Earliest evidence of maize farming in Mexico - A report to published in PNAS reveals that maize domestication began in Mexico more than 1200 years earlier than previously believed. The findings, based on microfossil evidence, also suggest that farming began in the lowlands of Mexico, not in the semi-arid highlands.

Plants and animals share similar immune response pathways – Genetic and biochemical evidence suggests that plants and animals, including humans, may use similar pathways to respond to pathogen invasion. This finding may allow medical researchers to learn from plant model systems to further their understanding of the human body’s response to disease.

Auxin snapshots captured in the wild A paper reporting the first high-resolution images of how the plant hormone auxin interacts with its protein receptor is the cover of this week’s Nature. Commercially, auxin is a widely used herbicide. Understanding the chemical interactions between auxin and its receptor may lead to substantial advances in agriculture and, perhaps surprisingly, medicine.
News Briefs:

Ecology: Rare flower needs prickly neighbors; Invasive grass may impede forest regeneration

Health: Apple consumption during pregnancy reduces risk for childhood wheezing and asthma; Herbal remedy could flush out bladder infections; Cocoa, but not tea, may lower blood pressure

Global Warming: More Trees, Less Global Warming, Right? — Not Exactly