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

November, 2007

Round 2 for Biotech Beets
The New York Times – 11/27/2007, 00:36 am
Each growing season, like many other sugar beet farmers bedeviled by weeds, Robert Green repeatedly and painstakingly applies herbicides in a process he compares to treating cancer with chemotherapy.

Eating GM foods is a health risk
The Age – 11/27/2007, 08:26 am
The Premier's decision to allow genetically modified crops is also bad for the economy. JOHN Brumby's announcement to allow genetically modified (GM) foods to grow in Victoria threatens more than just the income of Australia's farmers and food companies.

Worm genome researched to save potatoes
Food Navigator – 11/27/2007, 08:13 am
Researchers in the UK are taking a novel approach to improving the competitiveness of the potato market - decoding the genome of a parasitic worm to find out how it can have such a devastating effect on crops.

Blooming plants started blooming 130 mln years ago
Mathaba – 11/27/2007, 07:54 am
The origin of angiosperms - flowering plants - has long baffled scientists, witnessed by Charles Darwin's reference to the origin of flowers as an ''abominable mystery.

Survey: Consumers Don't Fear Biotech
Nebraska Farmer – 11/27/2007, 02:42 am
Consumer attitudes about biotech crops remains a bit of a mystery in the United States, but a new survey conducted by Kansas State University shows that potential buyers may know little and they don't worry about the technology.

Tara exports: a small sample of the hidden potential
LivinginPeru – 11/27/2007, 06:23 am
American Chamber of Commerce of Peru (AmCham Peru) Only a few Peruvians have heard of or know directly about the Tara plant, even though it originates from our territory and a few other countries in South America.

Two Australian states overturn ban on genetically modified canola crops
Checkbiotech – 11/27/2007, 06:20 am
New South Wales and Victoria announced they were ending their four-year moratoriums on genetically engineered canola to allow local industries to better compete internationally.

New drought-tolerant plants offer hope for warming world
Checkbiotech – 11/27/2007, 06:18 am
Research findings concerning the new drought-tolerant plants will be reported in the Nov. 26 online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Chief scientist, Sir David King, urges GM rethink to feed growing population
Daily Mail – 11/27/2007, 05:22 am
Britain should press ahead with the development of genetically-modified crops, Gordon Brown's top scientific adviser said today. Sir David King said that many of the reservations and concerns which have greeted the controversial technology have proved to be 'unreal'.

CNAP researchers to study temperature impact on plants
University of York – 11/27/2007, 05:11 am
Biologists from the University of York are to play a key role in a 5 million research project to examine how crops can be helped to withstand global warming.

Scotts to pay $500,000 fine over biotech bentgrass (Reuters)
Yahoo! – 11/27/2007, 04:59 am
Scotts Miracle-Gro Co will pay a $500,000 fine over allegations it failed to comply with U.S. rules while testing a genetically engineered grass variety that could one day be used on lawns and athletic fields, the Agriculture Department said on Monday.

CALS honors outstanding alumni and faculty/staff
Cornell University – 11/27/2007, 04:04 am
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences honors outstanding alumni and faculty Six alumni and two faculty members of Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) were honored at a dinner Nov.

Isolation Kit provides miRNA purification.
Product News Network – 11/27/2007, 02:54 am
Offering method for purifying and enriching miRNA along with other small RNAs, mirPremier(TM) microRNA Isolation Kit allows researchers to rapidly obtain high-quality miRNA directly from cells or tissues.

2 Australian states overturn ban on genetically modified canola crops
PR inside – 11/27/2007, 01:18 am
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Two Australian states overturned bans on genetically engineered canola Tuesday, becoming the first in the country to allow farmers to grow modified food crops.

Tree Of Life For Flowering Plants Reveals Relationships Among Major Groups
SpaceDaily – 11/27/2007, 00:04 am
Phylogenetic relationships among the major lineages of flowering plants based on plastid genome sequences. Pictured counter-clockwise from the root at the base of the circle tree are: Amborella trichopoda, Nymphaea odorata, Illicium floridanum, Chloranthus angustifolius, Piper longum, Liriodendron tulipifera, Ceratophyllum demersum, Ranunculus ficaria, Pelargonium exstipulatum, Helianthus annuus, Yucca filamentosa, Triticum aestivum, and Acorus americanus.

UF Botanists: Flowering Plants Evolved Very Quickly Into 5 Groups
Biocompare – 11/27/2007, 00:54 am
Source: University of Florida University of Florida and University of Texas at Austin scientists have shed light on what Charles Darwin called the “abominable mystery” of early plant evolution.

Global warming arrives in region (1608)
NWI Times – 11/27/2007, 00:50 am
Do winters seem to be getting a little shorter as you get older? If so, the change may not be all in your head. A University of Illinois professor believes global warming has arrived in the region and predicts the impact will worsen unless steps are taken to reverse the damage.

Research from University of Georgia in the area of gene therapy published
NewsRx – 11/27/2007, 00:41 am
According to recent research published in the Plant Journal, "MicroRNAs (miRNAs) negatively control gene expression by cleaving or inhibiting the translation of mRNA of target genes, and as such, they play an important role in plant development.

RNAi and the sound of silence
Biotechnology News – 11/27/2007, 00:33 am
__ 2007-11-27 05:33:00 RNAi and the sound of silence

Backyard Gardens Shelter Europe’s Orphan Seeds
The New York Times – 11/27/2007, 00:29 am
BANDITELLA, Italy — Gino Boscherini’s neat two-story house — the one with the lawn furniture and old men playing cards out front — does not look like a repository for precious genetic material.

Some worry not enough new hunters around to keep deer populations low
Beloit Daily News – 11/27/2007, 00:18 am
Bill Torhorst fondly remembers hunting as a boy and wants to share the tradition with his 10-year-old son, Carson. But he said lately, that's difficult.

After Stem-Cell Breakthrough, the Work Begins
The New York Times – 11/27/2007, 00:17 am
If stem cell researchers were oil prospectors, it could be said that they struck a gusher last week. But to realize the potential boundless riches they now must figure out how to build refineries, pipelines and gas stations.

Kruger National Park
Anyarticle.net – 11/27/2007, 00:07 am
In our imaginations the wild places of Africa are timeless and unchanging. That is the reason why Africans and non-Africans seek them out, to restore calm and proportion to their lives.

Drought-tolerant plants developed
YubaNet – 11/26/2007, 20:26 pm
Genetically engineered crop plants that survive droughts and can grow with 70 percent less irrigation water have been developed by an international team led by researchers at the University of California, Davis.

Scientists tout success with drought-resistant plants: study
Raw Story – 11/26/2007, 17:47 pm
With arid zones expanding worldwide, scientists have created transgenic plants able to survive extreme drought and thrive on far less water in an encouraging potential boon to food production, new research shows Monday.

Prof. David Archer examines alternative techniques for slowing global warming
University of Chicago – 11/26/2007, 19:25 pm
A Harvard graduate student has a provocative suggestion for slowing global warming: Increase the ocean's natural capacity for absorbing carbon dioxide from the air, in part by speeding up the natural process of weathering rocks.

Floral 'Big Bang' led to stunning diversity
MSNBC – 11/26/2007, 19:04 pm
From the ubiquitous daisy to the fantastical orchid, flowering plant species are as diverse as they are numerous. Turns out, these bloomers went through an evolutionary 'Big Bang' of sorts some 130 million years ago, a brief era of explosive floral diversification at a time when dinosaurs walked the Earth.

Establishing a classroom garden
Waxahachie Daily Light – 11/26/2007, 18:17 pm
Over the last month or so weve written several columns on the importance and benefit of establishing a school garden.This week I thought Id share some thoughts on the administration of a school garden.

GM plant grows with 1/3 of usual water
Telegraph – 11/26/2007, 18:16 pm
A way to create hardy plants that can grow with one third of the usual amount of water has been unveiled by genetic engineers. To cope with climate change, a genetically engineered crop that can survive droughts to flourish, and grow with 70 per cent less irrigation water than normal crops, has been developed by an international team led by the University of California, Davis.

Transgenic plant may thrive under global warming-induced drought
Mongabay – 11/26/2007, 17:59 pm
Researchers have created a drought-resistant tobacco plant through genetic engineering, according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Tree of life for flowering plants reveals relationships among major groups
EurekAlert! – 11/26/2007, 17:02 pm
Major diversification occured over less than 5 million years Phylogenetic relationships among the major lineages of flowering plants based on plastid genome sequences.

Critics brand new breed of super seed 'frankenfood'
Truth About Trade – 11/26/2007, 16:16 pm
Inside greenhouses at Dow AgroSciences' sprawling 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.

River of Grass Awaits Flow of Funding
WMBB TV – 11/26/2007, 16:14 pm
PICAYUNE STRAND STATE FOREST It all comes back to the water. Water is at the heart of the plan to save and restore the Everglades. How it flows, where it goes and what it contains.

Next up for U.S. farmers: Genetically modified sugar beets
International Herald Tribune – 11/26/2007, 15:34 pm
LOS ANGELES: Each growing season, like many other sugar beet farmers bedeviled by weeds, Robert Green repeatedly and painstakingly applies herbicides in a process he compares to treating cancer with chemotherapy.

Some worry lack of new hunters will mean high deer numbers
Appleton Post-Crescent – 11/26/2007, 14:19 pm
MADISON — Bill Torhorst fondly remembers hunting as a boy and wants to share the tradition with his 10-year-old son, Carson. But, he said, that’s difficult.

Capturing Carbon
RedOrbit – 11/26/2007, 14:18 pm
By JASON WOMACK AEP-PSO program to route CO2 to state oil fields The carbon emissions captured from one of the state's coal-fired power plants may have a future in Oklahoma's oil fields.

GM plants for omega-3
Food Manufacturer – 11/26/2007, 14:14 pm
Genetically modified (GM) plant crops will replace fish oil as a more sustainable source of long-chain omega-3 in the next decade, scientists working on the EU-funded Lipgene project have predicted.

Illuminating Study Reveals How Plants Respond To Light
Terra Daily – 11/26/2007, 13:31 pm
Most of us take it for granted that plants respond to light by growing, flowering and straining towards the light, and we never wonder just how plants manage to do so.

A supercomputer to design better plants?
ZDNet Blogs – 11/26/2007, 13:23 pm
Is it possible to create more productive crops than nature does without growing hybrids or genetically modified plants? According to researchers at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), the answer is yes .

United Fresh SVP Gives Leafy Greens Report to USDA Panel
Progressive Grocer – 11/26/2007, 12:32 pm
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- David Gombas, s.v.p. of food safety and technology for the United Fresh Produce Association here, presented the final report of the International Lettuce and Leafy Greens Food Safety Research Conference to the USDAs Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) research panel.

