http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. With increasing species richness, due to more plant introductions than extinctions, plant communities of many European regions are becoming more homogeneous. The same species are occurring more frequently, whereas rare species are becoming extinct. It is not only the biological communities that are becoming increasingly similar, but also the phylogenetic relations between regions. These processes have led to a loss of uniqueness among European floras, scientists from the DAISIE research project have published their findings in the current online edition of the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). http://www.physorg.com/news179757376.html Biology Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:36:46 EST news179757376 A team of researchers at Louisiana Tech University has found that a naturally occurring microorganism acts as a natural herbicide against giant salvinia. http://www.physorg.com/news177864774.html Biology Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:10:04 EST news177864774 As warmer temperatures threaten to devastate plant species across the globe, scientists are taking the lead by relocating plants to safer grounds, according to a recent New York Times article. http://www.physorg.com/news177669654.html Biology Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:41:40 EST news177669654 In foods, soil samples or customs checks, plant fragments sometimes need to be quickly identified. The use of DNA `barcodes` to itemize plant biodiversity was proposed during the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Summit. Jérôme Chave's team from the Evolution et diversité biologique laboratory has tested this method in the tropical forest where the CNRS Nouragues, French Guiana research station is located. Their study, published in PlosOne, shows that while the identification of plant species has improved considerably, some aspects of this method remain problematic, especially for tropical species. http://www.physorg.com/news176572585.html Biology Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:05:25 EST news176572585 A team from the National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA) has developed a new method for identifying the flammability of plant species by using a device that measures how construction materials react to fire. The technique, which is being presented this week at the Fifth Spanish Forestry Congress, can be used to improve fire risk maps. http://www.physorg.com/news173022836.html Other Sciences Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:54:19 EST news173022836 Like the man-eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors, carnivorous plants rely on animal prey for sustenance. Fortunately for humans, carnivorous plants found in nature are not dependent on a diet of human blood but rather are satisfied with the occasional fly or other insect. The existence of carnivorous plants has fascinated botanists and non-botanists alike for centuries and raises the question, "Why are some plants carnivorous?" http://www.physorg.com/news172171655.html Biology Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:28:19 EST news172171655 Virginia Tech faculty member Bingyu Zhao is investigating a disease-resistant gene in corn that prevents bacteria from invading distantly related plant species. http://www.physorg.com/news172151141.html Biology Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:20:01 EST news172151141 The public and scientists have helped create the first 150,000 species pages in the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL), the global online project to create a page for each of the 1.8 million known species on the planet. http://www.physorg.com/news170396645.html Biology Tue, 25 Aug 2009 05:24:48 EST news170396645 An alien plant species has invaded Missouri and is threatening to overrun crops and livestock pastures. To combat the scourge weed, officials are deliberately releasing two alien insect species to destroy its roots and seeds. What could possibly go wrong? http://www.physorg.com/news168542436.html Biology Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:20:02 EST news168542436 New findings from Queen's University biologists show that in the plant world, bigger isn't necessarily better. http://www.physorg.com/news166790686.html Biology Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:45:27 EST news166790686 As many as 4,550 of the more than 50,000 plant species in the Amazon will likely disappear because of land-use changes and habitat loss within the next 40 years, according to a new study by two Wake Forest University researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news166376723.html Biology Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:45:55 EST news166376723 Biologists know that when plants battle for space, often the actual battle is for getting the nitrogen. http://www.physorg.com/news166120181.html Biology Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:30:03 EST news166120181 Intelligent countryside management could improve the survival chances of animal and plant species threatened by climate change. The creation of small heat-shielded habitats and better links between habitats would counteract a moderate temperature increase and give threatened species more time to adapt better and/or to migrate to cooler regions. http://www.physorg.com/news165771682.html Biology Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:41:47 EST news165771682 As a result of stronger winds caused by global warming, seeds and pollen are being carried over longer distances. An increase in temperature of only a couple of degrees may increase the dispersal of plants in Northern forests and the spread of plant species into forest clearings after felling or forest fires. http://www.physorg.com/news163922103.html Space & Earth Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:55:22 EST news163922103 A plant's immune system protects the plant from harmful pathogens. If the system overreacts to pathogens, it can stunt plant growth and reduce seed production. Now, University of Missouri researchers have identified important