Alley cropping is the agricultural practice of planting rows, or alleys, of trees in fields of crops. According to a new study by an international, multidisciplinary research team led by the University of Göttingen, this ...

Why mosses are vital for the health of our soil and Earth

Some people see moss growing in their gardens as a problem, but what they may not realize is this ancient ancestor of all plants is bringing lots of benefits to our green spaces, such as protecting against erosion.

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