Botany in the News
PLANTS and PEOPLE changing the world. If you find an interesting article you'd like to share,
please forward it to us at bsa-manager@botany.org
October, 2007
Our View: Ohio needs to lock down Great Lakes
Dayton Daily News – 10/31/2007, 23:54 pm
Last week an 'anti-drought' festival, featuring a Native American rain dance, was hastily organized in northern Georgia. It drew 'few visitors and no rain,' according to a headline on the local newspaper's Web site.
Indian-American gets grant for stem cells study
The Economic Times – 10/31/2007, 17:59 pm
NEW YORK: An Indian-American scientist has received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the US to study plant stem cells. G Venugopala Reddy, an assistant professor of plant cell biology at the University of California in Riverside, will investigate, over four years, how plant stem cells maintain their identity and how they eventually get specialised into different cell types.
Canna Lily Sales Face A Chaotic Future
Article Karma – 10/31/2007, 16:52 pm
Many agricultural plants that are reproduced by vegetative division face a mysterious problem that results in a decline in the clone vigor, and most farmers and nurserymen claim that the plant crop has “run out.
DuPont to contribute $2.175 to support graduate research in plant breeding
AgProfessional – 10/31/2007, 16:17 pm
DES MOINES -- DuPont today announced it will contribute $2.175 million to support graduate student research and education in plant breeding through university fellowships and a competitive fellowship program.
Great Lakes: Combating cassava mosaic
ReliefWeb – 10/31/2007, 12:42 pm
Global plant genetics policy and research unite with emergency operations against lethal crop disease Bujumbura/Rome – Just as a system for the world wide exchange of plant genetic resources was made operational by the international community in Rome this week, farmers in Burundi kicked off a new season, planting cassava free of a deadly disease that brought hunger to thousands of people in the Great Lakes region.
Non-Native Wasps Inhibit Growth of Dangerous Reed
Daily Nexus – 10/31/2007, 12:32 pm
An invasive giant reed plaguing ecologically important areas in the United States may find itself buzzing off, thanks to the discovery of a wasp in the Santa Barbara area.
Plants: They're Smarter than You Think
Tree Hugger – 10/31/2007, 12:00 pm
Several things probably come to mind when you think about plants: green, life, oxygen, photosynthesis, trees - intelligence, more likely than not, is not one of them.
Africa: Multilateral System Boosts the Exchange of Plant Genetic Material
All Africa – 10/31/2007, 10:00 am
Rome A new multilateral system for the fair and equitable sharing of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture has become operational, FAO announced today.
International plant gene bank becomes operational
The Hindu – 10/31/2007, 05:17 am
Rome (PTI): An international plant gene bank called 'Multilateral System' set up for the fair and equitable sharing of plant genetic resources for food agriculture has become operational, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) announced on Wednesday.
International plant gene bank becomes operational
The Hindu Business Line – 10/31/2007, 09:29 am
ROME: An international plant gene bank called 'Multilateral System' set up for the fair and equitable sharing of plant genetic resources for food agriculture has become operational, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) announced on Wednesday.
Life Secrets Of The Orchid
Article Manual – 10/31/2007, 08:51 am
The grower of orchids is favored above other men. He belongs to a starry-eyed fraternity, to whom each small chore, accomplished in its turn for the better culture of his orchids, is a source of never-ending and absorbing delight.
Massive rise in GM farming still not enough, says Europe's biotech industry
Checkbiotech – 10/31/2007, 08:38 am
in Brussels, EuropaBio, the association of European biotechnology industries, called for a further increase in the cultivation of GM maize, more specifically Bt maize, as well as a speedier approval for other crops at European level.
Save Your World Saves 120,000 Acres of Rainforest in South America
Forbes.com – 10/31/2007, 05:19 am
Save Your World(TM) (http://www.saveyourworld.com), the first company in the United States to launch a personal care product line infused with organic yerba mate and organic aloe vera, has saved 120,000 acres of rainforest from logging and other destructive development for one year in Guyana, South America.
Could Hairy Roots Become Biofactories
SpaceDaily – 10/30/2007, 23:25 pm
At the outset, they infected a periwinkle plant with a bacterium carrying a gene for fluorescence. By transferring root tips into fresh liquid every four weeks, they maintained a stable root culture that had the characteristic fluorescent glow produced by the gene.
Could Hairy Roots Become Biofactories
Calibre Macro World – 10/31/2007, 00:57 am
AM Rice University bioengineers have reported an advance in tapping the immense potential of hairy roots The species of periwinkle that we're studying produces a wide variety of alkaloids -- including the anti-cancer drugs vincristine and vinblastine, Hairy roots are a type of tumor that forms on plants infected by the soil bacterium Agrobacterium rhizogenes.
Science vs. Myths on Southern California Fire and Chaparral
Center for Biological Diversity – 10/30/2007, 23:18 pm
To support accurate media coverage, the Center for Biological Diversity is providing the following basic scientific information relating to fire and chaparral vegetation management in southern California.
Effects of fires on plant, animal life worry experts
Los Angeles Daily News – 10/30/2007, 21:40 pm
The cough-inducing haze eventually will clear, but Southern California's recent wildfires could lead to longer-lasting environmental consequences - mudslides that send ash-ridden water to the ocean and the extinction of a few plants and wildlife.
GREEN: Re-Inventing Water
Builder News Magazine – 10/30/2007, 18:19 pm
Is it possible to turn your H2O woes into a cost benefit for you and the buyer?
Cleveland Schools to teach hands-on agri. programs
Bolivar Commercial – 10/30/2007, 16:27 pm
Members of the Cleveland School Board, during a special board meeting Monday, voted to adopt the Agriculture, Environment, Science and Technology Program at the Walter C. Robinson Achievement Center.
DuPont and Evogene Collaborate to Increase Drought Tolerance in Corn and Soybeans
FinanzNachrichten – 10/30/2007, 09:06 am
DES MOINES, Iowa and REHOVOT, Israel, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DuPont (Nachrichten/Aktienkurs) and Evogene Ltd. today announced a research collaboration to improve drought stress tolerance primarily in corn and soybeans.
Dow AgroSciences gears up to fight for share in biotech food market
TMCnet – 10/30/2007, 13:43 pm
Inside bright greenhouses at Dow AgroSciences' sprawling Northwestside complex, corn plants grow tall and lush, with no signs of rootworms, corn borers or other pests that munch away at crops and farmers' profits.
Forests increase in value as carbon sinks
WCAX TV3 – 10/30/2007, 11:25 am
Vermont forest land is taking on a new and valuable role in an age of global warming - as an environment that soaks up some of the excess carbon in the atmosphere.
Plants, Biodiversity, and Climate Change
RedOrbit – 10/30/2007, 09:31 am
We depend on them for food, and we surround ourselves with their beauty, but as a society, we generally don't want to be bothered with how photosynthesis works, with how chemical compounds produced by plants serve as important vitamins or antiviral and cancer agents, or, worst of all, with those awful multisyllabic Latin names! Some recent books offer a fresh view: the dual themes of plant evolution and the fundamental role plants have played in shaping the planet.
UC Berkeley Professors Well-Represented Among Science Academy Fellows
Daily Californian – 10/30/2007, 08:34 am
Ten professors from UC Berkeley, among 53 researchers from across the UC system, were named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Friday in honor of their academic and research achievements.
