Dr. Norman Borlaug receives Congressional Gold Medal - Plant breeder Norman Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his study of high-yield crops. His work led to the Green Revolution, which describes the significant increase in crop yields in the 1940s-1960s that fed millions around the world. Today, President Bush presented Dr. Borlaug with the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for his achievements. Other sites covering the story: Greatest Living American Ignored (Editorial blog entry), Minneapolis Star Tribune

How plants learned to respond to changing environments – Dr. Nick Harberd and his colleagues at the John Innes centre have reported in a recent issues of Current Biology that the plant hormone gibberellin was crucial in the adaptation of flowering land plants to their environment. Specifically, gibberellin seems to allow for controlled plant growth based on environmental cues. This feature appears to distinguish gymnosperms and angiosperms (flowering plants) from the mosses and other ancestral forms of plant life.

News Briefs:

Agriculture
Simulated Crop Provides Answer To Irrigation Issues
Livestock manure can affect food crops
Outwitting Pesky Parasites
New soybean crops screening method found

Alternative Fuels
Corn biofuel ‘dangerously oversold’ as green energy

Ecology
Californians Urged To Help Reduce Spread Of Sudden Oak Death
Avoiding the Dangers Down in the Garden
New Orchid Smells Like ‘Sweaty Feet’
N.H. chestnut tree may rebirth species
Increase in creeping vines signals major shift in southern US forests
Want Clean Water and Rich Soil? Save More Species
China’s recycling ‘saves forests’

Genetically Modified Foods
Refrigeration and needle free rice-based vaccine
Blog: Altered crops: Your thoughts?

Health
Increasing vegetables and fruits beyond guidelines not necessary for breast cancer survivors
Flavonoids in orange juice make it a healthy drink, despite the sugar