Happy Thanksgiving from Greenseedling!
Greenseedling is thankful for your support and for the plants and people who love them! We’ll be back with fresh stories on Monday Dec 1. Meanwhile, check out some of our Fun Stuff activities, listen to a podcast or take in a book listed on the Podcasts and Media page, or enjoy some of our previous...
Doubling Rice Yields in Drought-affected Areas
Yesterday we talked about increasing rice yield under flood conditions, scientists seem to really be making sure that Rice crops stay healthy under all natural catastrophic conditions.
India and Thailand have both seen droughts in recent days, and droughts lead to, of course, lack of agricultural production....
Rice Plants Can Now Survive Under Water
We talked earlier about researchers finding a gene in Rice plants that allows for more nutritional uptake and create bigger, healthier rice grains. Considering the fact that rice does happen to be the most consumed grain on the planet it’s important to research every possible aspect that can aid in...
Tired of Uprooting Your Garden Every Year? Plant Perennials!
Have you ever questioned why you spend countless hours planting flowers in the spring only to have to re-plant them again next year? For those flower-enthusiasts who do not wish to uproot their garden annually, perennial plants, which survive for several years, are ideal; however, new research conducted...
The EPA’s newest little helper – Termites?!
What would you say if I told you that insects may help us break our dependence on oil products for fuel? Most people would probably laugh and say “Yeah right!” However, in an article soon to be published in Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining, Assistant Professor of entomology at the University...
Plants may aid in HIV treatment?
Some additional perspective on yesterday’s story.
About a month ago, I remember reading an article in either Time or Newsweek magazine that dealt with the issue of the average life expectancy of humans around the world. In the list that they compiled of the over 200 or so countries on earth, I...
HIV will Fall at the Hands of a… Plant?
Considered one of the most daunting diseases of our time, HIV/AIDS has killed more than 20 million people worldwide since the epidemic first penetrated our species. Finally, after years of studying the ever evasive virus, researchers at the UCLA AIDS Institute have discovered that a chemical from a plant...
When It Comes To Seeds, New is Gold
Revegetation, currently a global concept, restores environmental niches destroyed by pollution or over-grazing. Although the type of area, body of water, forest, or environmental region may differ, the techniques used to revive natural life have consistently been the same. Biologists and scientists...
Bacteria Aid in Production of Perfume Oil
Recently, while browsing my local department store, a perfume salesperson offered me a sample of the season’s latest fragrance. While handing me the perfume-spritzed ribbon, she described the story behind this particular scent.
“On a lovely spring morning, farmers are sent out to a field of roses...
Failing to see the Forest for the Trees
A 2006 issue of Nature named global warming to be a significant cause of the extinction of the Harlequin frogs. The study stated that rising atmospheric temperatures cause an increase in a specific species of fungus, the chytrid fungus, known to be deadly to amphibians. Today’s “amphibian crisis”...
Toxic Inhalation
As a botanist, my mother has always understood the immense beneficial effect of having houseplants. She sometimes took this a little too far by effectively turning our front porch into a mysterious jungle that naturally formed a haven for a diverse plethora of unwanted insects to buzz inches away from...
Hybrid Plants Lead to a Plethora of Planted Peppers
Bad alliterations aside, hybrid plants seem to be the new future for farmers in the American Southwest. A recent study has shown that 70% of fresh peppers in the US come from Mexico, and another 18% come from Canada. Our nation seems to live by kicking up their food a notch with peppers, which makes...
Roots Don’t Grow There!
Two weeks ago, we talked about how scientists have discovered the proteins and promoter sequences in plants responsible for the growth of root offshoots. Well, it seems like science today is moving forward as fast as technology does.
Pankaj Dhanukshe, a researcher from Ultrecht University, has now discovered...
Red, Green and Purple Tomatoes?
Do you remember when the Heinz Company first introduced purple ketchup? Advertisements flooded the airways and people made a mad dash to the grocery store to pick up a bottle of the vividly colored condiment, but when families sat down at the dinner table to dress their fries, hot dogs and hamburgers...
Coming soon: Sugarcane Plastic Bags
The search for a replacement for oil-based plastics has unearthed a competitive alternative: sugarcane ethanol. Formally known as polyethylene it was first accidentally synthesized by German chemist, Hans von Pechmann in 1898. This malleable but incredibly strong polymer is found in everything from grocery...
In Defense of Strawberries
Every summer I look forward to 3 things: A nice vacation, weekend camp-outs, and strawberry season. Who knew that while I was gorging myself on those delightful red berries that researchers around the world were using strawberry genes to make a breakthrough in plant biology.
As one of their defense mechanisms,...
Too Much of a Good Thing: Organic Fertilizer Edition
We all know that there is such thing as “too much of a good thing.” As a kid, I loved walking into one of those novel candy shops straight out of a corny, old movie and indulging in the tons of sugar around me. I loved feasting on Halloween night after hording tons of candy from neighbors, friend’s...
Vegetables : Hey you, turn that light out!
Forget what you’ve heard about increasing the shelf-life of that broccoli (well, would you even want to?), because a recent study at the University of La Rioja has shown that the illuminating light above certain green (or otherwise un-pigmented) processed vegetables in supermarkets actually decreases...
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