Plants
- Plants
Helping trees adapt to climate change possible but a huge task
A new study finds that it would be possible to assist the migration of trees and help them adapt to climate change, but the scale of such a project would be massive.
- Genetics
Source of coffee’s kick found in its genetic code
Coffee doubled up on caffeine-making genes. Those genes evolved independently from similar ones found in tea and chocolate plants.
- Plants
These trees don’t mind getting robbed
Desert teak trees in India produce more fruit after they’ve been visited by nectar robbers.
- Ecosystems
Moose drool can undermine grass defenses
Saliva from moose and reindeer sabotages plants’ chemical weaponry.
- Plants
Wine corks may owe quality to gene activity
Discovery of genes that distinguish superior stoppers from inferior ones could help reverse recent global downturn in quality.
- Ecosystems
Invasive insect tied to shrinking river
A river in North Carolina shrank after a hemlock woolly adelgid eradicated eastern hemlock trees in the region.
- Animals
Mosses hitch rides on the wings of birds
Seeds may travel from far north to south hidden in the feathers of migratory birds.
- Plants
Island life prompts evolution of larger plant seeds
In 40 species of plants, the island versions of seeds were larger than mainland counterparts, perhaps to keep the seeds from being lost at sea.
- Paleontology
Loblolly sets record for biggest genome
At 20 billion base pairs, the loblolly pine is the largest genome sequenced to date.
- Plants
South American vine is a masterful mimic
The vine Boquila trifoliolata changes the shape of its leaves to match its host and avoid getting eaten.
- Plants
Milkweed ‘horns’ may equal wins in reproduction battle
Plants may be ripping a page right from bucks’ playbooks, developing hornlike weapons to improve their chances of reproduction.
- Plants
Fossil fern showcases ancient chromosomes
Fossil nuclei and chromosomes seen in a 180-million-year-old fern reveals that the plants have stayed mostly the same.
