Plants
- Life
How the poppy got its pain-relieving powers
Analyzing the poppy’s genome reveals the evolutionary history of morphine.
- Plants
The most ancient African baobabs are dying and no one knows why
Scientists aren’t sure what’s killing the oldest African baobabs, nine of which have lost big chunks or died in the last 13 years.
- Animals
A caterpillar outwits corn defenses by gorging on fattening ‘junk’ food
The crop plants defend themselves with zombie-maker wasps, but one pest has a desperate work-around.
- Plants
Meet the speedsters of the plant world
Researchers have recently uncovered a diverse array of mechanisms that allow plants to move — often faster than the blink of an eye.
- Plants
New genetic details may help roses come up smelling like, well, roses
A detailed genetic look at China roses and an old European species shows that there’s a built-in trade-off between color and scent.
- Plants
Genetically modified plant may boost supply of a powerful malaria drug
Using a DNA study and genetic engineering, researchers tripled the amount of an antimalarial compound naturally produced by sweet wormwood plants.
- Climate
Rising CO2 levels might not be as good for plants as we thought
A 20-year experiment spots a reversal in the way two kinds of plants take up extra carbon from the atmosphere.
- Science & Society
Why it’s great to have a geologist in the house
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute enthuses about learning how ancient plans may have helped make Earth muddy.
- Plants
Liverwort reproductive organ inspires pipette design
A new pipette is inspired by a plant’s female reproductive structure.
- Plants
These petunias launch seeds that spin 1,660 times a second
One species of petunia spreads its seeds explosively, giving them a rotation of 1,660 times per second.
- Ecosystems
Pollution regulations help Chesapeake Bay seagrass rebound
Regulations that have reduced nitrogen runoff into the Chesapeake Bay are driving the recovery of underwater vegetation.
- Earth
Early land plants led to the rise of mud
New research suggests early land plants called bryophytes, which include modern mosses, helped shape Earth’s surface by creating clay-rich river deposits.