Botanist's gift establishes endowed chair
UC Santa Cruz – 10/30/2007, 08:27 am
The University of California, Santa Cruz, has appointed Ingrid Parker, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, to the newly established Jean H. Langenheim Endowed Chair in Plant Ecology and Evolution.
'Mighty Giants: An American Chestnut Anthology' The Story of a Fight to Save an American Symbol
PR Newswire – 10/30/2007, 06:54 am
Former President Jimmy Carter, environmentalist Bill McKibben among contributors BENNINGTON, Vt., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Chestnut Foundation, in partnership with publisher Images from the Past, has released "Mighty Giants: An American Chestnut Anthology.
Partnership meets an environmental need
Jacksonville Daily News – 10/30/2007, 07:02 am
SWANSBORO - Home to a coastal evergreen forest and a nesting place for area wildlife, the 23-acre Jones Island in the White Oak River is one of Onslow County's treasures and has been a landmark for centuries.
Global warming forces reexamination of our values
Bangor Daily News – 10/30/2007, 05:48 am
Making the transition from a society with high rates of energy use to one where energy supplies can be sustained will not be simple. But the transition will be easier if we rethink what is truly important in our lives.
Top Doc Examining Legality Of Jimson Weed
Media Awareness Project – 10/30/2007, 02:37 am
After more than a dozen teens ended up at the hospital's emergency room from a jimson weed overdose, the medical officer of health is looking into whether the toxic plant can be made illegal.
Funding for research into saving endangered orchid
University Of Southern Queensland – 10/30/2007, 01:44 am
Senior lecturers at USQ Dr John Dearnaley (plant biology) and Dr Andrew Le Brocque (ecology and sustainability) have received funding to save an endangered orchid native to South East Queensland.
Smarty Plants: Inside the World's Only Plant-Intelligence Lab
Wired News – 10/30/2007, 00:11 am
SESTO FIORENTINO, Italy -- Professor Stefano Mancuso knows it isn't easy being green: He runs the world's only laboratory dedicated to plant intelligence.
Ownership, not risk, is the real problem with GMOs
East African Standard – 10/29/2007, 17:54 pm
The advent of Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug's Green Revolution was initially hailed as the way forward away from air, water, soil and food pollution. His methods for increasing food production seemed to promise an end to world hunger.
EU decision could raise cost of food
Irish Examiner – 10/29/2007, 20:21 pm
A DECISION by the European Parliament on the regulation of plant protection products has been criticised by the Agricultural Science Association.
FAO says international plant gene pool becomes operational
Xinhua News Agency – 10/29/2007, 17:25 pm
Over the past seven months, the system has accelerated the exchange of genetic
material, with more than 90,000 transfers of plant genetic material within the
system.
Ownership, not risk, is the real problem with GMOs
East African Standard – 10/29/2007, 17:54 pm
The advent of Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug's Green Revolution was initially
hailed as the way forward away from air, water, soil and food pollution. His methods
for increasing food production seemed to promise an end to world hunger.
The Race For Biofuels Driving Alternative Sources Of Biomass
Oil and Gas Online – 10/29/2007, 16:13 pm
When will biofuels be at all local fuel pumps and from where will they come? Researchers have been studying fuels from biomass for years. Now, with growing dependency on foreign oils and an energy-conscious society emerging, biofuels are fast becoming part of a fuel revolution that could reach pumps all across America.
Fantastic ant antics
Country News – 10/29/2007, 11:12 am
Gardeners are not always the naturalists they should be but gardening, and farming, do provide an ideal background from which to approach an understanding of plant, animal and insect life.
New breed of seed
Checkbiotech – 10/29/2007, 10:59 am
Demand from farmers is brisk. To keep up, Dow is growing and harvesting corn plants as fast as it can, even expanding into winter production in Hawaii, Argentina and Chile.
Bacteria use plant defense for genetic modification
Checkbiotech – 10/29/2007, 10:59 am
The genetic manipulation of plants is both, a subject of great controversy in Europe and a tactic already practiced by certain bacteria. The soil bacterium known as crown-gall bacterium (Agrobacterium) manipulates the genetic make-up of plants by inserting its own DNA into the nuclei and, consequently, into the genetic material of the plant cells.
Global warming forces re-examination of our values
Bangor Daily News – 10/29/2007, 07:27 am
As global warming continues and as oil prices rise, the need for alternatives to fossil fuels is becoming urgent. However, as professor Richard Hill recently told a group of Bangor business leaders, wind, solar and biofuels will not be sufficient to replace our use of fossil fuels.
Botswana: Museums Should Not Be Allowed to Die
All Africa – 10/29/2007, 06:40 am
The case has been made about the significance of museums as carriers of culture
in the life of a community or even a nation. Museums throughout the world carry
artefacts and a host of utensils that have been used by the community over time.
'An excellent harvest'
Marion Chronicle Tribune – 10/29/2007, 05:54 am
Farmers delivering truckloads of corn to the Central Indiana Ethanol plant have been able to complete their sales in less than 15 minutes on average.That's just one of the many things that CIE General Manager Mitch Miller is proud of with the organization's first fall harvest.
EARTH CAN'T HANDLE ZOOMING POPULATION GROWTH
Home News Tribune – 10/29/2007, 04:29 am
Overpopulation is an increasing problem. If Americans don't take action now, we are not going to be able to ever stop it. Families should be restricted in the number of children they may have, just like in China, where each family is only allowed to have one child.
Invasive species meet their match
The Oregonian – 10/29/2007, 03:02 am
Dave Kruse has a project manager's mind and heart -- and that's lucky
for us. Kruse got his start in aerospace engineering, working for a big defense
contractor in Texas.
Israeli Occupation Threatens Palestinian Rare Plants
Palestine Media Center – 10/29/2007, 00:13 am
Occupied Jerusalem: The Israeli-Palestinian struggle did not just take control
over the land and the people but extended to include the plants the Palestinian
mountains are famous for.
Proposed GM Cotton Trial
Get Farming – 10/29/2007, 00:12 am
CSIRO Plant Industry has submitted an application to the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) to request approval to plant a field trial of genetically modified cotton to test its tolerance to waterlogging.
The real GM food scandal
Truth About Trade – 10/25/2007, 02:06 am
The real GM food scandal Seven years ago, Time magazine featured the Swiss biologist Ingo Potrykus on its cover. As the principal creator of genetically modified rice-or 'golden rice'-he was hailed as potentially one of mankind's great benefactors.
Oregon's Collier Glacier is shrinking...
Oregon News-Review – 10/24/2007, 23:35 pm
BEND, Ore. (AP) Between the North Sister and Middle Sister in Oregons Cascade Range, Collier Glacier has advanced and receded for hundreds of thousands of years.
Fires
Turn Up Heat On a Key Advocate Of California Shrubs
Wall Street Journal Template – 10/24/2007, 23:00 pm
As wildfires raged in Southern California this week, Richard Halsey's
embrace of the local shrubland turned prickly. The founding director
of the California Chaparral Institute, Mr. Halsey has spent four
years defending the existence of chaparral, the term given to the
wide varieties of shrubby plants, trees and bushes that dot the
region's hilly landscape.