Uproot the invasion
Peterborough Examiner – 11/26/2007, 10:27 am
Recently I was involved with a group of Fleming College students who were identifying and cataloguing the invasive plant species in a nature reserve in the Kawartha Lakes region.

How a Light Signal Reaches The Nucleus of a Plant Cell
News Blaze – 11/26/2007, 10:22 am
Most of us take it for granted that plants respond to light by growing, flowering and straining towards the light, and we never wonder just how plants manage to do so.

Carbon is for all of us
ScienceAlert – 11/26/2007, 10:12 am
It should never be forgotten that a carbon economy underpins life on earth. Next to the spark of life, the greatest marvel is the plant.

Have fun with succulents
Scripps Howard News Service – 11/26/2007, 10:04 am
Blend in or die is one of the unquestionable laws of survival. Whether it's a chameleon, a soldier or a tiny succulent, the rule is always the same. If they can't find you they can't kill you.

Mystery cure?
Miami Herald – 11/26/2007, 06:23 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.

A chemical sea change may reduce carbon dioxide levels
Boston Globe – 11/26/2007, 08:17 am
A Harvard graduate student has a provocative suggestion for slowing global warming: Increase the ocean's natural capacity for absorbing carbon dioxide from the air, in part by speeding up the natural process of weathering rocks.

Why Are Plants Sensitive to Light?
Softpedia – 11/26/2007, 07:48 am
Life on Earth is fueled by the 'relationship' between plants and sunlight. A new research made on Arabidopsis, a common model plant employed in researches and published in Nature 'has significantly advanced our understanding of how plant responses to light are regulated, and perhaps even how such responses evolved,' said Michael Mishkind, a program director at the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Meat, poultry, vegetables feel heat from global warming
DAWN Group – 11/26/2007, 07:43 am
HYDERABAD (India): From meat, poultry and milk to potatoes, onions and leafy greens, everything consumed on the world's dining tables is feeling the heat from climate change, scientists say.

Scientists tout success with drought-resistent plants: study
Haveeru Online – 11/26/2007, 05:13 am
With arid zones expanding worldwide, scientists have created transgenic plants able to survive extreme drought and thrive on far less water in an encouraging potential boon to food production, new research shows Monday.

Transgenics' new promise
Brisbane Courier-Mail – 11/26/2007, 02:51 am
WITH arid zones expanding worldwide, scientists have created transgenic plants able to survive extreme drought and thrive on far less water. In an encouraging potential boon to food production, the discovery could have important implications for maintaining yields amid adverse conditions.

Zimbabwe: 'Emulate President, Plant Trees'
All Africa – 11/26/2007, 02:24 am
Harare Zimbabweans from all walks of life have been urged to emulate President Mugabe, whose vision is to make the country green. Speaking at a workshop on Tuesday to brief the media on preparations for this year's National Tree Planting Day, Forestry Commission deputy general manager Mr Odreck Sibanda said the President plants a tree each year and if every citizen followed his example, Zimbabwe would maintain its land cover and avoid deforestation.

Data on physiology published by researchers at Okayama University
NewsRx – 11/26/2007, 00:10 am
"Soluble ionic aluminum (Al) inhibits root growth and reduces crop production on acid soils.
Termite Guts Could Boost Ethanol Efficiency
Technology Review – 11/23/2007, 12:05 pm
A massive genomic study of the microbes living within the termite gut has identified close to 1,000 possible enzymes that break down wood. The plethora of cellulose-digesting proteins could shed light on the insects' renowned wood-eating capacity and suggest cheaper, more efficient methods for generating cellulosic ethanol.

The GM potato war
Telegraph – 11/23/2007, 10:11 am
Where genetic modification of crops is concerned, environmental groups are as vehemently opposed today as they were at the height of the GM food controversy of the 1990s.

Scientists unravel plants' natural defenses
EurekAlert! – 11/21/2007, 13:20 pm
A team of researchers, led by the University of Sheffield and Queen Mary, University of London, has discovered how plants protect their leaves from damage by sunlight when they are faced with extreme climates.

Wageningen UR invests in DNA mapping
AllAboutFeed.net – 11/23/2007, 08:26 am
The new genome sequencer will be placed at the Bioscience business unit of . This institute was part of the global research network that first charted and published the complete DNA (the genome) of a plant.

Companies create a new kind of seed
Honolulu Advertiser – 11/23/2007, 07:52 am
INDIANAPOLIS - Inside bright greenhouses at Dow AgroSciences' sprawling 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.

Catmint wards off trio of nasty bugs
Knox News Sentinel – 11/23/2007, 07:34 am
Catmint wards off trio of nasty bugs - They thought it would draw cats to eat rats lurking around the house or farm. Yet recent evidence proves that cats may not be the only reason catmint is found around the foundations of old European homes and barns.

Go Wild and Scenic all the way
Southwest Florida Herald Tribune – 11/23/2007, 07:03 am
It is more than 20 years since the portion of the Myakka River which lies in Sarasota County has been designated as a Wild and Scenic river. This designation has helped keep this invaluable river a source of clean water and an outstanding habitat for both plant life and wildlife.

DPT vaccine - from bioreactors to agricultural fields
Checkbiotech – 11/23/2007, 06:58 am
With the advent of molecular biology in early 1980s, scientists worked on developing and producing vaccines from purified antigen - known as subunit vaccines - instead of using whole inactivated or attenuated microorganisms as vaccines.

NZ SCIENTIST HONOURED FOR WORK ON BIOCHEMISTRY OF PLANT DISEASES
Calibre Macro World – 11/23/2007, 06:50 am
Hortresearch scientist Robin Mitchell has been a top science award, the Shorland Medal for his research into the biochemistry of plant diseases.

Is the oil-palm industry using global warming to mislead the public?
Monga Bay Blog – 11/23/2007, 03:39 am
The final piece was titled Is the palm oil industry misleading the public? Members of the Indonesian Palm Oil Commission are distributing materials that misrepresent the carbon balance of oil-palm plantations, according to accounts from people who have seen presentations by commission members.

Novel Enzymes For Better Biofuel Production Offered By Termites
Medical News Today – 11/23/2007, 01:08 am
Termites -- notorious for their voracious appetite for wood, rendering houses to dust and causing billions of dollars in damage per year -- may provide the biochemical means to a greener biofuel future.

Stakeholders meet over obsolete pesticides' threat in Africa
Nigeria Guardian – 11/22/2007, 23:54 pm
Stakeholders meet over obsolete pesticides' threat in Africa Stakeholders meet over obsolete pesticides' threat in Africa THE Africa Stockpiles Programme (ASP) last month hosted a two-day Stakeholders Forum in Rabat, which weighed progress and prospects for expansion of the continent-wide effort at eliminating existing stockpiles of obsolete pesticides and preventing their future accumulation.

Professor Douglas Henderson
The Scotsman – 11/22/2007, 20:25 pm
THROUGHOUT his career at the Royal Botanic Garden (RBG) in Edinburgh Douglas Henderson CBE, BSc, FLS, FRSE, preserved and upheld the long traditions of scholarship that have made it, since its founding on its present site in 1820,a centre of international authority for the study of plants.

Hearing proposed on nutrient farming
PJStar.com – 11/22/2007, 20:12 pm
His recommendation came at the end of a town-hall meeting Tuesday night. Officials involved with the project being pushed by The Wetlands Initiative responded to often hostile comments from a standing-room-only crowd of more than 100 people who packed a meeting room at the Marshall-Putnam Farm Bureau building.

Milk Thistle May Help With Cirrhosis, Gallstones, and Hepatitis Liver Problems
Article Codex – 11/21/2007, 19:57 pm
Milk thistle, botanically Silybum adans, is a member of the daisy family that is native to the Mediterranean, the Middle East and North Africa but has also been introduced to California and parts of the eastern side of the USA, and can help with problems such as cirrhosis, gallstones and hepatitis.

Green Stem Disorder Another Remnant of Dry Growing Season
Michigan Farmer – 11/22/2007, 10:12 am
Michigan soybean growers had no shortage of challenges this summer, from dry midseason conditions to soybean aphid infestations. One additional phenomenon that growers reported near the end of the season was stems that remained green long after the pods and seeds had matured.

Study sheds light on plants' natural defence mechanism
Yahoo! India – 11/22/2007, 10:06 am
London, Researchers have discovered how plants protect their leaves from damage by sunlight when they are faced with extreme climates. The process of photosynthesis in plants relies upon the efficient collection of sunlight.

Top conservation educator named
Daily Times Online – 11/22/2007, 09:47 am
ONLEY -- A Nandua High School teacher has been named state Conservation Educator of the Year by the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

Farmers assail DA subsidy to BT corn
Checkbiotech – 11/22/2007, 06:19 am
DAVAO CITY - Organic farmers in Mindanao have protested the Department of Agriculture's policy of providing financial support to those who will plant varieties of genetically-engineered corn or Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) corn.

Plant Research Has Global Implications
MediLexicon – 11/22/2007, 06:15 am
A team of researchers, led by the University of Sheffield and Queen Mary, University of London, has discovered how plants protect their leaves from damage by sunlight when they are faced with extreme climates.

EU officials propose ban on GM corn seeds
Checkbiotech – 11/22/2007, 05:37 am
The preliminary decisions, seen by the International Herald Tribune, are circulating within the European Commission, the EU executive, which has the final say.

Uganda: Western Districts to Revamp Kagera Basin
All Africa – 11/22/2007, 02:36 am
Patrick Jaramogi Kampala Leaders of Kabale, Rakai, Isingiro and Ntungamo districts are spearheading efforts to stop environmental degradation in the Kagera Basin.

Woody plants could mean denser marshes
Political Gateway – 11/21/2007, 05:52 am
A new survey of Louisiana's floating marshes suggests that when woody plants establish themselves, the marshes become denser.

Magic from the Plant World - Using Essential Oils for Natural Immune System Support
Article Hangout – 11/21/2007, 22:11 pm
The true medical aromatherapists around the globe tell us time and time again: the most effective use of essential oils for health is the combating of infectious illness.

Metagenomic Analysis of Microbes in Termite Guts May Yield Novel Enzymes for Better Cellulosic Biofuel Production
Silo Breaker – 11/21/2007, 22:11 pm
Termites of the genus Nasutitermes.Termites digest wood with the help of a large and complex community of intestinal microorganisms. A just-completed metagenomic analysis of this bacterial community in the hindgut paunch of a wood-feeding Costa Rican termite shows the presence of a large, diverse set of bacterial genes for cellulose and xylan hydrolysis.

Rice Genetics As More Nutritious Food Source
Nutrition Horizon – 11/21/2007, 21:53 pm
The bulk of the research, however, will be a painstaking study of the varieties that are highest in iron and zinc, to identify the genes that are responsible for the uptake and storage of those elements.

