Category: Plants & People
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How Cactus Transformed A Poor Community
The cactus, previously eaten as a fruit or used for animal feed, is creating a minor economic miracle in the region thanks to new health and cosmetic products being extracted from the ubiquitous plant.
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What Would Darwin Do?
Treasure chests stuffed with tools, seeds, flower presses and plant guides are being distributed to every state primary school in the UK to kindle children's enthusiasm for science and botany.
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Biodiversity Pays Off
Diversity is valuable socially, economically and now environmentally. Research by Michigan State University scientists has found that growing more corn to produce ethanol creating less diverse landscapes — reduces the ability of beneficial insects to control pests, a loss valued at about $58 million per year in the four states studied.
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Secrets Of A Long, Sane Life
A daily tipple and a potter in the garden are the keys to a long and healthy life, Australian research has revealed.
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Redeeming Prisoners, Redeeming Forests
The inmates saw themselves as active and valued participants in an ongoing exploration of how to solve a critical environmental problem…They seemed to be keen to make a difference to society, and the project appeared to serve as a subtle-but-real form of redemption.
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A Walk In Nature Heals The Mind
When we compared the scores for the walks in different environments, we found that after the walk in the park children generally concentrated better than they did after a walk in the downtown area or the neighborhood area. The greenest space was best at improving attention after exposure.
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Shade Grown Coffee Reduces Global Warming
Shady farms have greater water availability than sunny farms, due in part to lower evaporation rates from the coffee plants and soils. More shade also reduced peak temperatures between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when southern Mexican coffee plants experience the greatest heat stress.
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If Bananas Were Spheres and Tomatoes Were Cylinders
What is the difference between apples and oranges? Why is a banana shaped like a banana? The question might seem esoteric, suitable only for researchers with ovate-shaped heads. But the answer, if it can be fully formed, promises profound and widespread applications.
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The Trees Sing To Us And We Sing To The Trees
The ultrasonic din of dying trees inspires a new kind of research to save forests from beetle attacks — and battle climate change.
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A Crop To Combat Climate Change
Salicornia is a better photosynthesizer than wheat and some other grains… Salicornia (like sugarcane) laps up carbon dioxide better, does so in saline water, and gives oil&