Schools plant gardens to sprout healthy eaters
Atlanta Journal And Constitution – 10/24/2007, 20:42 pm
ajc.com > Living > Home & Garden The Atlanta Journal-Constitution On the kind of sunny, clear fall afternoon that torments children cooped up in classrooms, a group of fifth-graders is living every kid's dream.
ECU biologist's findings gain recognition
East Carolinian – 10/24/2007, 20:30 pm
It might surprise you, but the red algae used in your favorite sushi snacks might have more in common with ordinary green plants than once believed.John Stiller, a biologist and professor here at ECU who specializes in the study of algae, is hopeful that in the coming months more information will become available for analysis and give way to further discoveries.
New high-yielding pecan is right for many regions
AgProfessional – 10/24/2007, 16:53 pm
A new pecan called 'Lakota' is now available to nurserymen, thanks to scientists in the Agricultural Research Service's Crop Germplasm Research Unit at College Station, Texas, and a collaborator at Kansas State University.
Thailand seen losing out if it rushes to ratify genetic pact
Bangkok Post – 10/24/2007, 15:47 pm
PIYAPORN WONGRUANG Thailand will lose out rather than gain if it rushes to ratify the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR), according to a research study sponsored by the Thailand Research Fund.
Alga reveals rich trove of data about common ancestry of plants and animals
Stanford Report – 10/24/2007, 13:35 pm
The research shows that this alga has maintained many genes that were lost during
the evolution of land plants. It also has others that are associated with functions
in humans and numerous genes of unknown function that are associated with critical
metabolic processes.
Cornell researchers identify natural herbicide that controls weeds around some common lawn grasses
Bionity.com – 10/24/2007, 13:28 pm
Certain varieties of common fescue lawn grass come equipped with their own natural
broad-spectrum herbicide that inhibits the growth of weeds and other plants around
them.
EU Approves Herculex(R) RW Corn for Food, Feed, Import and Processing
PR Newswire – 10/24/2007, 07:22 am
The European Union Commission today announced that it has approved two biotech
corn products for food, feed, import and processing jointly developed by DuPont
and Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company.
Monsanto To Develop GM Papaya; Partners With University in India
Agri Marketing – 10/24/2007, 11:43 am
The European Commission today announced it has granted full food, feed, processing
and import approval of grain corn and derived products containing the HERCULEX
RW Rootworm Protection trait, as well as the stack of HERCULEX I Insect Protection
and Roundup Ready Corn 2 (RR2), into the European Union (EU).
Out on a limb
Montgomery Newspapers – 10/24/2007, 09:29 am
By taking photographs of the township's largest and oldest trees from a bird's eye view in a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter, the Shade Tree Commission illustrated its dedication to documenting, protecting and educating residents about trees.
DOWN TO EARTH: The right to food now and in future
Barbados Daily Nation – 10/24/2007, 07:47 am
Most people of my grandparents' generation had an intuitive sense of agricultural basics: when various fruits and vegetables come into season, which ones keep through the winter and how to preserve the others.
Pioneering OSU botanist Harold Evans dies at 86
The Oregonian – 10/24/2007, 06:34 am
Harold J. Evans, an Oregon plant physiologist renowned for his pioneering work in nitrogen fixation, died Saturday in Lake Oswego. He was 86. In 1972, Evans became the first OSU researcher elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences.
Energize with 20-foot sorghum
Delta Farm Press – 10/24/2007, 04:28 am
Are you ready for 20-foot milo? According to the Texas A&M University, the
production of soaring sorghum is part of a new multi-year joint research and commercialization
agreement between TAMU and the energy crop company Ceres, Inc.
Artificial Chromosome Poised to Pump Up GM Crops with Extra Genes
Scientific American – 10/23/2007, 21:32 pm
A new method for creating artificial plant chromosomes may pave the way for engineering transgenic crops faster, along with more bells and whistles such as better drought resistance, easier refinement into biofuels or even the ability to manufacture human medicines.
Fighting invasives part of bigger struggle
Delaware Online – 10/21/2007, 08:27 am
'They've invaded Delaware, they just keep growing, and we're not taking it anymore' is the theme for the Delaware Invasive Species Council's annual meeting Friday at the Grass Dale Center, near Delaware City.
Israeli initiative - Plant a tree for every book
Israel 21c – 10/21/2007, 07:24 am
Hundreds of thousands of new books are published every year and, despite attempts to take the book into the digital age, readers still want to turn real pages.
Oceans' hidden depths
Southern Daily Echo – 10/21/2007, 06:00 am
IT covers 70 per cent of the Earth's surface and could hold the cure for some of our most terrible diseases from cancer to AIDS and MRSA. But we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about our oceans.
Climate change blamed for fading foliage
AP via Juneau Empire – 10/21/2007, 02:32 am
Every fall, Marilyn Krom tries to make a trip to Vermont to see its famously beautiful fall foliage. This year, she noticed something different about the autumn leaves.
Can
this chestnut be saved? Foundation says yes
Burlington Press – 10/21/2007, 04:17 am
COLCHESTER -- Like an old-time heroine lashed to the railroad tracks, the American chestnut may be snatched from certain doom by a last-minute savior. The American Chestnut Foundation brings its annual meeting to Burlington on Friday amid high hopes that its 20-year breeding program has produced a tree resistant to the fatal chestnut blight.
Prof.
Daphne Preuss manipulates chromosomes to improve crop output
University of Chicago – 10/20/2007, 07:29 am
It's been a brave new world for genetic crops for some time now but Chicago-based researchers say they have developed a method to take crop manipulation to a higher level: the chromosome.
Bacteria
Use Plant Defence For Genetic Modification
Medical News Today – 10/20/2007, 05:47 am
Bacteria that cause tumours in plants modify plant genomes by skilfully exploiting the plants' first line of defence. Utilising the plant's own proteins, bacterial genes infiltrate first the nucleus then the plant genome, where they reprogramme the plant's metabolism to suit their own needs.
Africa Cries in the Midst of Plenty - Bekoe
AllAfrica.com – 10/20/2007, 03:28 am
Professor Daniel Adzei Bekoe, Chairman of the Council of State on Tuesday expressed regret that though Africa had enough land and human resources, adequate food supply continue to be the worst of the problems hindering socio-economic development.
Lake
faces invasion of water snatchers
Austin American Statesman – 10/20/2007, 03:00 am
When the plant that some describe as pure evil was spotted on the Louisiana end of Caddo Lake about a year and a half ago, residents of this Texas town went into search-and-destroy mode.
Biofuels - Great Green Hope or Swindle
Inter Press Service – 10/20/2007, 02:28 am
A raft of new studies reveal European and American multibillion dollar support for biofuels is unsustainable, environmentally destructive and much more about subsidising agri-business corporations than combating global warming.
Ladybugs blanket SouthCoast
South Coast Today – 10/20/2007, 01:57 am
SouthCoast residents were inundated with Asian ladybird beetles this week as the black-spotted, orange insects began seeking shelter from impending cold weather.
St. Louis' biotech incubators are seeking more lab space
St Louis Business Journal – 10/19/2007, 23:34 pm
To outsiders, St. Louis appears to have a leg up on biotech competitors with its pair of incubators: The Nidus Center on Monsanto Co.'s campus in Creve Coeur and the Center for Emerging Technologies (CET) on Forest Park Boulevard in Midtown.
