News tagged with plant species
DNA 'barcode' for tropical trees
Nov 04, 2009 |
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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. ...
Plants' response to fire tested
Sep 24, 2009 |
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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 ...
For carnivorous plants, slow but steady wins the race
Sep 14, 2009 |
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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 ...
Researcher looks for answers about unique disease-resistant gene
Sep 14, 2009 |
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Virginia Tech faculty member Bingyu Zhao is investigating a disease-resistant gene in corn that prevents bacteria from invading distantly related plant species.
Online Encyclopedia of Life reaches 150,000 species
Aug 25, 2009 |
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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.
Missouri and Kansas are releasing alien insects to do battle with invasive plants
Aug 04, 2009 |
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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. ...
Smaller plants punch above their weight in the forest
Jul 14, 2009 |
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New findings from Queen's University biologists show that in the plant world, bigger isn't necessarily better.
Thousands of plant species likely to go extinct in Amazon
Jul 09, 2009 |
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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.
Nitrogen research shows how some plants invade, take over others
Jul 06, 2009 |
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Biologists know that when plants battle for space, often the actual battle is for getting the nitrogen.
A question of height: Learning from reintroduction of once extinct butterfly in Britain
Jul 02, 2009 |
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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 ...
Global warming increasing the dispersal of flora in Northern forests
Jun 11, 2009 |
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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 ...
Understanding plants' overactive immune system will help researchers build better crops
May 27, 2009 |
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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 ...
Beneficial plant 'spillover' effect seen from landscape corridors
May 20, 2009 |
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(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 ...
Exotic plant species are more widespread than native on Boston Harbor Islands
May 14, 2009 |
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(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 ...
DNA duplication: A mechanism for 'survival of the fittest'
Mar 23, 2009 |
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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 ...