Scientists Unravel Plants' Natural Defenses
Science Daily – 11/21/2007, 16:35 pm
A team of researchers, led by the University of Sheffield and Queen Mary, University of London, has discovered how plants protect their leaves from damage by sunlight when they are faced with extreme climates.

The Herbal Gold Mine Of The Amazon Rainforest
Article Hangout – 11/21/2007, 16:16 pm
Deep in the Amazon Rainforest a life sustaining cycle of fresh rain nourishes pristine botanicals. With over 215,000 species of plants, the Amazon Rainforest is the most concentrated source of life energy on earth.

IES to close Giffor Garden
MidHudsonCentral.com – 11/21/2007, 14:46 pm
Situated behind the Gifford House on the property of the Institute for Ecosystem Studies (IES), the Gifford Garden has been a perennial flower garden since 1987.

More rust found as harvest winds down
Farm Week – 11/21/2007, 14:20 pm
Two more findings of soybean rust in There is no threat, according to Kevin Black, insect/ plant disease technical manager for GROWMARK. Soybean harvest at the start of last week was 95 percent complete.

Seattle biotech using modified grain in Montana biofuel project
Examiner – 11/21/2007, 09:12 am
HELENA, Mont. (Map, News) - A Seattle company hopes a genetically modified plant can be used to make lots of biofuel. The Targeted Growth company has developed a taller, strong variety of a plant called camelina.

Resident Elizabeth Kneiper of Weston honored by New England Wild Flower Society
Weston Town Crier – 11/21/2007, 12:40 pm
At the Nov. 4 Annual Meeting at Garden in the Woods, the New England Wild Flower Society honored native plant achievements in conservation and horticulture.

Great Lakes: Combating cassava mosaic
Silo Breaker – 11/21/2007, 10:21 am
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.

Moss - from the woods into the pharmaceutical industry
AGBIOS – 11/21/2007, 10:12 am
So far microbial and mammalian cells are the two systems which are used to generate biopharmaceutical drugs. Microbes are used because of the high product yields and the mammalian cells are favored because the end product is more readily comparable to what you find in humans. The moss Physcomitrella patens has stepped into the limelight, because it has some important advantages over microbial and mammalian production systems.

Scientists are throwing out finicky corn
Farm and Dairy – 11/21/2007, 09:25 am
To help family farmers and seed producers better meet market demands and remain independent and profitable, a new initiative is under way.

Weeds damage soil and plants, research shows
Greeley Tribune – 11/21/2007, 09:16 am
Weeds, such as spotted knapweed, are not only taking a toll on native plant species, but have a detrimental effect on the biodiversity of microbes in the soil, according to a new study by Colorado State University researchers to be published in the journal International Society for Microbial Ecology.

Better berries for the birds
AL.com - Everything Alabama – 11/21/2007, 07:37 am
If invasive plants are a threat to both agriculture and the nation's native plants, the sad truth is that many of those invasives are being spread by birds.

Two shills for intelligent design
WBRZ – 11/21/2007, 07:39 am
Only in Louisiana! We finally elect two young, presumably intelligent, educated persons Rhodes scholars to the two highest political offices in the state, and what do we get? A pair of shills for the teaching of intelligent design in public schools!

Yale University: Monsanto Expands Sponsorship for Peking-Yale Joint Agrobiotechnology Center
TMCnet – 11/21/2007, 06:21 am
A joint Yale-Peking University center that aims to improve crop production by furthering understanding of plant biology will receive five years of continued and expanded support from the Monsanto Company, a leading provider of agricultural technology.

Pakistan far behind in cotton output per unit of area: ICAC
Daily Times – 11/21/2007, 04:14 am
Pakistan, being the fourth largest producer of raw cotton is still lags behind in productivity per unit of area as compared with hectare yields being realized in some other major cotton growing countries, such as Australia, China, Greece, Turkey and Syria.

State's biotech funding doled out
STLtoday.com – 11/21/2007, 02:04 am
The Life Sciences Research Board met in Columbia to choose from among 43 applicants who, collectively, sought $34.7 million for projects more than 2 1/2 times the amount appropriated by Missouri legislators, but close to the $35.

Horses Disperse Alien Plants Along Recreational Trails
Newswise – 11/21/2007, 00:25 am
Plant invasions are rapidly becoming a threat to wildlands. One of the ways these aliens are dispersed is through large mammals that forage and excrete seeds in new locations.

New Verbena Conserves Water
Landscape Online – 11/20/2007, 17:24 pm
It is recommended for use in low maintenance plantings and water-conserving landscapes. It grows throughout the season with minimal care. Raider Amethyst is now available as commercial and experimental seed.

Evolutionary Biology Research on Plant Shows Significance of Maternal Effects
Ascribe – 11/20/2007, 16:55 pm
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., When habitat changes, animals migrate. But how do immobile organisms like plants cope when faced with alterations to their environment? This is an increasingly important question in light of new environmental conditions brought on by global climate change.

What lies beneath: a new mushroom
Medford Mail Tribune – 11/20/2007, 15:44 pm
SHADY COVE - Hydrologist Robert Coffan knew he was looking at something very unusual in the knee-deep summer waters of the upper Rogue River. Here were gilled mushrooms, swaying in the main current of the clear, cold river in early July through late September.

Rice Genetics Research Funded By NSF Grant
Medical News Today – 11/20/2007, 13:15 pm
The advent of the cultivation of grains was a boon to humankind, giving humans a type of food that could be stored long term and would sustain them through drought and famine.

ARS: Story Lead: Revamping Relationships Among Cultivated Potatoes
Calibre Macro World – 11/20/2007, 12:59 pm
'One potato, two potato, three potato, four' turns out to be exactly right--when classifying cultivated potatoes, that is. Scientists at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the International Potato Center (CIP) have used morphology--the outward appearance of a plant--in combination with molecular markers to revise the number of potato species from seven to four.

Bulletin Helps Identify Winter Damage on Plants
Michigan Farmer – 11/20/2007, 11:18 am
Michigan's harsh weather is not only hard on its roads but is also one of many factors that can affect its plants. Michigan State University Extension has released a new bulletin explaining how various abiotic disorders in plants, related to factors such as weather, climate, water (moisture) and soil, can cause problems.

DuPont introduces technology to help increase ethanol production
AgProfessional – 11/20/2007, 05:50 am
DES MOINES -- Ethanol plants have a new tool to enable them to increase the amount of ethanol they produce per bushel of grain. DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred today introduced QualiTrak(SM), a new measurement and reporting system that facilitates the flow of predicted ethanol yield information to both plant personnel and corn growers.

Higher crop yields, more biofuel
Seattle Post Intelligencer – 11/20/2007, 05:41 am
Seattle plant genetics startup Targeted Growth and Texas biodiesel producer Green Earth Fuels have formed a joint venture called Sustainable Oil that will attempt to sell camelina plants to farmers for use in the production of biofuels, according to News.

Events aid in keeping invasive species under control
The Daily Press – 11/20/2007, 05:12 am
The Northwoods Cooperative Weed Management Area (NCWMA) recently completed another successful season of invasive plant management. Several activities took place locally which provided community education and outreach, and helped combat invasive species in on-the ground efforts.

Powerful Partnership to Preserve State Forest
PR Web – 11/20/2007, 03:40 am
South East Queensland electricity distributor, ENERGEX, has donated nearly $10,000 to help combat weed infestations in the Mt Glorious and Mt Nebo areas.

Botanical Garden honors legendary green thumb Jim Corley
Atlanta Journal And Constitution – 11/20/2007, 03:10 am
They don't give Lifetime Achievement Awards often at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. And they don't hand them out to just anyone. But when staff members huddled recently to discuss the annual 'Thanks for Giving' volunteer luncheon, they decided this was the year, and that Jim Corley was the recipient.

Historian, genetics professor to speak at fall Commencement
University of Georgia – 11/20/2007, 00:08 am
UGAs fall semester commencement ceremonies Dec. 15 will feature speeches by two of the universitys leading scholars: historian Tom Dyer and genetics professor Richard Meagher.

Virus movement maintains local virus population diversity
PNAS – 11/19/2007, 22:23 pm
Viruses are the largest reservoir of genetic material on the planet, yet little is known about the population dynamics of any virus within its natural environment.

Gene family encoding the major toxins of lethal Amanita mushrooms
PNAS – 11/19/2007, 22:23 pm
Amatoxins, the lethal constituents of poisonous mushrooms in the genus Amanita, are bicyclic octapeptides.

Dow gives money to city schools
Ironton Tribune – 11/19/2007, 21:59 pm
When Ironton youngsters enjoy a visit later this school year from the COSI on Wheels traveling science exhibit, they can thank some people who know a lot about math and science: Dow Chemical employees.

Idaho Agriculture Faces Changes with Global Warming
AG Weekly – 11/19/2007, 19:08 pm
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho - With temperatures rising and greenhouse gases building, a University of Idaho agronomist says global warming will bring changes to Idaho agriculture-some that are much easier to project than others.

Film Fest Raises Up 'King Corn'
iBerkshires.com – 11/19/2007, 18:22 pm
GREAT BARRINGTON - The Berkshire International Film Festival and the Triplex Cinema continue their monthly free screenings with the presentation of the award-winning documentary "King Corn" on Sunday, Dec.

Study to get to nugget of rice nutrients
Earthtimes.org – 11/19/2007, 16:52 pm
LAFAYETTE, Ind., Purdue University researchers said they will get to the nugget of the transport and flow of nutrients in the rice plant and their storage in the edible grain.

Invasion
London Free Press – 11/19/2007, 16:42 pm
They call it a 'common reed,' but given its potential to devastate sand dunes and decimate beaches, the newest foreign plant to invade the Great Lakes is anything but common.

Habitat Destruction: How It Begins
Newsvine – 11/19/2007, 15:20 pm
If this turns into a fad, which I'm afraid it already has, the beautiful brush will be decimated--all that small animal habitat and bird foraging area will be destroyed.

Ralph Lowenstein: Radio Ralph....Noel Lake
AM850.com – 11/19/2007, 12:52 pm
When you live in a city like Gainesville, you tend to take the beauty of plants and trees for granted. This is sometimes called the Tree City, and when you fly over the city about the only thing you can see is the tree cover, except for an occasional mall and GRU's electrical and water treatment plants.

IPCC: separating fact from fright
Spiked – 11/19/2007, 10:35 am
Today’s alarmist claims about the planet ‘spinning into a troubling void’ are not backed up by the findings of the latest IPCC report.

Relay cropping for timely wheat sowing
DAWN Group – 11/19/2007, 07:44 am
DESPITE last year's excellent wheat crop (about 23 million tones), the country is facing flour shortage.

Common reed spreading in Canada
CNEWS – 11/19/2007, 06:54 am
Clockwise from top: European common reed; quagga mussel; purple loosestrife; round goby; and zebra mussels. They call it a 'common reed,' but given its potential to devastate sand dunes and decimate beaches, the newest foreign plant to invade the Great Lakes is anything but common.