Kelp is at hand for fishermen
Gold Coast Bulletin – 10/19/2007, 12:49 pm
When water temperatures change, species of fish come and go. Pelagics or surface-feeding fish such as mackerel, marlin, wahoo and tuna tend to move with the warmer currents swirling down the East Coast.
Water
scarcity challenge for agriculture, says Syngenta's Cox
Agriculture Online – 10/19/2007, 10:53 am
If you're in the Midwest, drought is probably the furthest thing from your mind this week, as many areas are enduring a weeklong deluge. However, drought-tolerant crops become more appealing when you flash back to last July, when 100-plus degree droughty days enveloped much of the Midwest.
Sowing seeds for future
The Courier-Mail – 10/19/2007, 10:00 am
AFTER six months of following the harvest trail, Peta Deacon landed herself a traineeship at the Northey Street City Farm at Windsor.
About Botanical Gardens
Article Dashboard – 10/19/2007, 09:21 am
A botanical garden is a place in which plants are grown and displayed primarily for scientific and educational purposes. A botanical garden consists chiefly of a collection of living plants, grown out-of-doors or under glass in greenhouses and conservatories.
Genetically Engineered Plants Deliver Significant Environmental And Economic Benefits
Article Dashboard – 10/19/2007, 09:20 am
For centuries, farmers and plant breeders selectively bred plants that were the largest, strongest and least susceptible to disease. They did not know it, but they were practicing a rudimentary form of genetic engineering the removal, modification or addition of genes to a living organism.
Trojan Horse Strategy in Agrobacterium Transformation: Abusing MAPK Defense Signaling
Science Magazine – 10/18/2007, 16:42 pm
Nuclear import of transfer DNA (T-DNA) is a central event in Agrobacterium transformation of plant cells and is thought to occur by the hijacking of certain host cell proteins.
BOTANICALS: Canna lily
Fresno Bee – 10/18/2007, 14:55 pm
Cannas make a bold statement. Not only do the flowers brighten beds, the tiger-striped leaves are pretty terrific to behold. General: Although the canna lily can tolerate heat if sufficient humidity and moisture are present, they do not withstand drought, hot and dry winds or severe cold.
Killer reed's 'lethal weapon' discovered
AGBIOS – 10/18/2007, 13:53 pm
UD researcher calls toxic strain of phragmites 'a horticultural disaster'. The "hit man" of Delaware's marshland, Phragmites australis, works deep within the root zone to silently eradicate any and all competition.
DuPont Named Among Top Biotechnology Employers by Science Magazine
PR Newswire – 10/18/2007, 12:38 pm
DuPont Named Among Top Biotechnology Employers by Science Magazine
Brown Sea Vegetation - Not as Bad as You Might Think
Article Dashboard.com – 10/18/2007, 11:39 am
Out of the three sea plant categories, the red sea plants, the green sea plants, and the brown sea plants, brown sea plants are the most commonly known around the world.
Two W. Michigan women finally receive their due
Grand Rapids Press – 10/18/2007, 11:30 am
Emma Jane Cole and Gertrude Buck stretched the boundaries of entrenched sexism. Cole (1845-1910) dedicated her life to cataloguing the world's flora in an era when a single woman rarely trekked on her own.
If corn is biofuels king, tropical maize may be emperor
EurekAlert! – 10/15/2007, 18:18 pm
When University of Illinois crop scientist Fred Below began growing tropical maize, the form of corn grown in the tropics, he was looking for novel genes for the utilization of nitrogen fertilizer and was hoping to discover information that could be useful to American corn producers.
New tensions accompany promise of alternative fuels
The Des Moines Register – 10/18/2007, 10:14 am
First came the boom. Now, the backlash. Biofuels have gotten a bad name around the globe, despite their ability to reduce oil use. Whether the blame is fair or not, a negative image could limit the potential to create more environmentally beneficial fuels, experts say.
EU to help China clean up Yellow, Yangtze rivers
Malaysia Sun – 10/17/2007, 08:44 am
The European Union (EU) has launched a 175 million euro ($248 million) joint campaign with China to clean up the country's two largest rivers, the China Daily reported Wednesday.
Engineered tree offers greener future
The Washington Daily – 10/18/2007, 03:08 am
The future is looking cleaner and greener thanks to the efforts of a group of UW scientists. In her forestry lab, Sharon Doty shows off the toxin absorbing trees her team has been working on.
Oceans act as global warming 'safety valve'
Vancouver Sun – 10/18/2007, 05:31 am
A new study by researchers at the University of B.C. has found that today's oceans are less effective at storing carbon dioxide than they were during the last ice age, raising fears that if temperatures continue to rise, global warming could accelerate much faster than previously thought.
Solar Chandelier Feeds LED and Pollutant-Killing Plants
Popular Mechanics – 10/18/2007, 05:11 am
Bet you didn’t think there could be a downside to going green. Well, it turns out that better-insulated buildings can trap the emissions from run-of-the-mill photocopiers, hair spray and computers—causing harmful pollutants such as formaldehyde and benzene to creep into your eco-friendly indoor air. Enter the Green Light.
New plant-eating invasive beetle discovered in Indiana
Chesterton Tribune – 10/18/2007, 02:25 am
An invasive beetle that's native to Japan has been discovered in Indiana for the first time as the plant-munching insect edges further into the Midwest.
Pond scum provides answers
Biz Community – 10/18/2007, 00:37 am
Culminating a three-year research project, 115 scientists from around the world report in the Oct. 12 issue of the journal Science a 'gold mine' of data on a tiny green alga called Chlamydomonas, with implications for human diseases.
Plant viruses from past provide ecological clues
MSU Today – 10/17/2007, 23:24 pm
Taking the medical history of a grassland may seem a bit esoteric - after all, how sick can grass be? However, scientists have discovered plant viruses from as early as 1917 containing information crucial not only for plant scientists, but for those in ecology, human health and bioterrorism.
Chinese corporation successfully harvests rice modified for the diabetes market
Truth About Trade – 10/17/2007, 23:24 pm
The Province of Heilongjiang's China Yingxia International, Inc., a health products company, on Friday announced that it had achieved a successful harvesting of its W3660 breed of rice targeting the diabetes market.
4 GMO crops to enter RP market in 2010
Calibre Macro World – 10/17/2007, 22:58 pm
KORONADAL CITY - At least four genetically modified crops will be on the Filipino food table by 2010, a genetics expert said on Monday. Emerlito Borromeo, consultant of the international Third World Network, said that scientists at the University of the Philippines-Los Banos (UPLB) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) are set to unleash in the commercial market bio-engineered crops three years from now.
Enjoying the beauty of nature
Falcon – 10/17/2007, 21:37 pm
The leaves of the sensitive mimosa slowly began to fold down as professor of biology Derek Wood brushed his fingers over the plant. 'It's had kind of a bad weekend,' the new curator of the SPU greenhouse said referring to the number of students who have touched the mimosa in the past few days for a class lab in order to witness its self-defense mechanism.
Agriculture to be earmarked 2.7 percent of GDP in 2008
Top Business ROMANIA (ENG) – 10/17/2007, 21:00 pm
The general aggregate budget allotted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development next year will be of 2.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), accounting for a 13-percent rise as against the 2008 budget, PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu announced on October 10.
