Plants and Pipettes

we talk about plants and (used to) use pipettes

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  • Is vertical farming the answer to all our problems?

    Is vertical farming the answer to all our problems?

    Reading Time: 6 minutes Usually, we aim for scientific accuracy and rather neutral representation of current research. Sometimes, however, we like to give you our honest opinion on new trends or technologies. This week, Joram shares his view on vertical farming.

  • How to deal with stress

    How to deal with stress

    Reading Time: 6 minutes When plants get stressed it tends to slow them down. Drought stress – one of the most common causes of losses in crop productivity – can result in wilting, reduce growth, and ultimately, death. And the Climate Crisis means that drought risk is already increasing. A study by Min May Wong and colleagues, published last […]

  • Behold, my brilliant blue fat globules!

    Behold, my brilliant blue fat globules!

    Reading Time: 5 minutes Despite this planet we live on being largely blue, when it comes to plants, we don’t see a lot of the colour. Violets are blue, sure, as are blueberries (it’s right there in the name). But roses are red, and daisies are yellow, and the leafy bits of plants, for the most part – tend […]

  • Phosphorylation- the Givers and the Takers

    Phosphorylation- the Givers and the Takers

    Reading Time: 3 minutes You’ll often hear that proteins are the ‘doers’ of the cell: DNA stores and passes information across generations, RNA is a messenger middle-man, but protein is where the action’s at. Well, let me tell you that this is overly-simplified pro-protein propaganda (although maybe because my heart belongs to RNA). Because while proteins can do things, […]

  • Plastic in your Plants

    Plastic in your Plants

    Reading Time: 4 minutes Recent reports have revealed the alarming ability of microplastics to accumulate in fish and other sea creatures, with the ultimate fear being that these plastics might end up on human plates. They may also accumulate within the tissue of some plants, as further shown by two recent studies.

  • These two genes help rice to keep its head above water

    These two genes help rice to keep its head above water

    Reading Time: 4 minutes Think about any crop plant and what of it is important to you. You might say taste, fruit size, yield per acre – but would you consider plant height? Maybe you should! Researchers have discovered two new genes that react to flooding and control the height of rice plants – so that they don’t drown.

  • Missing: Have you seen this Coffee?

    Missing: Have you seen this Coffee?

    Reading Time: 6 minutes Alternative Title: You’re not a real hipster unless you drink Coffea stenophylla (but you can still be in our club if you choose C. affinis.) Coffee. It’s a hot beverage on a cold day, a quick wake-me-up drug to help you through that morning meeting, and a multibillion dollar industry which involves over 100 million […]

  • Do GMO have worse off-target effects than conventional plants?

    Do GMO have worse off-target effects than conventional plants?

    Reading Time: 6 minutes Without plant breeding, the fruit and veggies of today would look very differentOver thousands of years, humans have  genetically modified plants through selective breeding, to yield bigger, tastier and hardier plants. In the 1990s, the tool set of plant breeders was extended by means of genome engineering. Genome engineering encompasses the introduction of foreign genes […]

  • It’s not rocket science. It’s rocket rocket science

    It’s not rocket science. It’s rocket rocket science

    Reading Time: 5 minutes Is part of the reason I’m doing a post on this paper the amazing story behind the name? yes! Is that ok? Yes. Yes it is.

  • Are plants as smart as dogs?

    Are plants as smart as dogs?

    Reading Time: 4 minutes Being the father of a young child allows me to witness learning every single day. While I do my best to teach my child through explanation and demonstration, I can’t help but notice that he’s also recently developed associative learning. If I go to put on his shoes, for example, my child gets excited because […]

  • An extra pair of genes

    An extra pair of genes

    Reading Time: 4 minutes Genes in many organisms tend to hang around in pairs, with one member of the that comes from mum and one coming from dad. But for some species, having just two sets of genes isn’t enough- they like to double or even triple up on things. Today we’re talking about plants who want more, and […]

  • This seaweed would look completely different without the bacteria around it

    This seaweed would look completely different without the bacteria around it

    Reading Time: 5 minutes Do you ever wonder how you would have turned out if you’d hung out with different crowds in your youth? All living things – you, me, plants – are shaped by their environments, which includes both non-living/abiotic factors (sun, sea and soil), and biotic factors – the other living things around us. The seaweed Ulva mutabilis is […]

  • Thorns to branches

    Thorns to branches

    Reading Time: 4 minutes On today’s episode of “how it’s made”: Thorns! The pointy defence system relied on by many plants has an interesting origin story. Thorns start out as branch-like structures that grow out of the main stem and then, all of a sudden, turn into sharp death spikes. Now, researchers have not only figured out how that […]

  • Researchers use genetic copy/paste to make better rice

    Researchers use genetic copy/paste to make better rice

    Reading Time: 4 minutes Oh sun! How beautiful are the days when you shine, how warm is your light, and how much energy do you push into the photosystems of our plants! Sometimes, as it turns out, that energy is a little too much. A surplus of light creates a major challenge to plants, causing damage to the core […]

  • Diversity driven by the earth

    Diversity driven by the earth

    Reading Time: 4 minutes Reproduction in the plant world isn’t always boy meets girl, or ‘pollen meets pistil’. Sure, some plants are all about the sexual reproduction, but others like to make children clonally. And others still, take the best of both worlds, changing their method of reproduction to suit their environment and needs. A recent study reveals how […]

  • This is why organic soils lead to more resistant plants

    This is why organic soils lead to more resistant plants

    Reading Time: 3 minutes When we deal with pests on crop lands, we usually stick to a few straightforward strategies. We either try to breed more resistant plants or we spray them with specific and less specific pesticides. Organic farming – while still using some spray-on pesticides – has vowed to reduce their use. And as researchers recently discovered, they might […]

  • The bite of the bumblebee

    The bite of the bumblebee

    Reading Time: 3 minutes Bees and plants have a strange kind of codependency going on. Plants need bees for pollinating, and bees need pollen to feed their young. So it’s helpful for both parties if everyone involved can coordinate their calendars. But if the flowers are lacking and the bees get hungry, well then, that’s when the bees begin […]

  • Not to stimulate cats, they said

    Not to stimulate cats, they said

    Reading Time: 4 minutes This post is inspired by two great friends. One, VL, who makes it her job to alert me of any and all of the cat-science news and sent around a paper about Cat Mint aka Nepeta spp., and the evolution of the chemicals – nepetalactones – that make cats go crazy. And another, FM, who […]

  • The best scientists are the ones with the great CD collections

    The best scientists are the ones with the great CD collections

    Reading Time: 3 minutes When we scientists look at plants, we’ve traditionally tended to focus on the bits of the plant that we can see. And yet the roots of the plant, which physically support the above-ground structures while also hauling in the water and basic nutrients the plant needs, go a long way to defining the productivity and […]

  • Let’s get Fascinated

    Let’s get Fascinated

    Reading Time: 4 minutes Today, 18th of May, is International Fascination of Plants Day. If you want to find out more about the day, go here. If you want to read some of our favourite stories about plant science from the last year, read on!