A new study by plant biologists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, challenges a longstanding idea that stems from the large number of flowers in the mountains of Central and South America that have evolved to be ...
Evolution
Jun 4, 2026
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35
The arrival of winter marks not only a change in weather, temperature, and day length, but also a change in our activity and behavior. The social outdoor events and trips to the beach over summer soon become a distant memory, ...
If plants had never learned to grow in multiple directions, our world would look very different. No trees, flowers, or other complex plants—and therefore no animals or humans. New research from the University of Copenhagen ...
Evolution
Jun 2, 2026
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7
Stevia is a widely used sweetener, but why do some stevia varieties taste cleaner and more sugar-like than others? Recent research conducted at the University of Toyama shows that stevia's sweetness is genetically linked ...
Molecular & Computational biology
May 14, 2026
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31
In flowering plants, the transition from cross-fertilization (outcrossing) to self-fertilization has evolved repeatedly across species. This shift is often accompanied by a well-known set of traits collectively called the ...
Plants & Animals
May 12, 2026
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6
On the western side of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia, sits Myuna Bay, a quiet bay with meadows of seagrass waving beneath the water. The most common marine plant species you find there is Zostera muelleri. ...
Environment
May 10, 2026
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34
Heat stress from marine heat waves can create a toxic relationship between seagrasses and a hidden ecosystem of bacteria, transforming a previously beneficial co-existence between marine plants and microbes into a harmful ...
Ecology
May 6, 2026
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13
Salicylic acid, the active molecule in aspirin and some acne medications, is a hormone in plants that is essential for immunity, but it's a double-edged sword: Too much can cause autoimmunity and stunt growth. In a study ...
Plants & Animals
May 5, 2026
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9
Researchers at University College Dublin have identified a genetic "switch" that determines the sex of cannabis plants, and found the same system may exist in hops. The study, published in New Phytologist, pinpoints a specific ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Apr 27, 2026
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182
Research in New Phytologist shows that plants can acquire nutrients not only from the soil but also from atmospheric dust that settles and dissolves on their leaves, releasing elements such as phosphorus and iron.
Plants & Animals
Apr 8, 2026
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35
