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News tagged with seeds

Steroids control gas exchange in plants

Plants leaves are sealed with a gas-tight wax layer to prevent water loss. Plants breathe through microscopic pores called stomata (Greek for mouths) on the surfaces of leaves. Over 40% of the carbon dioxide, CO2, in the ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 05, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Genetics of Arctic plants under serious threat from climate change, study says

A new EU study by a team of Austrian, French and Norwegian researchers has found that rising temperatures as a result of climate change will have differing genetic consequences within single Arctic plant species. ...

Biology / Ecology

created Jan 30, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Grape seed extract kills head and neck cancer cells, leaves healthy cells unharmed

Nearly 12,000 people will die of head and neck cancer in the United States this year and worldwide cases will exceed half a million.

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Jan 27, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (51) | comments 18 | with audio podcast

Fungi-filled forests are critical for endangered orchids

When it comes to conserving the world's orchids, not all forests are equal. In a paper to be published Jan. 25 in the journal Molecular Ecology, Smithsonian ecologists revealed that an orchid's fate hinges ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jan 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Sweeten up your profits with the right hybrid

New University of Illinois sweet corn research shows that higher yield and profitability are possible with greater plant populations of certain hybrids.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jan 23, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

'Miracle tree' substance produces clean drinking water inexpensively and sustainably

A natural substance obtained from seeds of the "miracle tree" could purify and clarify water inexpensively and sustainably in the developing world, where more than 1 billion people lack access to clean drinking ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Jan 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

Discovery of plant 'nourishing gene' brings hope for increased crop seed yield and food security

University of Warwick scientists have discovered a "nourishing gene" which controls the transfer of nutrients from plant to seed - a significant step which could help increase global food production.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jan 13, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Diverse ecosystems are crucial climate change buffer

Preserving diverse plant life will be crucial to buffer the negative effects of climate change and desertification in in the world's drylands, according to a new landmark study.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Jan 12, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Grain crops with lower carotene levels are less affected by parasitic plants

Grain crops that produce less carotene can produce more food, especially in Africa, as they are less affected by parasitic plants. This is the result of research with which Muhammad Jamil hopes to obtain his ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jan 12, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

To turn up the heat in chilies, just add water

Biologists have learned in recent years that wild chilies develop their trademark pungency, or heat, as a defense against a fungus that could destroy their seeds. But that doesn't explain why some chilies ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 20, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (5) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Pilbara mistletoe faces sub-regional extinction

A new study from the Department of Environment and Conservation suggests long-term modern fire regimes could pose a threat to WA mistletoes (Loranthaceae sp).

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 19, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Genome tree of life is largest yet for seed plants

Scientists at the American Museum of Natural History, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, The New York Botanical Garden, and New York University have created the largest genome-based tree of life for seed plants ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Dec 15, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Planting trees may save Costa Rican birds threatened by intensive farming

(PhysOrg.com) -- The colorful birds of Costa Rica play a crucial role in the country's rural landscapes, by distributing seeds, controlling pesky insects and pollinating plants.

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 15, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Spring's rising soil temperatures see hormones wake seeds from their winter slumber

Dormant seeds in the soil detect and respond to seasonal changes in soil temperature by changing their sensitivity to plant hormones, new research by the University of Warwick has found.

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 12, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Climate change driving tropical birds to higher elevations

Tropical birds are moving to higher elevations because of climate change, but they may not be moving fast enough, according to a new study by Duke University researchers.

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 08, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Seed

A seed ( /ˈsiːd/ (help·info)), referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant. The formation of the seed completes the process of reproduction in seed plants (started with the development of flowers and pollination), with the embryo developed from the zygote and the seed coat from the integuments of the ovule.

Seeds have been an important development in the reproduction and spread of flowering plants, relative to more primitive plants like mosses, ferns and liverworts, which do not have seeds and use other means to propagate themselves. This can be seen by the success of seed plants (both gymnosperms and angiosperms) in dominating biological niches on land, from forests to grasslands both in hot and cold climates.

The term seed also has a general meaning that predates the above — anything that can be sown i.e. "seed" potatoes, "seeds" of corn or sunflower "seeds". In the case of sunflower and corn "seeds", what is sown is the seed enclosed in a shell or hull, and the potato is a tuber.

For more information about Seed, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.