Call to develop plants as remedy for diabetes
Assam Tribune – 11/19/2007, 05:59 am
From A Correspondent JORHAT, Nov 18 Diabetes should provide a common ground for research activities involving not only physicians but also scientists, chemists and traditional practitioners.

Sight of castor plant can cure what ails you
Columbia Daily Tribune – 11/19/2007, 02:33 am
FERTILE MIND By JAN WIESE-FALES Published Towering castor bean plants growing on either side of the steps of a house I pass on the route to visit my daughter turned a modest Midwest bungalow into an exotic palace in the tropics.

Australian Society of Horticultural Science President John Chapman - Joining the Kiwis
Get Farming – 11/19/2007, 02:12 am
With many parts of the nation facing the effects of an ongoing drought, some of Australia’s top horticulture minds recently joined with their kiwi counterparts to consider ways to grow our crops smarter with less water.

Volunteers find new flower species at reserve
Riverside Press Enterprise – 11/19/2007, 00:43 am
Hundreds of 2-inch-wide flowers bloom across the Santa Rosa Ecological Plateau Reserve bringing a vibrant splash of hues of lilac in late spring.

WLRM Celebrates Completion of Its Cellulosic Ethanol Breakthrough
24-7PressRelease.com – 11/18/2007, 03:32 am
- WLRM celebrates the scientific discovery of a new bio-fuel process that is both economically and environmentally attractive. A Discovery Celebration and Launching Ceremony will be held in the Phoenix area during Thanksgiving weekend to be announced.

Amazing Orchids: Some May be Tricksters, Some May Stink
Softpedia – 11/18/2007, 03:17 am
The peak of flower evolution You may not like flowers, but if you like vanilla, you actually like ... orchids. Vanilla is the only comestible orchid and the vanilla stick is nothing else than the fermented and blackened pod of an orchid, Vanilla planifolia that is to be found in Mexico.

Water Crisis: How Does it Affect Us?
Softpedia – 11/18/2007, 03:17 am
It has not any color, smell, taste or calories, but water is a vital element for all life forms. No human, animal or plant can live without it. From elephants to bacteria, water is essential and nothing can replace it.

Judge Should Halt DEA Ban On Hemp Crops
Media Awareness Project – 11/18/2007, 01:53 am
A federal judge is expected to rule this month on whether to reject a lawsuit allowing the growing of industrial hemp.

Extension can held deal with worms in pecans
Current-Argus – 11/18/2007, 01:48 am
According to Dr. Carol Sutherland, Extension entomologist this is most often the third or forth generation larva of pecan nut casebearer, and does not damage the meat of the pecan.

Research from University of Coimbra in the area of toxicology published
NewsRx – 11/18/2007, 00:23 am
(NewsRx.com) -- According to a study from Coimbra, Portugal, "Tests aiming to determine the toxic properties of compounds discharged into aquatic systems have relied more on fish or invertebrates than on primary producers and among a number of producers; algae are the most popular test organisms.

Mother's care important for plants too
Siasat Daily – 11/17/2007, 22:43 pm
New York, November 16: Mother's care is important even for plants, a new study says. A study by researchers at the University of Virginia shows that maternal plants give cues to their offspring that help them adapt to their environmental conditions.

Botanical Garden awards honors
Atlanta Journal And Constitution – 11/17/2007, 20:53 pm
They don't give Lifetime Achievement Awards often at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. And they don't hand them out to just anyone. But when staff members huddled recently to discuss the annual 'Thanks for Giving' volunteer luncheon, they decided this was the year, and that Jim Corley was the recipient.

Troubling Imbalance Found In First-Ever 'State Of The Carbon Cycle Report'
MediLexicon – 11/17/2007, 09:14 am
The first "State of the Carbon Cycle Report" for North America, released online this week by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, finds the continent's carbon budget increasingly overwhelmed by human-caused emissions.

Rice and Remedies: The Promise of Genetic Research in China
Yale Scientific Monthly – 11/17/2007, 14:42 pm
In a country where more than half of the population are subsistence farmers, Chinas government is aiming to transform it into first-world everything. Since the Cultural Revolution just a few decades ago, Chinas leaders have mobilized 1.

NMC-CREES experiments on high-yield crops
Saipan Tribune – 11/17/2007, 12:04 pm
The Northern Marianas College's Cooperative Research, Education and Extension Service is going through a new phase and is adopting modern scientific and biotechnological tools to improve its research studies for the CNMI.

Brazil's CTC releases third generation of sugarcane varieties that yield up to 38 percent more profit
Biopact – 11/17/2007, 11:24 am
Brazil's universities and scientific organisations are world leaders in researching, developing and breeding sugarcane varieties. It was Brazil that first sequenced the energy crop's genome, and the country plants more of the genus than any other country.

Rare bloomers
TwinCities.com – 11/17/2007, 06:51 am
Many of us in California are strangely fascinated by bulb catalogs. Each autumn, large national or international bulb companies pull out all the stops to entice us into a lovely collection of Darwin hybrid tulips or a sunny array of plump, glowing crocus.

The Herbal Gold Mine Of The Amazon Rainforest Posted By : Linda Allen
ArticleTeller – 11/17/2007, 06:18 am
Deep in the Amazon Rainforest a life sustaining cycle of fresh rain nourishes pristine botanicals. With over 215,000 species of plants, the Amazon Rainforest is the most concentrated source of life energy on earth.

In a microbial electrolysis cell, bacteria break up fermented plant waste to form hydrogen
National Science Foundation – 11/17/2007, 04:19 am
Multimedia Gallery - Image Researchers have designed a microbial electrolysis cell in which bacteria break up acetic acid (a product of plant waste fermentation) to produce hydrogen gas with a very small electric input from an outside source.

Specialty crop grants available in Nebraska
Gothenburg Times.com – 11/17/2007, 01:35 am
LINCOLN-The Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) is seeking grant proposals from organizations or groups of individuals interested in enhancing the competitiveness of the state's specialty crop industry.

Impact of interspecific competition on seed development and quality of five soybean cultivars
CSIRO PUBLISHING – 11/16/2007, 23:47 pm
Katherine Millar A , David J. Gibson B , Bryan G. Young C and Andrew J. Wood A , D A Department of Plant Biology, and Centre of Excellence for Soybean Research, Teaching, and Outreach, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901-6509, USA.

Katrina: Worst Forest Disaster in U.S. History
ABC News – 11/16/2007, 22:51 pm
When Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast two years ago, the storm devastated 320 million trees. Now the United States is suffering the worst forest catastrophe in its history, according to a new analysis by the journal Science.

Museum Curator Discusses Depleting Nature Reserves
Brigham Young NewsNet – 11/16/2007, 21:56 pm
Nature reserves are getting smaller and smaller because of various effects, causing many plant and animal life to go extinct. That was the focus of a lecture by Bill Newmark, research curator and conservation biologist for the Utah Museum of Natural History.

UAS scientist develops first drought tolerant rice
The Hindu – 11/16/2007, 20:09 pm
Divya Gandhi MAS 946-1 saves 60 per cent of water The variety was released after trials in three districts It saves 3,000 litres of water for every kg of rice.

Climate change panel verdict: the future is bleak
The Times – 11/16/2007, 19:34 pm
Global warming may have abrupt and irreversible consequences and could cause the extinction of almost a third of all plant and animal species on the planet, the UNs climate science panel will say today.

American Rice: Out of Africa
Science Magazine – 11/16/2007, 18:41 pm
In colonial America, slaves from west Africa made many a plantation owner rich by growing a particular high-quality variety of rice. Now, genetic research suggests the slaves not only supplied the labor and the agricultural skills they'd gained in their home countries but also may have brought the valuable crop with them.

Winemaking and Grape Growing Experts
UC Davis – 11/16/2007, 18:27 pm
UC Davis has broad expertise in the area of grape growing and winemaking. If you need information on a topic that is not listed, please contact Pat Bailey, News Service, (530) 752-9843, pjbailey@ucdavis.

Why Autumn Colors Are So Late
Yahoo News USA – 11/16/2007, 16:05 pm
A gray, grim landscape used to greet residents of the Northeastern United States each November, but autumn's riot of red, orange and yellow came late this year.

A 'super-leaf' to harness the Sun?
New Scientist – 11/16/2007, 13:24 pm
Is it a leaf? Is it a computer? Well, no, it's a computerised leaf. One day, it could be a super-leaf that would limit the need for fertilisers. Is this the dawn of a new green revolution? Before we all get carried away, though, the super-leaf remains very much at the conceptual stage - the brainchild of a team of researchers at the University of Illinois.

New hybrid rice group aims to raise rice yields in the tropics
Checkbiotech – 11/16/2007, 11:28 am
The Hybrid Rice Research and Development Consortium (HRDC), established by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), will strengthen publicprivate sector partnership in hybrid rice, a technology that can raise the yield of rice and thus overall rice productivity and profitability in Asia.

Genetically engineered 'pharm' crops discussed
Lawrence Journal-World – 11/15/2007, 15:35 pm
Rice has never sounded so threatening. Rice farmers from California and Arkansas, Washington D.C.-based scientists and state agriculture groups talked of the dangers of planting a rice crop in Kansas intended for pharmaceutical companies.

Judge should halt DEA ban on hemp crops
Star Bulletin – 11/16/2007, 07:55 am
THE ISSUE A federal judge is expected to rule this month on whether to reject a lawsuit allowing the growing of industrial hemp. Hawaii farmers who have long wanted to become part of the fledgling industrial hemp industry should look to North Dakota for leadership.

Drought Management - Survival In The Dry
Article Alley – 11/16/2007, 06:48 am
Dealing with extended drought conditions can be a daunting affair. Not knowing when a drought will break not only tests farmers, the general community in towns and cities is also affected by subsequent water restrictions and higher food prices.

Splashy fun at Longwood
Philadelphia Inquirer – 11/16/2007, 06:09 am
First thing you wonder about the new indoor Children's Garden at Longwood Gardens: What's with all the water? It burps. It spits. It blips on cue and shoots up unexpectedly.

Evolutionary Biology Research on Plant Shows Significance of Maternal Effects
Biocompare – 11/16/2007, 00:20 am
Source: University of Virginia When habitat changes, animals migrate. But how do immobile organisms like plants cope when faced with alterations to their environment? This is an increasingly important question in light of new environmental conditions brought on by global climate change.

Altered corn may affect aquatic ecosystems
Webindia123 – 11/16/2007, 00:51 am
Corn genetically altered to kill the European corn borer could potentially harm the U.S. Midwest's aquatic ecosystems, researchers said. Scientists at Loyola University in Chicago established that pollen, leaves and other plant parts from corn -- including genetically modified Bt corn -- are washing into nearby streams, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.