Fossilized
Cashew Nuts Reveal Europe Was Important Route Between Africa And
South America
Science Daily – 10/17/2007, 20:45 pm
Cashew nut fossils have been identified in 47-million year old lake sediment in Germany, revealing that the cashew genus Anacardium was once distributed in Europe, remote from its modern 'native' distribution in Central and South America.
Pioneer offers 23 new soybean varieties for 2008
AgProfessional – 10/17/2007, 20:16 pm
DES MOINES -- Pioneer Hi-Bred is adding 23 new soybean varieties to its lineup for 2008. These new Pioneer(R) brand soybean varieties offer growers protection against yield-robbing pests such as soybean cyst nematode (SCN), sudden death syndrome (SDS), Phytophthora root rot and brown stem rot (BSR).
Passing on lessons learned
Huntington Beach Independent – 10/17/2007, 19:53 pm
When the Shipley Nature Center opened in 1974, it was dedicated to providing an educational preserve of Southern Californias unique habitats. Years of neglect, however, saw its native plants slowly being pushed out by invasive species that spread through the center unchecked.
Professor Jack Hawkes
The Independent - News – 10/17/2007, 19:40 pm
Botanist who played an important role in the conservation of plant genetic resources.
1,350 acres of grassland added to Nature Conservancy's stable
SignOn San Diego – 10/17/2007, 19:28 pm
RAMONA Only the sound of airplanes and helicopters taking off from the nearby Ramona airport disturb the idyllic scene. For some, the grasslands are nothing but meadows or fields surrounded by hills.
Greenpeace Activists Protest Against the Import of Genetically Modified Rice
Planet Ark – 10/17/2007, 19:12 pm
Greenpeace activists plant sticks representing genetically modified rice during a protest against the import of genetically modified rice in front of Independence Angel Monument in Mexico City.
Wildlife suffers from drought: Wildfires now a significant threat to area forests
Times Community – 10/17/2007, 18:44 pm
It doesn't take a scientist to conclude that this year's drought has had some serious consequences on Culpeper's naturally rural environment. Streams, fields, and crops have whithered and dried with the summer sun, turning a once vibrant landscape into a faded shade of brown.
E. Dan Cappel, 78, teacher, botanist musician, founder of lacrosse in Wilton
Hersam Acorn – 10/17/2007, 18:32 pm
Dr. Cappel, a teacher for 35 years in Wilton, began teaching junior and senior high science classes here in 1957. In June 1969 he became the first teacher at Wilton High ever to earn his Ph.
Galapagos
invasive plant baseline created
Earthtimes.org – 10/17/2007, 18:28 pm
Science Technology News | Charles Darwin Foundation botanists have created a baseline of all introduced plants growing in Puerto Villamil -- the third largest town in the Galapagos.
Oceans
not storing as much CO2, researchers warn
Global T.V. – 10/17/2007, 18:28 pm
A new study by researchers at the University of B.C. has found that todays oceans are less effective at storing carbon dioxide than they were during the last ice age, raising fears that if temperatures continue to rise, global warming could accelerate much faster than previously thought.
Borlaug welcomed home to Cresco
QC Times – 10/17/2007, 14:44 pm
But here, back at his boyhood home, he is simply Norm. Now 93, Borlaug is still the favored son of this northern Iowa community. And his homecoming, to a property circled by tall pine trees, is accorded much fanfare.
You can grow edible ornamental plants
Atlanta Journal-Constitution – 10/17/2007, 16:48 pm
You don't have to spend much time around me to know that I love food. I like to talk about it, prepare it and eat it. Although I grow vegetables and herbs for cooking I don't grow any fruit trees.
Scientists dramatically improve poplar's capacity to clean up polluted sites - potential to couple phytoremediation to bioenergy
Biopact – 10/17/2007, 16:21 pm
Scientists led by the University of Washington's Sharon Doty report that they have succeeded in genetically engineering poplar plants with a dramatically improved capacity to clean up contaminated sites.
DuPont Recognized for Best Agricultural R&D Pipeline and Products
PR Newswire – 10/17/2007, 10:35 am
DuPont (NYSE: DD) has received three prestigious Agrow Awards in recognition of its innovative and industry-leading agricultural product pipeline and technologies.
DuPont Recognized for Best Agricultural R&D Pipeline and Products
FinanzNachrichten.de – 10/17/2007, 09:57 am
'We are thrilled with the recognition we've received from the Agrow Awards and our peers in the industry,' said Erik Fyrwald, group vice president -- DuPont Agriculture&Nutrition.
Inmates cultivate better lives through gardening
Statesman Journal – 10/17/2007, 14:39 pm
Inmates throughout Marion and Polk counties are doing more than time. They're learning a skill, spending time outdoors, and in a few cases -- growing food for the needy.
Augusta buys 100 acres of bog land
Kennebec Journal – 10/17/2007, 12:43 pm
The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to buy 100 acres of useless swamp, officials noted. 'It's so much more than a swamp,' said Leif Dahlin, director of community services for the city. 'It's a unique bog with an incredible amount of plant life.
Frost-wary farmers draw on Antarctic genes
The Age - Business – 10/17/2007, 12:12 pm
A GROUP of farmers is seeking to develop frost-resistant, genetically modified wheat using a gene from Antarctica. The Molecular Plant Breeding Co-operative Research Centre will conduct the research for the farmers, who have formed a company, Green Blueprint International.
RESPECTED PLANT SCIENTIST RECOGNIZED FOR DISTINGUISHED CAREER
University of Manitoba – 10/17/2007, 08:54 am
This award recognizes research accomplishments of senior faculty according to the quality of their research, the impact of the research nationally and internationally, and the distinction brought to the university by the research.
Chinese botanists to visit a plant collection unique to the UK
University Of Bristol – 10/17/2007, 08:18 am
Chinese botanists will visit Bristol to see the only plant collection of its kind in the UK. The Angiosperm Phylogeny display, at the 's Botanic Garden, has been designed to reflect modern theories on the evolutionary relationships and classification of the many families of flowering plants as determined from the DNA sequences of their genes.
Oriental Beetle Discovered in Indiana
Bay News 9 – 10/17/2007, 04:45 am
An invasive beetle that's native to Japan has been discovered in Indiana for the first time as the plant-munching insect edges further into the Midwest.
GMO
Giant Monsanto Named a Top Employer by Science Magazine
Associated Content – 10/17/2007, 06:28 am
According to the recent 2007 Top Biotech and Pharma Employers survey conducted by Science magazine, Monsanto Company has been ranked as one of the top 10 employers in the biotechnology industry, making it the only agricultural company on the list.
Against The Grain: 'GM Crops Do Not Harm Health'
Truth About Trade – 10/17/2007, 05:14 am
Chris Leaver is Sibthorpian Professor of Plant Science at Oxford University. He argues that genetically modified food is safe and necessary.The big challenge in the next 50 years is to doube crop production on the same area of land in the face of climate change and decreased water supplies.
Genetically Engineered Poplar Plants Disarm Toxic Pollutants 100 Times Better Than Controls
Science Daily – 10/17/2007, 03:34 am
Scientists since the early '90s have seen the potential for cleaning up contaminated sites by growing plants able to take up nasty groundwater pollutants through their roots.
