Author: zooplantman
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Plant-derived Chemicals Protect Skin From Radiation
How three ubiquitous and well-studied natural products derived from plants can protect the skin against gamma radiation during radiotherapy.
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Play In The Dirt: Soil Bacteria Alleviates Depression
These studies help us understand how the body communicates with the brain and why a healthy immune system is important for maintaining mental health. They also leave us wondering if we shouldn’t all spend more time playing in the dirt,
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Human Impact On Seed Dispersal Affecting Evolution
It has become increasingly apparent that plant species, particularly those dependent upon seed dispersal, may suffer disproportionately from the impact of the modern world.
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Tropical Fish Spreading, Devouring Temperate Marine EcoSystems
Tropical fish invading temperate waters warmed as a result of climate change are overgrazing algae, posing a threat to biodiversity and some marine-based industries
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In The Future We Will Drive Trees
One day, we’ll make and fuel our cars with trees.
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Biochar Improves Soil’s Drought Tolerance
But most strikingly, biochar seemed to offer an additional protection for both bacterial and fungal communities, compared with the control soil.
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Metal-Munching Plants Are Our Friends
Over 1,000 species of plants are known to gobble up and store heavy metals, including a host of toxic elements such as nickel, cadmium, zinc, arsenic, and selenium. There are even some plants that store gold. Some of these plants store enough metals to make them toxic to animals like cattle, and a few of them are even mined for the metals they contain.
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The Trees (gasp) Are Killing Us
The purple areas on this map show places where satellites have detected formaldehyde. This chemical forms from isoprene, a volatile organic compound that trees can give off when temperatures are hot.
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Birds Design Fruit Color To Their Liking
Asian birds seem to favor red and black fruits, suggesting that fruit color evolution is partially influenced by bird preferences.
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Moose Spit Detoxifies Plants
Now it’s been discovered that moose can switch off a plant’s toxic defences at source. They do it using a mystery chemical in their saliva that interferes with the signalling processes inside the plant. In effect, moose can detoxify their food by licking it.