Plants
- Microbes
Recycling the dead
When things die, nature breaks them down through a process we know as rot. Without it, none of us would be here. Now, scientists are trying to better understand it so that they can use rot — preserving its role in feeding all living things.
- Tech
Plants ‘listen’ for danger
Scientists used lasers to show that plants can “hear” insect pests. Those leafy plants then mount a chemical attack in response to the bug’s chewing sounds — but not toward harmless noises such as a gentle breeze or a bug’s mating call.
- Plants
Saving the banana
A number of diseases threaten the world’s most popular fruit. Scientists are working to fight these blights. But if they don’t succeed, the sweet banana that’s a breakfast staple could disappear.
- Plants
Taking a long look at lichen
Lichens may not look like much, but they play a vital role in our ecosystems. ISEF finalist Madeline Handley decided learn more about the lichens in her native Alaska.
- Animals
Mosquitoes, be gone!
An extract of local seeds in Puerto Rico may be the key to keeping mosquitoes away. It kills the larval insects and repels the biting adults.
By Sid Perkins - Plants
Wily bacteria create ‘zombie’ plants
Scientists have discovered how some plant pathogens ensure their own survival by transforming flowering plants into strictly leaf-producing ones. These green ‘zombies’ attract insects that the parasites need to help them spread to other plants.
- Life
Caught in the act
Scientists observe some evolutionary speed demons as they adapt over the course of just a few years to new environmental conditions.
- Plants
Gold can grow on trees
Australian researchers found leafy nano-evidence pointing to rich deposits of the precious metal deep below ground.
By Beth Geiger - Plants
Old, cold moss grows again
Mosses are mini but mighty: Even after centuries buried beneath a glacier, some of these small, flowerless plants can regrow.
-
- Agriculture
Cool Jobs: Green Science
In parts of the Arctic, entire forests are creeping northward. Luckily, ecologist Serge Payette is hot on their trail.
-