The Baobabs - Writer and photographer Ron Emmons wrote a piece on the “bizarre baobabs”, as he calls them, a tree native to the deserts of Australia, Africa and Madagascar. Sometimes called the “upside-down tree”, this tree has the distinct appearance of having roots in place of a canopy. To survive drought, the mammoth-sized trunk can store more than 100,000 liters of water.

Colorful Cauliflower - Thirty years ago, an orange cauliflower plant was discovered in a Canadian field. What started as a bizzarre oddity is now the focus of research at the USDA. The orange color is a result of high beta-carotene levels in the plant. Humans use beta-carotene to produce Vitamin A. Scientists hope to use this research to improve the nutritional quality of plants to treat vitamin deficiency diseases common in developing countries.

Corn CO2 detectors - Researchers at UC-Irvine have developed a novel, cost-effective way to monitor carbon dioxide levels by using corn plants. Although it’s intended to supplement current methods of measurement, the researchers believe this new method will allow for broader sampling to better illustrate patterns of CO2 emissions throughout rural and urban areas of the country.

Quick bites:

- A new variety of wheat is so sweet, baking recipes made with its flour may not require sugar.
-In the Southwest U.S., humans battle with the invasive tamarisk over water resources.
-In the Pacific Northwest, landowners are planting trees to combat greenhouse gases.
-A database at King’s College London has been created to catalogue chemicals found in Chinese herbs that have the potential to fight various human diseases.