That sharp, green smell of freshly cut grass? It’s a plant’s cry for help – and it may work as a less toxic pesticide for farmers

Green plants produce a specific gas when under attack to both directly ward off herbivores and pathogens and indirectly lure in herbivore predators.

Sasimonthakan Tanarsuwongkul, Ph.D. Candidate in Biochemistry, University of South Carolina • conversation
Jan. 29, 2024 ~5 min

The palm tree that lives beneath the rainforest floor

A recently discovered palm tree has an unusual survival strategy - it flowers and fruits beneath the ground

Chungui Lu, Professor of Sustainable Agriculture, Nottingham Trent University • conversation
Jan. 24, 2024 ~6 min


How scientists are helping plants get the most out of photosynthesis

Plants aren’t always as good at photosynthesis as you might think. Our research project wants to help them.

Stefan Schillberg, Executive Director, Fraunhofer IME • conversation
Jan. 3, 2024 ~7 min

The secret world of puddles

Puddles are an often-ignored but crucial habitat for rare and unusual wildlife.

Mike Jeffries, Associate Professor, Ecology, Northumbria University, Newcastle • conversation
Dec. 29, 2023 ~7 min

Lizards, insects and other species are evolving with climate change, but not fast enough

From dark dragonflies becoming paler to plants flowering earlier, some species are slowly evolving with the climate. Evolutionary biologists explain why few will evolve fast enough.

James Stroud, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolution, Georgia Institute of Technology • conversation
Nov. 21, 2023 ~10 min

Lizards, fish and other species are evolving with climate change, but not fast enough

From dark dragonflies becoming paler to plants flowering earlier, some species are slowly evolving with the climate. Evolutionary biologists explain why few will evolve fast enough.

James Stroud, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolution, Georgia Institute of Technology • conversation
Nov. 21, 2023 ~10 min

Insects are spreading a devastating plant disease in Italy – Britain must keep it out

The meadow spittlebug can transmit a deadly bacterium – many plants in Britain could be at risk.

Vinton Thompson, Research Associate in the Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History • conversation
Nov. 16, 2023 ~6 min

Exposing plants to an unusual chemical early on may bolster their growth and help feed the world

A research accident in the Binder lab at the University of Tennessee led to an unprecedented discovery about how plants respond to a hormone called ethylene.

Brad Binder, Professor of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee • conversation
Nov. 9, 2023 ~7 min


What 2,500 years of wildfire evidence and the extreme fire seasons of 1910 and 2020 tell us about the future of fire in the West

As the climate warms, devastating fires are increasingly likely. The 2020 fires pushed the Southern Rockies beyond the historical average. Is there hope for the Northern Rockies?

Philip Higuera, Professor of Fire Ecology, University of Montana • conversation
Oct. 17, 2023 ~10 min

What 2,500 years of wildfire evidence tells us about the future of fires in the West

As the climate warms, devastating fires are increasingly likely. The 2020 fires pushed the Southern Rockies beyond the historical average. Is there hope for the Northern Rockies?

Philip Higuera, Professor of Fire Ecology, University of Montana • conversation
Oct. 17, 2023 ~10 min

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