Costa Rica: A Landmark Deal for Lasting Conservation
Newsvine – 10/16/2007, 22:45 pm
Debt-for-nature swaps are an innovative mechanism to sustain long-term conservation efforts in countries with rich tropical forests. Countries eligible for a debt swap use their debt payments to finance tropical forest conservation under the guidelines of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1988.
Africa: Securing the World?s Right to Food
All Africa – 10/16/2007, 18:26 pm
Agricultural technologies play an essential role in making the right to food a reality for more people by increasing productivity to meet the world’s growing food and feed demands, as well as its fibre and fuel needs.
Green Alga Genome Project Catalogs Carbon Capture Machinery
Bioresearch Online – 10/16/2007, 14:22 pm
Reveals identity as ancient cousin of land plants and animals Walnut Creek - The genome analysis of a tiny green alga has uncovered hundreds of genes that are uniquely associated with carbon dioxide capture and generation of biomass.
Green Alga Genome Project Catalogs Carbon Capture Machinery
NASA – 10/16/2007, 11:21 am
The genome analysis of a tiny green alga has uncovered hundreds of genes that are uniquely associated with carbon dioxide capture and generation of biomass.
Springer and The New York Botanical Garden Press join forces to publish botanical journals
Springer Science + Business Media – 10/16/2007, 13:20 pm
Three key journals to enhance Springer’s plant science publishing program
Tropical maize could become biofuel 'super' crop in the US, similar to sugarcane
Biopact – 10/16/2007, 16:26 pm
Plant geneticists and crop scientists from the University of Illinois who are studying tropical maize have found that when the crop is grown in the US, it does not produce grain, but stores far more sugar in its stalks instead.
Switchgrass: Bridging bioenergy and conservation
Checkbiotech – 10/16/2007, 15:12 pm
An important part of the answer to the country's energy woes could be blowing in the prairie wind, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant geneticist Michael Casler.
Science Student to Pass on Their Skills
RedOrbit – 10/16/2007, 12:46 pm
SCIENCE undergraduates are to work alongside teachers to help inspire students and pupils. The University of St Andrews is pioneering the scheme, which aims to give school pupils role models, while equipping university students with skills in communicating about their subject.
'Patent herbal medicines': Manto
SouthAfrica.info – 10/16/2007, 09:02 am
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has urged traditional medical practitioners to use intellectual property rights to protect traditional medicines and indigenous knowledge, while also encouraging an increase in research and development of such medicines.
Government body questions method to detect pests
Business Standard – 10/16/2007, 12:17 pm
With US apples already under scanner for possible pest infections, a key government body responsible for checking the quality of food imports today said that the quarantine mechanism here was too weak to detect infected products.
'History on a plate' with pounds 1bn potato
Calibre Macro World – 10/16/2007, 10:40 am
A Nentirely new potato is set to take the world by storm after British food scientists retraced the footsteps of Sir Walter Raleigh. It looks, cooks and tastes like no other potato ever seen on the shelves - because it's the first new spud species to be introduced to Britain for more than 400 years.
Barbara Morgan Takes Teaching Into Space
Red Orbit – 10/16/2007, 10:08 am
NASA will send educators to space so that they can use their skills and experiences as classroom teachers to connect space exploration to the classroom.
New Watermelon Viral Treatment Found
Apples for Health – 10/16/2007, 09:36 am
U.S. scientists have found a new method of fighting a virus that has beleaguered growers of popular cucurbit crops, such as cucumbers and watermelons. Many varieties of the widely grown bottlegourd (Lagenaria siceraria) appear to have resistance to Zucchini yellow mosaic virus, or ZYMV, a scourge of commercial cucurbits that includes pumpkins, squashes and other kinds of melons.
Ceres and Texas A&M developing sorghum for biofuels
SaveThePlanet.co.nz – 10/16/2007, 09:25 am
The first breeding lines of sorghum could produce more than 2,000 gallons of ethanol per acre. Ceres and Texas Aamp;M developing sorghum for biofuels THOUSAND OAKS, California Energy crop company, Ceres Inc.
GM plants do the dirty work
Scenta – 10/16/2007, 09:17 am
GM plants do the dirty work Source: scenta US and UK scientists have developed genetically modified plants to mop up pollutants. Researchers at the University of York devised genetically modified (GM) plants that can clean carcinogenic residues from military explosives.
To these guys, its money growing in the woods
Tacoma News Tribune – 10/16/2007, 09:09 am
MASON COUNTY Deputy Sheriff Ted Drogmund was patrolling remote logging roads in the damp foothills of the Olympic National Forest in June when he came upon two men and a pit bull in a pickup truck.
Spoiled Produce Still Nutritious?
WebMD – 10/15/2007, 15:30 pm
Oct. 12, 2007 -- Fruits and vegetables that are a bit past their prime may still be packed with antioxidants. That news appears in next week's edition of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Mystery cure for prostate cancer?
The Miami Herald – 10/16/2007, 03:04 am
At first, it didn't sound like the way a modern cancer treatment would be created. As the story went, it was an elixir extracted from the root of a mysterious plant found deep in the Amazon forest in Ecuador, used there for decades against everything from lupus to AIDS.
Mystery cure for prostate cancer?
Miami Herald – 10/16/2007, 03:34 am
At first, it didn't sound like the way a modern cancer treatment would be created. As the story went, it was an elixir extracted from the root of a mysterious plant found deep in the Amazon forest in Ecuador, used there for decades against everything from lupus to AIDS.
Plants plus sunlight = food and fuel
Government of Western Australia – 10/16/2007, 02:28 am
A new research institute being funded by the Western Australian Government is conducting world-leading research to discover the answer to questions such as whether plants can solve the world’s energy crisis or world hunger.
Colleges try 'innovative' agriculture programs
Digital Collegian – 10/16/2007, 02:07 am
Agricultural schools across the country, which are struggling to attract students, are now encouraging students to 'think outside the barn.' In response to flagging enrollments, especially in the traditional plant sciences and production agriculture, colleges are turning to new and innovative ways to attract potential students.
Experts say risks and benefits of biotechnology must be weighed on a case-by-case basis.
Council for Biotechnology Information – 10/16/2007, 01:36 am
Biotechnology and Genetic Diversity Could plant biotechnology affect wild ecosystems? Critics fear a genetically enhanced gene could 'escape' from a farmer's field and breed with a wild relative to create a 'superweed' that could overwhelm the natural environment and curtail genetic diversity.
Last-minute plea over 'secret garden'
Barnsley Today – 10/15/2007, 06:22 am
A LAST-minute plea has been made for a decision on controversial housing plans for a historic 'secret garden' to be postponed until a meeting has taken place to discuss alternatives for the site.
UW scientists create pollution-sucking trees
Seattle Post Intelligencer – 10/15/2007, 23:21 pm
Super trees that suck up and destroy toxic chemicals from the air and water faster than regular trees are the latest creation by scientists at the University of Washington.
The Green Roof Revolution
Easy Articles – 10/15/2007, 20:38 pm
With global warming and pollution being ever-present topics on the news, it is important for everyone to contribute to making the world a cleaner place.
Nigeria: Innovations as Key to Agric Production
All Africa – 10/15/2007, 18:42 pm
Kalu Okwara Lagos THE agricultural sector in all nations ought to assume a prime place in the scheme of things event though often times the policies formulated might not be implemented.
