Collaborate Disseminate
In order to keep water from evaporating from the soil, farmers will often cover the ground around their crop plants with sheets of polyethylene plastic. There could soon be a more eco-friendly alternative, though, in the form of soybean oil-coated sand… Continue reading Soybean oil-coated sand could be a green alternative to plastic mulch
New research from the University of Queensland has solved the mystery behind the sting of one of the most venomous plants on the planet. The discovery of a previously unknown neurotoxin explains how Australian stinging trees cause excruciating pain tha… Continue reading Australian stinging tree reveals entirely new family of neurotoxins
It can be hard enough for search parties to find human remains on open ground, but in dense forests, it’s even more difficult. That’s why scientists are now proposing the use of aerial drones, which would look for telltale changes in trees’ leaves.Cont… Continue reading Foliage-analyzing drones could help locate dead bodies
Not everyone has a green thumb, which is why we’ve seen a number of smart pots designed to make plant-care easier. One of the latest systems, known as Pico, consists of multiple mini-pots that can be electrically linked together.Continue ReadingCategor… Continue reading Pico gives plant pots the electro-pod treatment
Such is the magnitude of our plastic pollution problem that tiny particles of the stuff continue to turn up in all kinds of unexpected places, from snowfall in the Arctic to the sea ice in the Antarctic. That tiny fragments also exist in the soil is pe… Continue reading Study shows nanoplastics can build up in plants and stunt their growth
Tending to a garden is usually a rewarding endeavor, as long as there is good soil to work with. If there isn’t, it can either get frustrating quickly having to deal with soils like sand or hard clay, or it can get expensive by having to truck in compost each …read more
There’s only so much we can learn about dinosaurs from their dusty old bones. But now, palaeontologists have gathered some fascinating new insights by studying the stomach contents of an incredibly well-preserved nodosaur. They can tell not just what i… Continue reading Dinosaur stomach contents reveal last meal and time of death
CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing is one of the most powerful tools available to modern science, but genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in food are subject to some tight regulations. Now, researchers at North Carolina State University have created a new vers… Continue reading New CRISPR method edits crops without technically making them GMOs
Photosynthesis is one of nature’s most useful chemical reactions, so it’s not surprising that scientists often try to mimic it. Now, researchers from the Max Planck Institute have developed a new way to make hybrid synthetic living cells that can use p… Continue reading New technique makes thousands of semi-synthetic photosynthesis cells
Viruses are getting a pretty bad rap lately, but they’re not always our enemy. In a new study led by the University of Verona, researchers have used plant viruses to make new nanoparticles that show promise in mice for treating autoimmune diseases like… Continue reading Plant virus nanoparticles pitched as treatment for autoimmune diseases