Snapping jaws of death - Think plants don’t move quickly? The Venus flytrap snaps shut its leaves in 40 milliseconds - without the aid of muscles or a nervous system. But *how* this happens has been a mystery. A recent paper in Nature describes research into the physics of “snap buckling”,...

Edible food wraps provide antimicrobial properties - Thin films made of apple puree and oregano oil may one day coat fruits and vegetables to prevent growth of E.coli. Developed by the USDA, the product takes advantage of the natural antimicrobial properties of plant-derived essential oils. Films without...

Chlamydia and plants share common ancestry? - Scientists studying leucine biosynthesis in plants were surprised to discover that one of the genes in this pathway was very similar to a gene in Chlamydia. The plant and Chlamydia versions of this gene have been shown to have a similar function, leading...

Real Time Evolution - Using comparative genome sequencing, scientists from the Madison, WI based company NimbleGen Systems Inc have shown that E. coli bacteria adapted to poor growing conditions within six days (E. coli divide every 20 minutes or so) through selection of mutational changes within the...

Embryos undergoing cell division fossilized - Fossilized remains of a 600 million-year-old embryonic sponge-like animal have been unearthed in China. The embryos apparently met disaster whilst in the process of dividing, giving scientists a unique look at early cell division events in ancient animals....