Exploring nature for new therapies
New Zealand Biotechnology Learning Hub – 10/15/2007, 20:13 pm
New Zealand’s unique plant and marine life are being investigated for their potential anti-inflammatory properties from which new drug leads can be developed.
Governor Rendell Announces Support For Innovative Alternative Energy Projects; Urges Additional Funding to Keep Pa. Competitive
PA Department of Environmental Protection – 10/15/2007, 20:13 pm
HARRISBURG - Governor Edward G. Rendell today announced the investment of more than $11 million in 24 innovative, alternative and renewable energy projects that are designed to attract nearly $122 million in new, private economic growth; create more than 730 permanent jobs and 1,200 temporary positions.
The Foundation of Agriculture is Root Mass
Easy Articles – 10/15/2007, 19:45 pm
Providing nutrient dense food for cattle and people finds its basis in the soil borne nutrients that roots can absorb to turn into these foods. Without healthy dense root mass and micro mineral laden soils to draw from, food may look good but is empty of nutrition.
Pyrethrum A Natural Insecticide
Easy Articles – 10/15/2007, 19:45 pm
Even natural insecticides have toxic properties. Pyrethrum originates from a flower in the chrysanthemum family. They resemble the well known and loved Daisy in appearance with pink and white petals.
Gladhill Agricultural Education Grants
Fredrick News Post – 10/15/2007, 19:01 pm
When Franklin and Bess Gladhill made a generous donation to the Community Foundation of Frederick County back in 1998 to develop, support and promote agricultural education in public schools, they placed it in an endowment fund to help students every year in perpetuity.
Genetically modified food is safe and necessary
Newsvine – 10/15/2007, 13:56 pm
Chris Leaver is Sibthorpian Professor of Plant Science at Oxford University. He argues that genetically modified food is safe and necessary. The big challenge in the next 50 years is to doube crop production on the same area of land in the face of climate change and decreased water supplies.
Green alga genome project catalogs carbon capture machinery
Innovations-Report – 10/15/2007, 11:09 am
Reveals identity as ancient cousin of land plants and animals
Pollution, Invasive Species Plague Great Lakes National Parks
Environmental Expert – 10/15/2007, 10:50 am
CHICAGO, Illinois - Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan is in danger of being loved to death. High numbers of visitors are trampling down vegetation and erosion is occurring in high traffic areas.
Genetics may conquer wheat disease
ScienceAlert – 10/15/2007, 09:45 am
Murdoch University The biggest genomic sequencing project in the Southern Hemisphere has been completed at Murdoch University, identifying the genetic make-up of the fungal pathogen Stagonospora nodorum.
Plant substances govern cellular processes
Bio Chemist – 10/15/2007, 05:27 am
For the first time, scientists from Dresden proved that plant substances such as those found in red wine, soy, or green tea can accelerate or retard vital processes in cells.
Cannabis Use, Effect And Potential Therapy For Alzheimer's, MS and Parkinson's
Science Daily – 10/15/2007, 05:16 am
Cannabis (marijuana) is the most widely produced plant-based illicit drug worldwide and the illegal drug most frequently used in Europe.
Biology teacher taps into plant research
STLtoday.com – 10/15/2007, 05:12 am
Mike Grupe is giving his biology students at Lutheran North High School new opportunities this year to be involved in a professional research project involving plant life.
New plastic could cut emissions
ScienceAlert – 10/14/2007, 07:32 am
CSIRO A new membrane that mimics pores found in plants has applications in water, energy and climate change mitigation. Announced 12 October in the international journal Science, the new plastic membrane allows carbon dioxide and other small molecules to move through its hourglass-shaped pores while preventing the movement of larger molecules like methane.
New World Record Soybean Yield Set in Southwest Missouri
Dakota Farmer – 10/14/2007, 05:10 am
Kip Cullers of Purdy, Mo. set the world record soybean yield in 2006 with 139 bushels an acre. But as the saying goes, records were made to be broken. This one lasted only a year, as Cullers' yield this year increased 15 bushels an acre for a new record of 154 bushels.
A Can-Do Professor Devoted To Saving The Biosphere
Hartford Courant – 10/14/2007, 04:37 am
Richard H. Goodwin, 96, of East Haddam, died July 6. Dick Goodwin was a botanist with a vision of preserving open space that he implemented over his long, productive life.
'Going green,' literally, thanks to 'ecoburials'
Raleigh News & Observer – 10/14/2007, 02:54 am
SACRAMENTO, calif. - Hannah Wit once told her longtime boyfriend what should happen to her body after her death.
Chinese Corporation Successfully Harvests Rice Modified for the Diabetes Market
Associated Content – 10/14/2007, 02:38 am
The Province of Heilongjiang's China Yingxia International, Inc., a health products company, on Friday announced that it had achieved a successful harvesting of its W3660 breed of rice targeting the diabetes market.
Transgenic Corn Found to Damage Stream Ecosystems
Environment News Service – 10/14/2007, 02:37 am
Pollen and other plant parts containing toxins from genetically engineered Bt corn are washing into streams near cornfields and harming a type of fly that is eaten by fish and amphibians, the study demonstrates.
Pollution, Invasive Species Plague Great Lakes National Parks
Environment News Service – 10/14/2007, 02:36 am
Deferred maintenance costs at Sleeping Bear Dunes are about $11.2 million, while the cost of needed rehabilitation tops $8.8 million. The plight of this national park and that of five other Great Lakes parks are detailed in a new report by the National Parks Conservation Association, NPCA.
Hunger in the world of abundance
Article Desk – 10/13/2007, 22:31 pm
By: Dr. Pragya Khanna • It is estimated that one billion people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition. That's roughly 100 times as many as those who actually die from these causes each year.
Passing on lessons learned
Huntington Beach Independent – 10/13/2007, 18:50 pm
When the Shipley Nature Center opened in 1974, it was dedicated to providing an educational preserve of Southern Californias unique habitats. Years of neglect, however, saw its native plants slowly being pushed out by invasive species that spread through the center unchecked.
The Green Roof Revolution
Article Motron – 10/13/2007, 19:11 pm
With global warming and pollution being ever-present topics on the news, it is important for everyone to contribute to making the world a cleaner place.
Cornell helps develop pest-resistant eggplant, the first genetically modified food crop in South Asia
Innovations Report – 10/13/2007, 16:35 pm
The engineered eggplant expresses a natural insecticide derived from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), making it resistant to the fruit and shoot borer (FSB), a highly destructive pest.
Green algae-the nexus of plant/animal ancestry
A2 Mediagroup – 10/13/2007, 16:04 pm
issue of Science. A group of researchers, including Arthur Grossman of the Carnegie Institution, report on the results of a major effort to obtain the full library of genes, or the genome sequence, of Chlamydomonas and to compare its ~15,000 genes to those of plants and animals, including humans.
Plastic to cut down CO2 emissions
Times of India – 10/13/2007, 15:17 pm
WASHINGTON: A new membrane that mimics pores found in plants and allows carbon dioxide to move through while preventing the movement of methane, could be used to cut greenhouse gas emissions while purifying water at the same time.
