Plants
- Humans
Bt: The lesson not learned
The more things change, the more they stay the same, as a Dec. 29 Associated Press report on genetically engineered corn notes. Like déjà vu, this news story on emerging resistance to Bt toxin — a fabulously effective and popular insecticide to protect corn — brings to mind articles I encountered over the weekend while flipping through historic issues of Science News. More than a half-century ago, our magazine chronicled, real time, the emergence of resistance to DDT, the golden child of pest controllers worldwide. Now much the same thing is happening again with Bt, its contemporary agricultural counterpart. Will we never learn?
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- Tech
Fishy fat from soy is headed for U.S. dinner tables
Most people have heard about omega-3 fatty acids, the primary constituents of fish oil. Stearidonic acid, one of those omega-3s, is hardly a household term. But it should become one, researchers argued this week at the 2011 Experimental Biology meeting.
- Plants
From a mismatch in growth, a flower blooms
Scientists reveal the forces at work in the blossoming of a lily.
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- Agriculture
A taste of the chocolate genome
Competing teams have announced the impending completion of the cacao DNA sequence.
- Health & Medicine
Gloves may head off ‘garden’ variety pneumonia
Compost feels so good, sifting through a gardener’s fingers. Unfortunately, data are showing, this soil amendment can host a germ responsible for Legionnaire’s disease, a potentially serious form of pneumonia.
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- Plants
Most energy drinks lag in added health benefits
Many caffeinated tonics lack natural antioxidants and other beneficial compounds found in coffee, yerba maté and other plant-based drinks.
- Plants
Chlorophyll gets an ‘f’
New variety of photosynthetic pigment is the first to be discovered in 60 years
- Plants
Explosions, mushroom clouds — all good for short moss
BLOG: Sphagnum reproduces with a bang that compensates for life so close to the ground.
- Earth
Ivy nanoparticles promise sunblocks and other green products
I’ve developed a love-hate relationship with English ivy that’s been devolving towards hate-hate. But a new paper may temper my antipathy. Apparently this backyard bully also offers a kinder, gentler alternative to the potentially toxic metal-based nanoparticles used in today’s sunscreens.
