The Benefits of Stress ... in Plants
Chronic stress in humans has been implicated in heart disease, weight gain, and diabetes, among a host of other health problems.

Can a Single Layer of Cells Control a Leaf's Size?
Ever looked carefully at the leaves on a plant and noticed their various sizes and shapes?

How the Daisy Got Its Spot: Insect Mimicry
Dark spots on flower petals are common across many angiosperm plant families and occur on flowers such as some lilies, orchids, and daisies.

How Crops Survive Drought
Breakthrough research done earlier this year by a plant cell biologist has greatly accelerated scientists' knowledge on how plants and crops can survive difficult environmental conditions such as drought.

Leaf Age May Contribute To Contamination Of Lettuce With E. Coli And Salmonella
A new study presents the first evidence that harmful pathogens frequently linked with food-borne illnesses are more commonly found on younger inner leaves than on older outer leaves of romaine lettuce.

Why Do Leaves Change Color In The Fall?
Many of the colors we see in fall are always present, but normally they’re hidden from view

Leaves Whisper Their Properties Through Ultrasound
The water content of leaves, their thickness, their density and other properties can now be determined without even having to touch them.

Standard DNA Barcodes For Plants?
Researchers are part of an international team recommending standards for the DNA barcoding of land plants, a step they hope will lead to a universal system for identifying over 400,000 species, and ultimately boost conservation efforts.

Crab Apple Trees: Long-Term Apple Scab Resistance Remains Elusive, Expert Says
There are hundreds of choices when picking a crabapple tree from the nursery, but a Purdue University expert says only a handful are resistant to a widespread fungus or other serious diseases.

Hemp And Marijuana: Genes Producing THC, Active Ingredient In Cannabis Plant, Identified
In a first step toward engineering a drug-free Cannabis plant for hemp fiber and oil, University of Minnesota researchers have identified genes producing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive substance in marijuana.

Solving the mystery of how plants survive near Chernobyl
Twenty-two years after the Chernobyl nuclear power station accident in the Ukraine — the worst in history — scientists are reporting insights into the mystery of how plants have managed to adapt and survive in the radioactive soil near Chernobyl.

First discovery of "animals-only" pigment bilirubin in plants
In a first-of-its-kind discovery that overturns conventional wisdom, scientists in Florida are reporting that certain plants — including the exotic “White Bird of Paradise Tree” — make bilirubin.

Correlation between development of female flower buds and expression of the CS-ACS2 gene in cucumber plants
The study found that the level of CS-ACS2 expression in flower buds is correlated with the appearance of female flowers in monoecious cucumber.

MetaCrop: a detailed database of crop plant metabolism
MetaCrop is a manually curated repository of high quality information concerning the metabolism of crop plants.

New techniques in plant chloroplast division hold hope for agriculture
Ground-breaking research at the University of Leicester into the division of chloroplasts holds out hope of a safer way of genetically modifying crops, with implications for agriculture particularly in the developing world.

Green Plants Share Bacterial Toxin
A toxin that can make bacterial infections turn deadly is also found in higher plants

University of Sussex launches world's first degree programme in 'seed banking'
Biologists are being offered the chance to help save the planet by enrolling in an innovative new postgraduate degree at the University of Sussex this autumn.

The emerging story of plant roots
An international group of European and US scientists led by the Centre for Plant Integrative Biology at The University of Nottingham have uncovered a fascinating new insight into the unseen side of plant biology - the root.

Botany: Nature's Shut-off Switch For Cellulose Production Found
Purdue University researchers found a mechanism that naturally shuts down cellulose production in plants

Plants Recognize Their Siblings, Biologists Discover
The next time you venture into your garden armed with plants, consider who you place next to whom.