NewScITech

A protein acting as a long-distance signal from leaf to shoot-tip tells plants when to flower, says new research published in Science Express on Thursday 19 April 2007. Read the rest of this entry »

A new understanding of how plants manage their internal calcium levels could lead to modifying plants to avoid damage from acid rain. The pollutant disrupts calcium balance in plants by leaching significant amounts of the mineral from leaves as well as the agricultural and forest soils the plants live in. Read the rest of this entry »

Leafy greens and beans aren’t the only foods that pack a punch of folate, the vitamin essential for a healthy start to pregnancy. Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to lowering cholesterol levels, garlic stinks, according to a new study from the School of Medicine. Read the rest of this entry »

Using corncob waste as a starting material, researchers have created carbon briquettes with complex nanopores capable of storing natural gas at an unprecedented density of 180 times their own volume and at one seventh the pressure of conventional natural gas tanks. Read the rest of this entry »

In a breakthrough that could make fuel cells practical for such small machines as lawnmowers and chainsaws, researchers have developed a new mechanism to efficiently control hydrogen fuel cell power. Read the rest of this entry »

Sections of rainforest used to grow coffee maintain more intact ecosystems than areas cleared for intensive agriculture such as rice-growing or pasture, a study by scientists from Oxford, New Zealand and Germany has found. Read the rest of this entry »

A unique Mayo Clinic collaboration has revived the healing wisdom of Pacific Island cultures by testing a therapeutic plant extract described in a 17th century Dutch herbal text for its anti-bacterial properties. Early results show that extracts from the Atun tree effectively control bacteria that can cause diarrhea, as claimed by naturalist Georg Eberhard Rumpf, circa 1650. He documented his traditional healing methods in the book Ambonese Herbal. Read the rest of this entry »

With a new picture of a bacterial enzyme in hand, Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists are now on their way to making “chemical factories” that will help laboratory animals produce their own resveratrol — the compound behind red wine’s frequently touted health benefits. Read the rest of this entry »

A genetic mechanism that enables corn plants to “cry for help” and attract beneficial insects has been clarified by scientists from the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena. Corn plants emit a cocktail of scents when they are attacked by certain pests, such as a caterpillar known as the Egyptian cotton leaf worm. Read the rest of this entry »

Scientists studying a plant enzyme involved in producing chemicals for defense against fungal infections have found that this enzyme can perform two distinct functions depending on the raw materials present. The results include atomic-level protein structures that illustrate how distinct molecules take on similar shapes when bound with the enzyme, which makes the dual action possible. The work will be published in the December 2006 issue of The Plant Cell. Read the rest of this entry »