suppressors that negatively regulate the responses of the immune system in the plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. Understanding the immune system of plants would allow breeders to create better yielding crop plants. http://www.physorg.com/news162642692.html Biology Wed, 27 May 2009 11:32:30 EST news162642692 (PhysOrg.com) -- Research by a North Carolina State University biologist and colleagues shows that using landscape corridors, the "superhighways" that connect isolated patches of habitat, to protect certain plants has a large "spillover" effect that increases the number of plant species outside the conservation area. http://www.physorg.com/news162049825.html Biology Wed, 20 May 2009 14:50:43 EST news162049825 (PhysOrg.com) -- The recent findings by a team of Northeastern University ecologists studying plant life on the Boston Harbor Islands may advance societal efforts to stem the damage caused by invading exotic species. http://www.physorg.com/news161534941.html Biology Thu, 14 May 2009 15:49:50 EST news161534941 VIB researchers connected to Ghent University, Belgium, have discovered that DNA duplications have given plants an evolutionary advantage. This mechanism enabled plants -- in contrast to the dinosaurs -- to survive the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction of 65 million years ago. With the aid of the latest bioinformatics technologies, the researchers have been able to closely estimate the timing of known DNA duplications in a number of plant species. http://www.physorg.com/news157048697.html Biology Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:39:08 EST news157048697 (AP) -- Hawaii's native avian population is in peril, with nearly all the state's birds in danger of becoming extinct, a federal report says. http://www.physorg.com/news156751854.html Biology Fri, 20 Mar 2009 07:11:32 EST news156751854 Purdue University researchers have determined a process that regulates activity of genes that control seed germination and seedling development. http://www.physorg.com/news156014078.html Biology Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:15:29 EST news156014078 A recent article published in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society searches for one or more short pieces of DNA code that could eventually be used in an automated fashion to reliably identify almost all land plant species. http://www.physorg.com/news154080677.html Biology Tue, 17 Feb 2009 08:11:38 EST news154080677 Plants are flowering at higher elevations in Arizona's Santa Catalina Mountains as summer temperatures rise, according to new research from The University of Arizona in Tucson. http://www.physorg.com/news153482329.html Space & Earth Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:00:41 EST news153482329 Managing invasive plant species on the Great Plains has become more challenging in recent years in the face of human-caused environmental change, including the positive responses of invaders to altered atmospheric chemistry and longer growing seasons, says a University of Colorado at Boulder professor. http://www.physorg.com/news151074298.html Space & Earth Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:04:58 EST news151074298 U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) Ecologist Jim Miller, Ph.D., one of the foremost authorities on nonnative plants in the South, today identified the invasive plant species he believes pose the biggest threats to southern forest ecosystems in 2009. http://www.physorg.com/news150991399.html Space & Earth Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:03:19 EST news150991399 (PhysOrg.com) -- New species of flowering plants called proteas are exploding onto the scene three times faster in parts of Australia and South Africa than anywhere else in the world, creating exceptional 'hotspots' of species richness, according to new research published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). http://www.physorg.com/news149189012.html Biology Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:23:32 EST news149189012 Researchers at the University of Calgary have found the biodiversity picture in the region known as the "lungs of the Earth" contradicts commonly held views relating to extinction in that area. http://www.physorg.com/news148104391.html Biology Wed, 10 Dec 2008 04:06:31 EST news148104391 Plants that range northward because of climate change may be better at defending themselves against local enemies than native plants. http://www.physorg.com/news146328549.html Biology Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:49:09 EST news146328549 (PhysOrg.com) -- Drawing on records dating back to the journals of Henry David Thoreau, scientists at Harvard University have found that different plant families near Walden Pond in Concord, Mass., have borne the effects of climate change in strikingly different ways. Some of the plant families hit hardest by global warming have included beloved species like lilies, orchids, violets, roses, and dogwoods. http://www.physorg.com/news144511715.html Biology Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:08:35 EST news144511715 Drawing on records dating back to the journals of Henry David Thoreau, scientists at Harvard University have found that different plant families near Walden Pond have borne the effects of climate change in strikingly different ways. Some of the plant families hit hardest by global warming have included beloved species like lilies, orchids, violets, roses, and dogwoods. http://www.physorg.com/news144343784.html Biology Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:29:44 EST news144343784 The number of alien plant species has more than tripled over the last 25 years. This is the finding of a study by European scientists who evaluated the data from 48 European countries and regions. 5789 plant species were classified as alien. 2843 originating outside of Europe, according to the researchers and their publication in the journal Preslia. By contrast, in 1980 only 1568 alien species were registered. http://www.physorg.com/news140871831.html Biology Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:03:51 EST news140871831