New research suggests delay in autumn colour is caused by increased atmospheric CO2 not global warming
Innovations-Report – 11/15/2007, 06:27 am
The delay in autumnal leaf coloration and leaf fall in trees is caused by rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere and not by increased global temperatures, suggests a new study by researchers at the University of Southampton.

U. Connecticut doctor calls disease hidden threat of global warming
Calibre Macro World – 11/15/2007, 23:23 pm
(The Daily Campus, U-WIRE via COMTEX) -- The looming threat of global warming has always centered around climatic events such as melting icecaps flooding the earth.

The Arabidopsis Circadian Clock Incorporates a cADPR-Based Feedback Loop
Science Magazine – 11/15/2007, 23:04 pm
Antony N. Dodd 1, Michael J. Gardner 1, Carlos H. Hotta 1, Katharine E. Hubbard 1, Neil Dalchau 1, John Love 2, Jean-Maurice Assie 1, Fiona C. Robertson 1, Mia Kyed Jakobsen 3, Jorge Gonalves 4, Dale Sanders 5, Alexa A.

As I See It: Rethink GMOs as sustainable agriculture
Corvallis Gazette-Times – 11/15/2007, 23:01 pm
Could it be that genetic engineering, like so many things in life, is not black-and-white but many shades of gray? I dont like being pressured to sit on one side of the fence or the other, to make a choice between us and them.

Evolutionary biology research on plant shows significance of maternal effects
PhysOrg.com – 11/15/2007, 19:18 pm
When habitat changes, animals migrate. But how do immobile organisms like plants cope when faced with alterations to their environment? This is an increasingly important question in light of new environmental conditions brought on by global climate change.

Scientists warn that species extinction could reduce productivity of plants on Earth by half
Calibre Macro World – 11/15/2007, 19:10 pm
An international team of scientists has published a new analysis showing that as plant species around the world go extinct, natural habitats become less productive and contain fewer total plants - - a situation that could ultimately compromise important benefits that humans get from nature (see also ).

Green fitness program for safe harvests
Bayer – 11/14/2007, 18:24 pm
Rapeseed, that have been made more resistent to stress by means of targeted gene silencing Leverkusen, November 2007 Climate change and a growing global population are making it necessary for worldwide agriculture to intensify its efforts to safeguard harvests.

Genetic technology reveals how poisonous mushrooms cook up toxins
Innovations Report – 11/14/2007, 15:00 pm
Alpha-amanitin is the poison of the death cap mushroom, Amanita phalloides. The Michigan State University plant biology research associate was looking for a big gene that makes a big enzyme that produces alpha-amanitin, since that's how other fungi produce similar compounds.

Energy Biosciences Institute Begins Ground-Breaking Research Into New, ...
FinanzNachrichten.de – 11/14/2007, 14:56 pm
BERKELEY, Calif., Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The strategic partners in the Energy Biosciences Institute-BP, the University of California, Berkeley, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of Illinois-announced today that the contract finalizing the formation of EBI has been signed and the Institute's work is officially underway.

Altered corn may affect aquatic ecosystems
UPI – 11/14/2007, 13:57 pm
CHICAGO, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Corn genetically altered to kill the European corn borer could potentially harm the U.S. Midwest's aquatic ecosystems, researchers said.

First-ever 'State of the Carbon Cycle Report' finds troubling imbalance
EurekAlert! – 11/14/2007, 13:41 pm
The first "State of the Carbon Cycle Report" for North America, released online this week by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, finds the continent's carbon budget increasingly overwhelmed by human-caused emissions.

Increasing ozone will damage crops
Environmental Science & Technology – 11/14/2007, 12:22 pm
Without global emissions controls, increasing ozone levels associated with fossil fuel combustion will damage agriculture considerably over the coming decades.

The Foundation of Agriculture is Root Mass
Articles Bridge – 11/14/2007, 12:14 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.

Fight plant pests using RNA interference
Chinese Academy of Sciences - English – 11/13/2007, 18:04 pm
CAS plant physiologists have recently invented a plant-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) technique to effectively and specifically control the gene expression of the cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) and stunt its growth.

DuPont Congratulates Cullers on Breaking World Record Soybean Yield With Pioneer(R) Brand Soybean Variety
Yahoo PR Newswire – 11/13/2007, 13:00 pm
New record set with Pioneer(R) brand 94M80, yielding 154 bushels per acre

Cornell researchers help develop first genetically modified food crop in South Asia
AGBIOS – 11/14/2007, 08:28 am
The field trial was conducted at the University of Agricultural Sciences in Dharward, Karnataka. According to the researchers, pest-resistant eggplant may become the first genetically engineered food crop in South Asia by 2009.

Lutein: A Plant Pigment That Provides Protection From The Sun
–11/14/2007, 08:05 am
Lutein is a plant pigment, and protects protection from the sun needed to prevent damage to the skin and eyes from its strong ultra violet (UVB) radiation.

Experts Discuss The Safety & Benefits Of Plant Biotechnology
Article Dashboard – 11/14/2007, 07:46 am
REASON #1: Using GM crops, farmers can reduce pesticide spraying, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and increase yields. Evidence continues to accumulate about how genetically modified food crops are helping to preserve the environment.

Wee plant, big issue
Tyger Burger – 11/14/2007, 05:58 am
ESME ERASMUS A HIDDEN botanical treasure, a rare wildflower species called Babiana secunda – a special type of bobbejaantjie – was discovered recently in the renosterveld just below the driving range at the Durbanville Golf Club.

Algae could generate hydrogen for fuel cells
PhysOrg.com – 11/14/2007, 05:49 am
An image of Chlamydomonas used in the study. Credit: Surzycki, et al. 2007 PNAS. For several decades, scientists have known that certain species of algae can produce hydrogen in anaerobic conditions.

KU Chancellors Club names three teaching professors
The University of Kansas – 11/14/2007, 03:36 am
KU Chancellors Club names three teaching professors LAWRENCE Three University of Kansas faculty members have been named Chancellors Club Teaching Professors: Helen Alexander, professor of ecology and evolutionary Amy Devitt, professor of and Alice Lieberman, professor of social welfare.

Scientists engineer rare tree species
VietNamNet Bridge – 11/14/2007, 02:07 am
Vietnamese scientists have for the first time successfully reproduced via in vitro fertilisation specimens of Chinese swamp cypress (Glyptostrobus pensilis), a tree species on the verge of extinction.

Synthetic Evolution: Researchers Simulate Photosynthesis And Design A Better Leaf
Silo Breaker – 11/14/2007, 01:08 am
Photosynthesis converts light energy into chemical energy in plants, algae, phytoplankton and some species of bacteria and archaea. Photosynthesis in plants involves an elaborate array of chemical reactions requiring dozens of protein enzymes and other chemical components.

Scientists at University of Miami report research in plant biology
NewsRx – 11/14/2007, 00:11 am
According to recent research from the United States, "In animal-pollinated plants, two factors affecting pollen flow and seed production are changes in floral display and the availability of compatible mates.

Scientists link key gene to response to sunlight exposure in corn
AgProfessional – 11/14/2007, 00:03 am
Plants, like humans, suffer from increased exposure to the sun's rays. Scientists have discovered a unique feature of genes in corn that are affected by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

How Poisonous Plants Protect Themselves From Their Own Weapons
Science Daily – 11/13/2007, 20:54 pm
It is a known fact that plants are firmly planted in the soil they cannot flee from enemies which want to eat them. They are not helpless, however; they oppose their enemies with a large number of sometimes highly poisonous substances.

Forestry Policy - Supporting Sustainable Forests
Green Party of Aotearoa – 11/13/2007, 16:47 pm
Introduction Originally over 80 percent of New Zealand was covered in forest. Indiscriminate clearing of forest and conversion to farmland, together with the introduction of exotic animal and plant species has caused significant environmental degradation, with increased erosion, loss of biodiversity and more severe flooding in deforested catchments.

Modified crops 'silence' insect pests - forever
Business Spectator – 11/13/2007, 15:31 pm
Scientists in two nations are making progress in the field of genetically modified plants. They are developing genetically modified plants which can kill an insect pest without harming useful insects or the local environment.

CO2 link to late leaf colour change
Breitbart.com – 11/13/2007, 05:32 am
Write a Comment Leaves turning brown later each autumn is caused by rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and not global warming, research by British scientists has discovered.

Lettuce Trials Show Improved Yield
Red Orbit – 11/13/2007, 14:39 pm
A new field trial on lettuces has been found to significantly improve lettuce marketable yield, shelf life and speed to maturity. Following on from Plant Impact's tomato plant trials (Grower, 4 October), the global developer of technologies that improve crop productivity by combating negative effects of environmental stress has announced another success.

Plant science faces Harper ax
Daily Herald – 11/13/2007, 01:10 am
The V Building on Harper College's campus is bursting with vegetation. Hundreds of plant species are growing in the greenhouse. In one room, silk flowers are stacked to the ceiling.

Researchers Create Gold Nanoparticles from Soybeans
World Health Network – 11/13/2007, 12:26 pm
In 2002, U.S. farmers harvested 2.7 billion bushels of soybeans. Last year in Missouri, farmers harvested 194 million bushels of soybeans worth about $1.

A Chemical in Red Wine, Fruits and Vegetables Stops Cancer
Medinews.com – 11/13/2007, 11:10 am
A new study has found that very high doses of antioxidant polyphenols--commonly found in red wine, fruits, vegetables, and green tea--shut down cancerous tumors by cutting off the formation of new blood vessels needed for their growth.

Botswana: Botanical Garden to Aid Research
All Africa – 11/13/2007, 10:57 am
Kagiso Molefhe Gaborone Establishment of a botanical garden in Botswana is a step towards in-depth research in plants, says Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Major General Moeng Pheto.

How we're destroying our habitat
The Australian – 11/13/2007, 08:52 am
LIKE a recklessly profligate spendthrift, humanity has largely ignored ever shriller environmental warnings and continued on a destructive path that has already done extraordinary damage.

Significance of Bt maize to enhance yield - Pakistan
AGBIOS – 11/13/2007, 08:26 am
Pakistan is largely based on agriculture; it contributes about 25% to the national economy, provides employment for over 50% of the labour force and is main source of income generation in rural areas.

UMass biology professor awarded the Packard fellowship award
Checkbiotech – 11/13/2007, 06:16 am
UMass biology professor awarded the Packard fellowship award By Cara Hutchison A University of Massachusetts biology professor, Magdalena Bezanilla, was awarded the Packard Fellowship Award for her research in alternative fuel options.

Professor promotes green thumbs in capital
Viet Nam News – 11/13/2007, 00:19 am
Trees have long captured the attention of Peoples Teacher Vu Van Chuyen, who has made a career of studying the countrys diverse plant species. Thanh Ha gets a lesson in botany.