Students see environmental science up close during Picayune Strand tour
Bonitanews – 10/13/2007, 14:13 pm
Judy Haner moves a plant with small white flowers into the sunlight and asks a small group of teenagers to look at it. "This is called a floating heart.
Chlamy Genome Holds Clues For Renewable Energy, The Environment And Human Health
Terra Daily – 10/13/2007, 13:46 pm
University of Minnesota researchers contributed to a national effort to sequence the genome of an ancient, one-celled organism that will help advance research in a broad range of areas, from biofuels to restoring the environment to understanding a variety of human diseases.
Fantastic Plastic Could Cut CO2 Emissions And Purify Water
Terra Daily – 10/13/2007, 13:45 pm
A new membrane that mimics pores found in plants has applications in water, energy and climate change mitigation. Announced in the international journal Science, the new plastic membrane allows carbon dioxide and other small molecules to move through its hourglass-shaped pores while preventing the movement of larger molecules like methane.
Green Alga Genome Project Catalogs Carbon Capture Machinery
Terra Daily – 10/13/2007, 13:45 pm
The genome analysis of a tiny green alga has uncovered hundreds of genes that are uniquely associated with carbon dioxide capture and generation of biomass.
Building the Building Blocks: Data Mining Reveals Early Step in Production of Wood
YubaNet – 10/13/2007, 12:07 pm
Researchers at Washington State University have identified the plant enzyme responsible for making phenylalanine, an amino acid that is an essential nutrient for humans.
Betting on Brazil, pt. 2: Ethanol hits the sweet spot
Financial Post – 10/13/2007, 10:19 am
The air around the Cocal ethanol plant is heavy with the scent of molasses from mashed sugar cane stalks. Marcos Garms, whose father started the sugar mill here more four decades ago, is oblivious to the smell.
U.S. National Science Foundation awards grants to seed plant systems biology - biofuel and bioeconomy-centered projects
Biopact – 10/13/2007, 07:54 am
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has made 26 new awards totaling $85.8 million during the tenth year of its Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP).
Ethanol milestones celebrated
Macro World Investor – 10/13/2007, 06:23 am
Nebraska declared its status as the nation's No. 2 producer of ethanol Friday, on the same day that it celebrated the successful production of the next generation of ethanol -- cellulosic ethanol -- at a test plant near this rural community.
Native plants make practical gardens
Monterey Herald – 10/13/2007, 06:17 am
For native plant gardener and designer Alrie Middlebrook, the question is simply what style you are looking for. Middlebrook will give a presentation on native plant gardening Thursday at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History.
Clues For Renewable Energy, The Environment And Human Health Held Within 'Chlamy' Genome
Medical News Today – 10/13/2007, 03:44 am
University of Minnesota researchers contributed to a national effort to sequence the genome of an ancient, one-celled organism that will help advance research in a broad range of areas, from biofuels to restoring the environment to understanding a variety of human diseases.
No child left inside
Missoulian – 10/13/2007, 00:25 am
The flower is purple with green leaves and a green stem. It is not big and not small. This flower is my favorite flower in the garden. We watched it grow, planted it, cared for it, had fun, careful not to step on it.
U.S. Grains Council says drought, insects take toll on China's corn
Farm And Ranch Guide – 10/13/2007, 00:35 am
China's corn production is forecast slightly lower than one year ago, although 2007 production is likely greater than in 2000 and 2001.
USDA hall of fame inducts Johnie N. Jenkins
Delta Farm Press – 10/12/2007, 22:27 pm
Johnie N. Jenkins, an internationally acclaimed scientist whose knowledge of the cotton plant's natural ability to resist insects helped make Bt cotton a reality, has been inducted into the USDA Agricultural Research Service's Science Hall of Fame.
Green fuel gets a black name
The Sydney Morning Herald – 10/12/2007, 20:58 pm
The race for clean energy may be doing more harm than good, writes Marian Wilkinson.
Invasive, Indeed
Science News Online – 10/12/2007, 20:25 pm
Some people live lightly on the land: Bedouin clans roam the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa; small groups of indigenous people follow reindeer herds across frigid Arctic terrain; and tribes of hunter-gatherers forage the plains of southern Africa and the forests of Amazonia and Papua New Guinea.
Switchgrass to Ethanol, Glomalin a Key Ingredient
Technology News Daily – 10/12/2007, 19:53 pm
Energy If switchgrass succeeds as an ethanol crop, it will owe some of its success to glomalin, the key ingredient of soil organic matter. Glomalin was discovered in 1996 by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) soil scientist Sara F. Wright—now retired—and ARS microbiologist Kristine A. Nichols, then both at Beltsville, Md. Nichols is now at the ARS Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory in Mandan, N.D., where glomalin work continues.
NSF Awards 26 New Grants to Seed Plant Systems Biology
National Science Foundation – 10/12/2007, 19:35 pm
NSF Awards 26 New Grants to Seed Plant Systems Biology Focus includes genome-enabled research in plants of economic value and development of novel tools NSF's Plant Genome Research Program funds studies on economically important plants.
The seed bank atop the world
LA Times – 10/12/2007, 18:48 pm
Should catastrophe strike the rest of the globe, a repository of plant varieties should be safe, tucked away in remote, frozen Svalbard.
Georgia Department of Agriculture gives university $100,000 for peanut research
University of Georgia – 10/12/2007, 18:28 pm
Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin loves to eat peanut butter and graham crackers. But his grandson has a peanut allergy. So when all of Irvins 14 grandchildren come to visit, he makes sure no one comes in contact with peanuts.
Svalbard is home to a top-of-the-world seed bank
Los Angeles Times Travel – 10/12/2007, 18:25 pm
Should catastrophe strike the rest of the globe, a repository of plant varieties should be safe, tucked away in remote, northernmost Norway.
Against The Grain: 'GM Crops Do Not Harm Health'
AGBIOS – 10/12/2007, 18:23 pm
Chris Leaver is Sibthorpian Professor of Plant Science at Oxford University. He argues that genetically modified food is safe and necessary. The big challenge in the next 50 years is to doube crop production on the same area of land in the face of climate change and decreased water supplies.
Build bridges to nature
Exeter NewsLetter – 10/12/2007, 15:41 pm
NEWMARKET Help build a bridge to nature. More volunteers are needed to build 45 bog bridges for a hiking trail connecting downtown Durham with the shores of Great Bay in Newmarket.
Fall colors: Nature's artistic palette
Colorado River Weekender – 10/12/2007, 15:04 pm
If you are lucky, you live in one of those parts of the world where Mother Nature has one last fling before settling down into winter's sleep.
Plant substances govern cellular processes
Innovations Report – 10/12/2007, 14:21 pm
These molecules bind to the protein actin which is implicated in cell movement and cell division. According to experimental results published recently in 'Biophysical Journal' the ability of actin to join to long chains is either hindered or improved.
We Could Cure Our Addiction to Oil One Molecule Stands in the Way
Wired News – 10/12/2007, 13:44 pm
On a blackboard, it looks so simple: Take a plant and extract the cellulose. Add some enzymes and convert the cellulose molecules into sugars. Ferment the sugar into alcohol.
Transgenic peanut varieties perform well in trials
Southeast Farm Press – 10/12/2007, 11:41 am
Peanut production in Virginia is up in 2007 and the future looks even more optimistic as researchers at Virgini |
