How plants produce defensive toxins without harming themselves

Plants produce toxic substances to defend themselves against herbivores. In a new study, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena and the University of Münster, Germany, were able to describe ...

Sweden wants Norway's trash (and lots of it)

(Phys.org)—Sweden is hungry for trash and has turned to Norway for an offer it would find hard to refuse, no pun intended. Sweden is asking its neighbor for trash. Sweden's success is Sweden's problem. Sweden is a model ...

Study confirms classic theory on the origins of biodiversity

(PhysOrg.com) -- A Cornell study on the diversity of milkweed plants has used new techniques to prove an old theory that explains how the arms race between attacking insects and defended plants led to great diversity of both.

Researchers discover corn reduces arsenic toxicity in soil

When crops grow in arsenic-contaminated soil, this toxic element accumulates in the food chain. A study involving the University of Basel has now discovered a mechanism used by corn plants to reduce arsenic uptake: the key ...

The humble sea campion flower can show us how species adapt

The speed of environmental change is very challenging for wild organisms. When exposed to a new environment individual plants and animals can potentially adjust their biology to better cope with new pressures they are exposed ...

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