Genetic technology reveals how poisonous mushrooms cook up toxins
EurekAlert! – 11/12/2007, 17:36 pm
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Heather Hallen spent eight years looking for poison in all the wrong places. Alpha-amanitin is the poison of the death cap mushroom, Amanita phalloides.

Study finds deadly bacteria responds to light
Checkbiotech – 11/12/2007, 17:46 pm
This is the first time light has been shown to change the course of a bacterial disease. And these particular bacteria are probably not alone: As many as one-third of other bacterial species may react to light by producing physiological or chemical changes.

Europe should grow more grain legumes, finds EU project
Cordis – 11/12/2007, 12:52 pm
European farmers should grow more grain legumes for their positive human, environmental and economic benefits, an EU-funded project is to say.

Latin American botanists to get plant database
SciDev.Net – 11/12/2007, 11:41 am
An initiative to put thousands of botanical specimens from Latin America into a single online database is underway. The Latin American Plant Initiative (LAPI) will scan botanical 'type' specimens — the original specimen on which the description of a new species is based — with a view to improving plant science research and teaching.

Cornell researchers identify natural herbicide that controls weeds around some common lawn grasses
Innovations report – 11/12/2007, 07:30 am
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.

To promote bioengineered corn, DA puts up incentives
Micromedex – 11/12/2007, 08:23 am
THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HAS assured corn farmers of continued government support as it promotes the safe and responsible use of modern biotechnology for the staple.

Evolutionary Algorithms Used To Design A Better Leaf
Science a GoGo – 11/12/2007, 04:45 am
A computer model of a plant that mimics the process of evolution produces more leaves and fruit without needing extra fertilizer. The University of Illinois researchers who designed the in silico plant say that theirs is the first computer model to simulate every step of the photosynthetic process.

Commentary: Biofuels Could Kill More People Than The Iraq War
Free Internet Press – 11/12/2007, 00:57 am
The cost of rice has risen by 20% over the past year, maize by 50%, wheat by 100%. Biofuels aren't entirely to blame - by taking land out of food production they exacerbate the effects of bad harvests and rising demand - but almost all the major agencies are now warning against expansion.

Earless corn could impact U.S. ethanol
Daily Herald – 11/11/2007, 16:26 pm
A University of Illinois scientist is teaching an old plant some new tricks that could have revolutionary impact on the ethanol industry in the U.S. Fred Below, professor of plant physiology, began growing tropical maize near the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign more than two decades ago to study the genes involved in the plant's use of nitrogen.

Genetically modified grain exports remain strong
Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier – 11/11/2007, 07:48 am
WATERLOO --- Finding a home for a record corn crop apparently won't be a problem for Northeast Iowa farmers, despite planting more genetically-modified seed than ever before.

Scientists warn that species extinction could reduce productivity of plants on Earth by half
Innovations Report – 11/11/2007, 13:43 pm
An international team of scientists has published a new analysis showing that as plant species around the world go extinct, natural habitats become less productive and contain fewer total plants –– a situation that could ultimately compromise important benefits that humans get from nature.

New Research To Help Fight Widespread Potato Disease
MediLexicon – 11/11/2007, 08:27 am
Scientists have made a key discovery into the genetics of the bacteria that causes blackleg, an economically damaging disease of potatoes, that could lead to new ways to fight the disease.

Spill will have far-ranging effects on plants and animals around bay for years, scientists fear
SF Gate – 11/11/2007, 00:36 am
A major oil spill is making San Francisco Bay look like a dirty bathtub, and the ring of black that soils the shoreline is likely to pose dire consequences for birds, mice, ducks, fish and the smallest of aquatic creatures for years to come, scientists say.

Scientists Successfully Simulate Photosynthesis And Design A Better Leaf
Science Daily – 11/10/2007, 20:34 pm
Scientists Successfully Simulate Photosynthesis And Design A Better Leaf (Nov. 9, 2007) - University of Illinois researchers have built a better plant, one that produces more leaves and fruit without needing extra fertilizer.

Otago scholars honoured by Royal Society
InfoNews – 11/10/2007, 19:12 pm
OTAGO Four eminent Otago academics recently achieved the distinction of being elected Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand. They are Professor Sally Brooker (Chemistry), Emeritus Professor James Flynn (Political Studies), Professor Allan Herbison (Physiology) and Professor Clive Ronson (Microbiology & Immunology).

Geo Facts
Sunday Observer – 11/10/2007, 18:42 pm
The soil of the Earth Whenever you look around or walk outdoors, or even when you have a fall, you are dealing with the Earth which we are all standing tall on.

Tomorrow's economy in the works
The Vacaville Reporter – 11/10/2007, 15:56 pm
In the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to sit in on several sessions of a seminar on microbiology at the University of California, Davis. All of the presentations were by senior officers of companies that are researching ways to employ new knowledge in microbiology and nanotechnology to solve our energy problems.

Researchers successfully simulate and boost photosynthesis
Biopact – 11/10/2007, 11:20 am
In a major breakthrough in plant biology, scientists have succeeded in boosting the photosynthetic efficiency of plants. With new insights, researchers from the University of Illinois built a better plant, one that produces more leaves and fruit without needing extra fertilizer.

Harrison Ford Lends Star Power to Nature Conservation
Epoch Times – 11/10/2007, 06:38 am
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Understated, conservative, and calmly good natured-a man in a grey suit strolled around the dimly lit banquet hall shaking hands and chatting.

Deciduous trees, in fall, could color your world
Corpus Christi Caller-Times – 11/10/2007, 06:29 am
CORPUS CHRISTI Colorful leaves is a sign of autumn. Although we might not get the vivid fall leaf colors of more temperate climates, we do have some trees that will provide fall color.

New hybrid rice group aims to raise rice yields in the tropics
CGIAR – 11/09/2007, 03:17 am
A new international research initiative, linking the private and public sectors for the first time and launched today at the 2007 Asian Seed Congress, aims to boost the research and development of hybrid rice for the tropics.

Researcher Gets Grant To Study Opium
Media Awareness Project – 11/10/2007, 00:44 am
One of the two researchers in the world researching opium is here at the University of Calgary. Canada Research Chair in Plant Biotechnology and biological sciences professor Dr. Peter Facchini holds a license to cultivate 100 opium poppies on campus.

Researchers discover natural herbicide released by grass
RxPG News – 11/08/2007, 16:59 pm
Schroeder and colleagues are also trying to understand why fescue grasses do not succumb to the toxin themselves. They found that when phenylalanine was added to plants dying from m-tyrosine exposure, they recovered.

Researchers Develop Complete Model of Photosynthetic Carbon Metabolism
Silo Breaker – 11/09/2007, 23:17 pm
Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a complete model of photosynthetic carbon metabolism that is capable of simulating photosynthesis in normal air.

Carnivorous flowers native to WA
ABC South Coast WA – 11/09/2007, 11:52 am
You are a fly zooming through the bush enjoying the sweet smell and nectar of the wildflowers below, suddenly you spot a particularly enticing one. There is something different, something special about this one. So you fly down to get a closer look. Bad mistake.

A Novel Strategy to Counter Ocean Acidification
Tree Hugger – 11/09/2007, 11:52 am
Science & Technology Kurt House's idea to bolster the oceans' ability to sequester carbon dioxide sounds straightforward enough. Because higher atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gas have blunted the oceans' ability to act as a carbon sink by making them more acidic, House - a graduate student in Harvard's Earth and Sciences department - contends, pumping in more basic solutions should help reverse that trend.

USDA announces plan to improve quality compliance of GM products
Checkbiotech – 11/09/2007, 10:55 am
'Biotechnology is a key component of our growing agricultural economy,' said Conner. 'USDA's program will help the biotechnology sector become better stewards by focusing on the implementation of best management practices so that problems can be prevented.

Plants in Lord Howe spotlight
Yahoo!7 News – 11/09/2007, 05:19 am
The unique plant life on Lord Howe Island will be the focus of an event there from December 2 to 9. Rainforest Week will feature guided rainforest walks, museum displays and slide lectures.

Cornell Researchers Identify Natural Herbicide That Controls Weeds Around Some Common Lawn Grasses
Biocompare – 11/09/2007, 00:36 am
Source: Cornell University Communications 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.

Taming the exotic beauty of orchids
Maldon and Burnham Standard – 11/08/2007, 23:50 pm
ORCHIDS have often been called the Angelina Jolie of the plant world - a exotic beauty with a reputation for being difficult to work with.

'Chlamy' genome holds clues for renewable energy, the environment and human health
Calibre Macro World – 11/08/2007, 22:41 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 (see also Movement Disorders).

Preserve memorializes conservation giant
Madison Eagle – 11/08/2007, 21:15 pm
About two dozen friends, admirers and family members of the late environmental advocate Helen Fenske, a longtime resident of Chatham Township, gathered in late October at the Great Swamp Watershed Associations Conservation Management Area in Harding Township as the associations staff and trustees dedicated a park bench in her honor.

MU researchers go nano, natural and green
Calibre Macro World – 11/08/2007, 19:26 pm
In 2002, U.S. farmers harvested 2.7 billion bushels of soybeans. Last year in Missouri, farmers harvested 194 million bushels of soybeans worth about $1.

Oil palm does not store more carbon than forests
Mongabay – 11/08/2007, 19:13 pm
Officials from the Indonesian ministry of agriculture and the palm oil industry are distributing materials that misrepresent the carbon balance oil palm plantations, according to accounts from people who have seen presentations by members of the Indonesian Palm Oil Commission.

Plant extinctions might impact humans
Earthtimes.org – 11/08/2007, 16:34 pm
A U.S.-led team of scientists has determined plant species extinctions cause natural habitats to become less productive and contain fewer total plants.

After wildlife, orchid smuggling
Calcutta Telegraph – 11/08/2007, 16:09 pm
A three-million-year-old fossilised bee found in the Dominican Republic with orchid deposits on its back was all that scientists needed to prove that the fragrant flowers belonged to the dinosaur era and have adapted themselves genetically to outlive other plant species.

Quote of the Day: Jonathan Porritt on Saving Our Seeds
Tree Hugger – 11/08/2007, 13:45 pm
The number of people out there today seriously worried about the health of all the plants and seeds on which modern agriculture depends must be very limited, and the number of people actively campaigning to protect them vanishingly few.

At the root of nutrient limitation, ecosystems are not as different as they seem
EurekAlert! – 11/08/2007, 13:09 pm
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Anyone who has thrown a backyard barbecue knows that hot dogs are inexplicably packaged in different numbers than buns — eight hot dogs per pack versus 10 hot dog buns.

Women in the vineyard
Orange County Register – 11/08/2007, 09:57 am
If you see Mary Hall Maher driving to work in St. Helena, you might think she's headed for an office job. She's wearing white cotton trousers and an ironed, white blouse with blue flowers.

