Celebrating Plants and People
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The Dark Side of Almond Use
Thousands of endangered king salmon in northern California’s Klamath River are threatened by low water levels because water is being diverted to almond farms.
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Are Mushrooms The Building Technology Of The Future?
But it is only when you examine one of those bricks close-up that you get a sense of what the future might hold. Using bioengineering, this structure has been made from mushrooms.
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Where Did Coconuts Originate?
The hypothesis supports the idea that the coconut palm originated, evolved and dispersed by floating in the coral atoll ecosystem, but as this ecosystem is widespread and constantly changing its form, a geographical location for a centre of origin for the coconut will probably never be found – but it can no longer be described as ‘unknown’.
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Is Australia a Hot Spot for Biological Deception?
We show that in 3 unrelated systems, deceptive species are more prevalent in Australia than in other world regions. We find no support that the diversity in deception is a reflection of overall species diversity. However, it is likely that the combination of climate and isolation favors the evolution of deception in Australia and that the academic environment favors studying these systems. Thus, we argue that Australia provides a “perfect storm” for deception.
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The Science of Turning Plants Into Booze
Human beings pretty much always find a way when it comes to getting hammered.
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Tomatoes Help Men “Down There”
Men who consumed more than 10 portions of tomatoes each week – such as fresh tomatoes, tomato juice and baked beans – saw an 18% reduction in prostate cancer risk.
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Invasive Grass Alters Balance Between Native Toads and Predatory Spiders
Ecosystems are so incredibly complex that it can be surprisingly difficult to foresee just how environmental changes, such as an invasion, will affect organisms living in affected areas, I think that one of the unique things about this study is that it not only documents the fact that this plant invasion reduces the survival of a native species, but also determines the mechanism through which that occurs.
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Antibiotics from mangroves?
Researchers at the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in Malaysia have conducted a study on the mangrove ecosystem to search for actinomycetes bacteria. The mangrove ecosystem is known as a highly productive habitat for isolating actinomycetes, which has the potential of producing biologically active secondary metabolites. Webcopy Services what is diabetes? people are diagnosed with diabetes […]
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Dead trees don’t drink water. Bark Beetles Also Damage Water Quality
In Colorado alone, the mountain pine beetle has caused the deaths of more than 3.4 million acres of pine trees. What effect do all these dead trees have on stream flow and water quality? Plenty, according to new research findings
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Himalayan Ecosystems Can Only Climb So High To Avoid Warming Climate
In India’s Western Himalayas, changes in altitude are so dramatic and steep that alluvial grasslands, subtropical forests, conifers and alpine meadows lie stacked almost on top of each other, producing a spectacular range of vegetation. Now, the myriad plants that inhabit these mountains are migrating upwards because of climate change — and some are in danger of being lost before anyone has even recorded their existence.