Agriculture
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May 24 | News
The scientific and technological literature is abuzz with nanotechnology
and its manufacturing and medical applications. But it is in an area
with a
less glitzy aura—plant sciences—where nanotechnology advancements are
contributing dramatically to agriculture. Researchers at Iowa
State University
have now demonstrated the ability to deliver proteins and DNA into plant
cells,
simultaneously.
May 17 | News
Plants
rely on photoreceptors to activate internal chemical processes like
germination and leaf growth. Theorizing that the light-absorbing
component of the photoreceptor may be replaced by a chemically similar
synthetic substance, scientist have for the first time shown that full
growth of plants is possible in the complete absence of light.
Apr 30 | News
Careful
handling and sampling techniques are required to assess the genetically
modified content of a crop. The most common technique is polymerase
chain reaction (PCR), but it involves complex extraction procedures and
rapid thermocycling. Researchers have found that bioluminescent
reporters, coupled with isolated amplification, provide sufficient
accuracy with far less hassle.
Apr 25 | News
A naturally occurring compound derived from wild tomato plants is also a fast-acting, nontoxic herbicide, according to researchers at North Carolina State University. Previously working with the compound—known as 2-undecanone—as a natural replacement for the chemical DEET in insect repellents, the researchers decided to explore whether it could be used as an insecticide on plants, when they noticed an unexpected side effect: It killed the plants.
Apr 23 | News
In
a study from Stanford University and Purdue University, researchers
have shown for the first time that climate change may force the U.S.
corn belt to move north in the next 10 years, escaping devastating heat
waves. In turn, this will bring substantial price swings to the corn
market, adversely affecting industries like food and biofuels.
Apr 22 | News
According
to a new study from researchers at the University of California,
Berkeley and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the virulence of
plant-borne diseases depends on not just the particular strain of a
pathogen, but on where the pathogen has been before landing in its host.
The study demonstrates that the pattern of gene regulation, not just
gene make-up, plays a big role in the aggressiveness of a microbe.
Apr 11 | News
Global
warming may initially make the grass greener, but not for long,
according to new research results. Ecologists subjected four grassland
ecosystems to simulated climate change during a decade-long study.
Plants grew more the first year in the global warming treatment, but
this effect progressively diminished over the next nine years and
finally disappeared.
Apr 9 | News
New research by University of California, Los Angeles biologists could lead to predictions of which plant species will escape extinction from climate change. Droughts are worsening around the world, which poses a great challenge to plants in gardens and forests. Scientists have debated for more than a century how to predict which species are most vulnerable.
Apr 4 | News
According
to recent first-of-its-kind research results, a dose of carbon
nanotubes can more than double the growth rate of plant cell cultures.
Previous work at the University of Arkansas showed that multi-walled
carbon nanotubes can penetrate the thick coatings of seeds. It turns out
they can also stimulate germination and growth in plant cell cultures.
Apr 2 | News
According
to recent from the University of California, Berkeley, nitrogen isotope
data was successfully used to identify the unmistakable fingerprint of
fertilizer use in archived air samples from Antarctica and Tasmania. The
results provide the smoking gun, say researchers, that implicates
fertilizer in a dramatic rise in atmospheric nitrous oxide in the last
50 years.