Fulbright Scholars announced for 2007
Penn State Live – 11/08/2007, 08:54 am
The Chronicle of Higher Education recently announced Fulbright senior awards recipients for 2007, and Penn State faculty garnered a number of awards for the year.

Plants provide better understanding of the epidemiology and evolution of infectious disease
News-Medical – 11/07/2007, 18:08 pm
Animals, like plants, can build tolerance to infections at a genetic level, and these findings could provide a better understanding of the epidemiology and evolution of infectious disease, according to evolutionary biologists.

Modified crops 'silence' insect pests - forever
New Scientist – 11/07/2007, 17:40 pm
GENETICALLY modified plants that can kill just about any insect pest without harming beneficial insects or the environment may soon pop up in farmers' fields.

The grass roots search for synthetic ethanol fuels
International Herald Tribune – 11/07/2007, 16:56 pm
EAST LANSING, Michigan: A tiny plot of tall switchgrass stands amid row after row of high-yield corn and soybeans at Michigan State University's crop and soil science farm here.

Woodside gets to the root of the problem with tree deal
The Australian – 11/07/2007, 10:32 am
GAS giant Woodside and the CO2 Group have agreed to set up what they claim to be Australia's biggest carbon offset program, planting trees to offset carbon dioxide emissions.

Humanity is the greatest challenge
BBC – 11/07/2007, 15:31 pm
VIEWPOINTJohn FeeneyThe growth in human population and rising consumption have exceeded the planet's ability to support us, argues John Feeney. In this week's Green Room, he says it is time to ring the alarm bells and take radical action in order to avert unspeakable consequences.

New Research To Help Fight Widespread Potato Disease
Science Daily – 11/07/2007, 15:19 pm
ScienceDaily (Nov. 7, 2007) Scientists have made a key discovery into the genetics of the bacteria that causes blackleg, an economically damaging disease of potatoes, that could lead to new ways to fight the disease.

Experts identify growth trigger for marine algae
ABC News – 11/05/2007, 19:01 pm
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Japanese scientists have identified two light receptors in marine algae which appear to be responsible for the proliferation of these plants.

Scientists warn that species extinction could reduce productivity of plants on Earth by half
Silo Breaker – 11/06/2007, 07:35 am
"The process by which plants grow and produce more plant biomass is one of the most fundamental biological processes on the planet," said Bradley Cardinale, lead author of the paper and assistant professor of biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

BASF's Amflora potato delivers gene-modified profits
AGBIOS – 11/07/2007, 08:10 am
BASF AG, the world's largest chemical maker, is weeks away from challenging European resistance to genetically modified plants with a potato that will reap profit and share gains along with other bio-engineered crops.

Monsanto Says It Has A New Way To Keep Insects Off Of Crops
Truth About Trade – 11/07/2007, 04:44 am
St. Louis - Scientists at Monsanto Co. working with a Belgium biotech firm have developed a new way to protect crops from insects, Monsanto announced Sunday.

Hawaii Seed Crop Business Up Sharply
Truth About Trade – 11/07/2007, 04:44 am
The business of growing plants for seed has emerged in the past five years as one of Hawaii's biggest industries as companies spend more money on research and development of new crops.

Drought-resistant corn developed in Banga
Philippine Information Agency – 11/07/2007, 04:21 am
Koronadal City (7 November) -- For an ordinary farmer, only a miracle can make a corn plant survive for almost a month under an unusually intense heat and without a single drop of water.

Understanding drought damage in the garden
Kinston Free Press – 11/07/2007, 02:19 am
This summers drought has caused extensive damage to many landscape trees and shrubs, leaving them with dead leaves and branch die back. Long term drought effects on woody plants are yet to be seen.

New home for giant lily
Adelaide Now – 11/07/2007, 00:00 am
ONE of the world's largest waterlilies has a new $4.3 million glasshouse in the heart of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. That comes almost 140 years after crowds flocked to see the first blooms unfurl in Victoria House on the site.

A bitter triumph
The Manitoban Online – 11/06/2007, 22:43 pm
Mustard: the plant fruit fly Chelse McKee, staff Dana Schroeder, an assistant professor and geneticist at the University of Manitoba, with her team of graduate students, is researching the process through which mustard plants use light.

North biofuel appetite causing South starvation
The Hindu – 11/06/2007, 18:16 pm
George Monbiot Developing nations are being pushed to grow crops for ethanol, rather than food, all thanks to political expediency. Using food to produce biofuels might strain supplies of arable land: IMF The cost of rice has risen by 20% over the past year, maize by 50% It doesn’t get madder than this.

North biofuel appetite causing South starvation
The Hindu – 11/06/2007, 21:45 pm
The cost of rice has risen by 20% over the past year, maize by 50% It doesnt get madder than this. Swaziland is in the grip of a famine and receiving emergency food aid.

To fight disease, animals, like plants, can tolerate parasites
EurekAlert! – 11/06/2007, 14:07 pm
Animals, like plants, can build tolerance to infections at a genetic level, and these findings could provide a better understanding of the epidemiology and evolution of infectious disease, according to evolutionary biologists.

To fight disease, animals, like plants, can tolerate parasites
Penn State Live – 11/06/2007, 11:33 am
University Park, Pa. --- Animals, like plants, can build tolerance to infections at a genetic level, and these findings could provide a better understanding of the epidemiology and evolution of infectious disease, according to evolutionary biologists.

UI crop science program to share in $2 million grant
News Gazette – 11/06/2007, 14:35 pm
URBANA A new bequest to the University of Illinois crop science program will encourage students to study plant breeding, a science at the heart of advances in agriculture.

Rare orchid found on spoil heap
BBC – 11/06/2007, 13:03 pm
Young's Helleborine only grow at two sites in ScotlandRare orchids have been found growing on a spoil tip next to an old coal mine which could represent 'evolution in progress' experts say.

Eco-efficient biotech crops help with global food needs.
Council for Biotechnology Information – 11/06/2007, 12:38 pm
Environmental Benefits More studies confirm environmental benefits of biotech crops. There's a growing body of evidence from around the world that biotech crops are helping to protect and preserve the environment.

PNAS: How Poisonous Plants Protect Themselves from Their Own Weapons
idw - Informationsdienst Wissenschaft – 11/06/2007, 11:12 am
It is a known fact that plants are firmly planted in the soil - they cannot flee from enemies which want to eat them.

Africa's big plans for biofuel
IOL – 11/06/2007, 10:24 am
By Clare Byrne Visitors to the poor south-east African country of Mozambique are often taken aback at the cost of getting around. "Is petrol is problem," taxi drivers in the capital Maputo retort when challenged about fares that begin at 100 meticais (about R30) for a journey of no more than a couple of blocks.

Africa's big plans for biofuel
IOL – 11/06/2007, 11:50 am
Visitors to the poor south-east African country of Mozambique are often taken aback at the cost of getting around. 'Is petrol is problem,' taxi drivers in the capital Maputo retort when challenged about fares that begin at 100 meticais (about R30) for a journey of no more than a couple of blocks.

Earth in middle of sixth mass extinction, half of its species could be wiped out by 2100
Malaysia Sun – 11/06/2007, 04:27 am
Washington, Nov.6 : Chances of humans benefiting from nature are receding, as natural habitats are becoming less productive due to the gradual extinction of plant species.

Lightweights on the landscape
The Australian – 11/06/2007, 09:18 am
IF you are fortunate enough to survive a night spent sleeping in the desert oak groves of Central Australia, your understanding of these lovely, elusive trees may well be deepened. You may have vivid dreams of warrior parties on solemn march across the landscape; you may imagine that you can hear the whispering voice of ice spirits blowing on the margins of the wind.

UAF researchers discover possible new sea life
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner – 11/06/2007, 07:39 am
Divers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks have discovered what they think are three new species of sea life in the cold waters along the Aleutian Islands.

New Discovery Links Potato Scourge and Malaria
Scottish Food and Drink – 11/06/2007, 07:34 am
Summary: A discovery made by scientists at SCRI could lead to more effective ways of combating the fungus that caused the Irish Potato Famine. In an extraordinary twist it may also help tackle malaria.

IPRs and development concerns in South Asia
Eldis – 11/06/2007, 03:49 am
How can South Asian governments best respond to the challenges posed by IPRs?

Freeze-Free Fig Trees
Organic Gardening – 11/06/2007, 00:32 am
Fig leaves infamously cover the more private sections of statues across Europe, so it's rather ironic that fig trees need some covering up in cooler climates! Figs are hardy only in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 7 through 11, so people in colder areas must protect them.

Scientists Worry About Nanotechnologys Environmental Impact
Associated Content – 11/05/2007, 22:55 pm
Scientists Worry About Nanotechnology's Environmental Impact Problem Can Be Solved by Soybeans and Water By Codie Leonsch Hartwig Gold salt nanoparticles, used in technologies ranging from medical applications to smart telecommunications devices, pose the great threat of negative environmental impact, but now researchers at the (MU) have developed an environmentally safe way to produce gold salt nanoparticles.

Structure, Evolution and Function of Oomycete Effectors
Imperial College London – 11/05/2007, 21:07 pm
Sophien Kamoun, The Sainsbury Laboratory, John Innes Centre, Norwich, presents this lecture for the Division of Biology on; ' .' Abstract: Eukaryotic plant pathogens, such as oomycetes and fungi, secrete an arsenal of effector proteins to modulate plant innate immunity and enable parasitic infection.

Researcher Grows Opium Poppies in Old Copper Mine
Silo Breaker – 11/05/2007, 18:08 pm
Peter Facchini wants you to know that opium poppies aren't just for heroin, anymore. And the University of Calgary professor of plant biotechnology just got a $650,000 grant from the Canadian government to prove it.

Monsanto Modifies Corn Genes to Resist Insects
Associated Content – 11/05/2007, 17:51 pm
RNA Interference May Make Corn Stronger By neile mcgrew Building on a Nobel Prize winning discovery, that it is using RNAi, or RNA interference, as a tool to modify corn to fight off insect infestation.

Fourteen Global Experts Comment on Safety and Use of Genetically Modified Food Crops
PR Web – 11/05/2007, 13:50 pm
Online video captures support for contributions to the environment and third-world farmers.

MARY JO MODICA: Do your part to end global warming
Tuscaloosa News – 11/05/2007, 11:08 am
Climate change, the potential for the Earth's surface temperatures to increase significantly due to increased carbon levels, is a controversial topic on everyone's minds these days.

NWF certifies Nature's Wonders habitat in Rye
York County Coast Star – 11/05/2007, 08:21 am
RYE Nature's Wonders an outdoor, nature-based classroom for preschool children and their parents was recently declared a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.

