A plant’s number one priority is to grow—a feat that demands sunlight, nutrients, and water. If just one of these three inputs is missing, like water in a drought, growth halts. You might then think that at the end of that…
Read More
Plants and microbes often have a symbiotic relationship, relying on each other for nutrients or shelter. Understanding and engineering such symbioses is an essential step in the journey towards tackling global challenges such as food security, carbon capture and ecosystem…
Read More
A newly discovered pathway in a plant process could help farmers grow more successful crops, particularly in places where harsh, high light stresses plants.
Read More
Researchers discovered that plant phototropism—growth toward light—is fine-tuned by acetylation-phosphorylation cross-talk in the blue-light receptor phototropin 1 (phot1). Acetylation at key lysines, especially K636, regulates phot1’s phosphorylation and activity, with the deacetylase HDA9 balancing these modifications. Light triggers phosphorylation, reducing…
Read More
Plane trees in cities have an important cooling effect even in extreme heat, according to a new study. The next step is to identify which tree species are particularly effective at cooling.
Read More
Mycorrhizal fungi help regulate Earth’s climate and ecosystems by forming underground networks that provide plants with essential nutrients, while drawing carbon deep into soils. Scientists and conservationists have been racing to find ways to protect these underground fungi, but they…
Read More
In a recent study, researchers have uncovered how Amazon rainforest canopy trees manage the intense sunlight they absorb — revealing resilience to hot and dry conditions in the forest canopy while also offering a way to greatly improve the monitoring of…
Read More
Researchers conducted a systematic review of 99 scientific publications that compared the flora or fauna of old-growth forests, managed forests and clearcut sites in boreal Europe. The reviewed studies showed large differences in the species communities inhabiting these forest types.
Read More
A study predicts that protecting at-risk seagrass meadows could avert climate damages valued in excess of $200 billion by preventing the release of 1.2 billion tons of carbon pollution. This is equivalent to removing the annual carbon footprint of 100 million…
Read More
Incidences of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are becoming more frequent, their scale is growing and so are their impacts on food and water security. HABs are being fed by increases in water temperature, dissolved CO2 concentration and nutrient availability in…
Read More