Crops That Shut Down Pests' Genes
Technology Review – 11/05/2007, 07:52 am
Monsanto is developing genetically modified plants that use RNA interference to kill the insects that eat them. Corn that bites back: Genetically modified corn made by Monsanto silences genes in the insects that eat its roots, slowing and eventually killing them.

Scientists Warn That Species Extinction Could Reduce Productivity of Plants on Earth By Half
Biocompare – 11/05/2007, 05:41 am
Source: University of California - Santa Barbara An international team of scientists has published a new analysis showing that as plant species around the world go extinct, natural habitats become less productive and contain fewer total plants a situation that could ultimately compromise important benefits that humans get from nature.

New lab will refine desert soil research
Las Vegas Review Journal – 11/05/2007, 05:37 am
By LAWRENCE MOWER REVIEW-JOURNAL Desert Research Institute associate research professor Michael Young talks about the institute's four new lysimeters, stainless steel containers that eventually will be filled with dirt.

New Perspectives on Pierce's Disease
Wine Business Online – 11/05/2007, 03:03 am
Advances in molecular microbiology further the understanding of the disease process and possible methods of control for the bacterial pathogen, Xylella fastidiosa.

Twice Bitten, Native Species Now Jeopardized
Voice of San Diego – 11/05/2007, 01:24 am
the region begin surveying wildfire damage, they say they are concerned about one fact: A large swath of land that burned in 2003 went up in flames again in the late October firestorm.

As climate shifts, should we fight it?: Disappearing savannas in South Africa's Kruger National Park are forcing scientists to reconsider what conservation means
RBC Dain Raushcer – 11/03/2007, 07:15 am
Something unexpected is happening in the grasslands of South Africa's premier game reserve, forcing grazers like zebras and wildebeest to move out of some areas while tree-loving species like elephants and leopards move in.

At Home: Amazon flows north
Naples Daily News – 11/03/2007, 06:55 am
Naples Botanical Garden showing plants and animals that reveal South Americas mother river... The Amazon River Basin stretches over 2 million square miles across the South American continent, encompassing nine countries and containing over half of the planets remaining rainforest.

Producers Urged To Watch Out For Aflatoxin In Corn
Press and Dakotan – 11/03/2007, 04:40 am
Aflatoxins in corn and wet field conditions for harvest have been the hot topics of conversation in my office this past week. Since I cannot do anything about the weather, I'll give you some information on the aflatoxin issue.

Follow the rules when planting transgenic corn
AgProfessional – 11/03/2007, 00:36 am
WOOSTER, Ohio -- As the number of Ohio growers planting transgenic corn hybrids increases, Ohio State University Extension entomologists are reiterating the importance of following required Insect Resistant Management (IRM) guidelines.

MU researchers go nano, natural and green -- using soybeans
AgProfessional – 11/03/2007, 00:36 am
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- In 2002, U.S. farmers harvested 2.7 billion bushels of soybeans. Last year in Missouri, farmers harvested 194 million bushels of soybeans worth about $1.2 billion. Now, a team of researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia is turning those soybeans into gold, with nothing more than a little water.

Scientists sequence a cereal killer
AgProfessional – 11/03/2007, 00:35 am
Important cereal crops, such as wheat and barley, are susceptible to a fungus, called Fusarium graminearum, that is responsible for head blight disease.

Mid-South cotton yields surprise and disappoint
Delta Farm Press – 11/02/2007, 21:56 pm
Mid-South cotton yields have been disappointing for some and surprising for others so far this harvest season.

Teamwork increases student learning and career success
PhysOrg.com – 11/02/2007, 12:36 pm
Teamwork increases student learning and career success Elsa Snchez and Richard Craig, professors in the Department of Horticulture at PSU, surveyed students enrolled from 2003-2005 in their Plant Systematics course.

Too many bloomin' plants
The Sydney Morning Herald – 11/02/2007, 11:51 am
THEIR squawking and squabbling over nectar dribbling from grevillea blooms is as symbolic of Sydney as the harbour and its bridge. But as colourful and entertaining as rainbow lorikeets may be, scientists have called for a rethink over the fad for filling suburban gardens with grevilleas, saying they have become just too irresistible for the large nectar-feeding birds.

Flexo, the Green Printing Process
Editor & Publisher – 11/02/2007, 10:21 am
NEW YORK The Green movement is happening around the world, most notably in larger industrial and first-world countries, but it's also gaining traction elsewhere.

As savannas disappear, scientists rethink conservation
Chicago Tribune – 11/02/2007, 10:08 am
Disappearing savannas in South Africa's Kruger National Park are forcing scientists to reconsider what conservation means. Something unexpected is happening in the grasslands of South Africa's premier game reserve, forcing grazers like zebras and wildebeest to move out of some areas while tree-loving species like elephants and leopards move in.

Shocking: Scientist Commits Heresy
Town Hall – 11/02/2007, 09:49 am
Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.

Tequila industry woes
CBC – 11/02/2007, 08:18 am
'Those are agave thorns under my skin,' he says. 'Most of them work their way out, but these two never have.' Romero doesn't let the thorns slow him down.

Modified toxin helps crops kill resistant insects
Checkbiotech – 11/02/2007, 06:20 am
Farmers have long used Bt sprays to protect their crops, and cotton and corn engineered to make the toxin themselves have been grown for more than a decade.

A Method That Captures Cell Growth And Activity Highlighted By Cold Spring Harbor Protocols
MediLexicon – 11/02/2007, 05:36 am
This month's issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols/ features a cutting-edge method that provides a snapshot of growth and activity patterns in mixed populations of cells.

New wheat genotype could aid farmers
Washington State University Daily Evergreen – 11/02/2007, 05:23 am
Resistance to a root rot pathogen could counteract the direct seeding methods. A genotype developed by the WSU College of Agriculture during a four-year span, is on a path to receiving an international patent.

'Stressed trees' aren't putting on display
Warwick Beacon – 11/01/2007, 19:02 pm
If you feel this has been an especially drab fall, you're not alone. Warmer and drier than normal conditions have dealt a double whammy to trees and shrubs and robbed them of the bright reds, yellows and oranges considered so much a part of a New England autumn.

If not in atmosphere, where does carbon go?
Harvard University Gazette – 11/01/2007, 21:04 pm
A prominent atmospheric scientist Monday called for more research into natural carbon sinks, which today absorb almost half of man-made carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere and which will play a large role in determining the extent of future global warming.

RNA: A brave new world
Times of India – 11/01/2007, 18:37 pm
A silent revolution sweeping through the obscure world of molecular biology could be the beginning of finding cures for some of the most dreaded diseases like AIDS, cancer, hepatitis and even common colds.

New Report Brings Sustainable Landscapes Mainstream
Earthtimes.org – 11/01/2007, 16:46 pm
A report released today will help usher sustainable landscape design into mainstream use. Featuring over 200 recommendations for designing and building sustainable landscapes, the report is part of the Sustainable Sites Initiative, a partnership between the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin and the United States Botanic Garden to create voluntary guidelines and a rating system for sustainable landscape design.

Vanishing Lakes?
Orangeville Citizen – 11/01/2007, 17:28 pm
The Great Lakes of North America, that is. Could the millions who live in the 'interlake' region live without them, especially those of us who inhabit the Hurontario highlands? Few others are so closely linked to the varying moods of the fresh water seas.

Exhibit at New York's Museum of Natural History looks at world of water
International Herald Tribune – 11/01/2007, 17:21 pm
NEW YORK: Water falls slowly, drop by drop onto a surface below. Plink. Plink. Plink. Elsewhere, a lever is lifted on a display model to demonstrate what happens when a dam is opened, water rushing forth to carry away and reshape the sediment below.

Uncorking Genetic Bottlenecks in Soy
Agricultural Research Magazine – 11/01/2007, 14:31 pm
Individual plants on the left and in the center were derived from crossing the soybean cultivar Williams 82 with a wild soybean from the ARS Soybean Germplasm Collection, Urbana, Illinois.

Tempering Beans' Reaction to Heat
Agricultural Research Magazine – 11/01/2007, 14:31 pm
Geneticist Tim Porch examines the effects of high-temperature stress on pod development in the common bean.

World Wheat Supply Threatened?
Agricultural Research Magazine – 11/01/2007, 14:28 pm
Contents Cut fruit from a watermelon plant inoculated with squash vein yellowing virus showing rind necrosis and discoloration typical of watermelon vine decline.

Economical, Nonpolluting Solutions To Greenhouse Plant Growing Found
–11/01/2007, 14:05 pm
A recent study of an ancient growing medium has implications for advancing growth and yield of greenhouse crops grown in soilless conditions.

Tangled web of the insect, plant and parasite arms race
Innovations-Report – 11/01/2007, 05:08 am
New insights into the evolutionary relationship between plant-dwelling insects and their parasites are revealed in the online open access journal BMC Biology. Researchers shed light on how sawflies evolved to escape their parasites and gain themselves an 'enemy-free space' for millions of years.

When Fungi takes the Fun Away
Article Alley – 11/01/2007, 09:33 am
Everybody loves the outdoors. Swimming, hiking in the woods, or simply being out in the sun can be so much fun. However, exposure to the environment also poses some risks especially on vulnerable skin exposed to damp and wet surfaces.

Pakistan seeks US help for export of vegetables
DAWN Group – 11/01/2007, 08:20 am
ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) desires to work with the Pakistan ministry of food, agriculture and livestock (Minfal) for the promotion of plant and livestock research and export of irradiated vegetables to the American market.

Genes Identified to Protect Brassicas from Damaging Disease
Biocompare – 11/01/2007, 07:45 am
Scientists have identified a new way to breed brassicas, which include broccoli, cabbage and oilseed rape, resistant to a damaging virus.

More to mushrooms than meets the eye
Seacoast Online – 11/01/2007, 07:43 am
Autumn is the season of the mushroom. Mushrooms grow in all shapes and sizes, not to mention textures, colors and odors. The visible mushroom is actually the fruit, if you will, of the not-so-visible plant structure called mycelium.

Prof. Daphne Preuss' research on improving crop output via genetics
University of Chicago – 11/01/2007, 03:31 am
A new method of constructing artificial plant chromosomes from small rings of naturally occurring plant DNA can be used to transport multiple genes at once into embryonic plants where they are expressed, duplicated as plant cells divide, and passed on to the next generation -- a long-term goal for those interested in improving agricultural productivity.

Pakistan-American collaboration in agriculture-field discussed
Business Recorder – 11/01/2007, 00:17 am
United States of America (USA) would provide assistance for agriculture research and human resources' capacity building to increase agriculture productivity in the country.

California: Wildfires unleash climate threat
Herald Sun – 11/01/2007, 00:02 am
CALIFORNIA wildfires pumped nearly 8 million metric tonnes of climate-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in just a week, about one-quarter as much as fossil fuels do in that state in a month, scientists said today.

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