Leaving my car in Houston for months at a time while I venture to Austin for school never really has a positive impact on my car. When I get back to Houston, excited to drive my car that I haven’t seen in so long, I get in, try to start it up, and it magically works. The months apart should leave the...

In our articles on agriculture, we have primarily focused on research, plant biology and its biological and agricultural impacts. Today, I want to take us in a different direction. It’s crucial that we also assess the economic impact of agricultural research. Why is agricultural research important?...

From starring in the Broadway play, “The Princess and the Pea,” to helping Gregor Mendel develop his laws of inheritance, the pea has a rich history. According to the ancient Scandinavian, or the Norse, legend, peas were sent to earth by the god of thunder, Thor, to be eaten only on Thursday; but...

Ever since I was a child, I have had an extreme phobia of insects. Some children are afraid of snakes, others of dogs, but for me it was always the droning sound of an insects wings flapping near a light in my house that got me into true panic mode. From cockroaches to spiders and everything else in...

According to the Center for International Forestry Research a large amount of the deforestation occurring in the Brazilian rainforest is driven by the demand for Brazilian beef and the economic incentives therein. “Probably 80 to 90 percent of all cleared land in the [Brazilian Amazon] is attributable...

A new muscadine grape cultivar named ‘Delicious’ (Vitis rotundifolia Michx.) has been introduced by University of Florida researchers. Of course, this most likely means that this new grape is delectable, but the appetizing new species of grapes has other benefits for us all. First of all, the grape...

We have talked a lot about various research that tries to find methods of making crop yield more efficient. These studies usually attempt to discover something they believe can be done experimentally to produce more crops. Well, the U.S. Corn Belt has had a significant yield increase over the past few...

The Greenseedling staff is on Spring Break this week! While we’re happily running through fields of wildflowers, please enjoy the stories in our archive. You can also find a great book or check out our “TV Guide” to current podcast in our Podcast and Media section. If you’re...

Trends come and go through our society like ripples on a pond…or something like that. At one point or another we’ve all been seduced by a clever marketing scheme; for me, it’s electronics (what would I do without my iPhone?!). So is organic food just the next big trend or will it really help us...

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) chemist Colleen M. McMahan has begun using the desert shrub Guayule as a new source for ethanol biofuel at the ARS’s research center in Albany. In the past, Guayule has been used in the production of latex gloves, medical devices and other “in-demand” natural...

Last week, I wrote an article about how subterranean insects use plants as telephonic devices to communicate with their above ground counterparts. I concluded that it is truly amazing to know that the basis behind some of the technologies we as humans pride ourselves on inventing today have existed in...

A new system to fight frost on plants incorporates radio frequency technology. The radiant heating system, developed by Raytheon Technology, serves as a more efficient way to heat crops and prevent frost. Without heating the air between it and the plants, the Tempwave system delivers energy to the plants...

Once anything gains popularity in the eyes of consumers, whether it is brand name purses, clothes, computers, electronics or even food, fake copies begin circulating. We can easily come across a fake Burberry scarf, or get tricked by a Coach purse that looks exactly like the real thing. Well, with the...

The phrase, “eat your broccoli” seems to be pounded into one’s brain since birth. Parents everywhere attempt numerous methods of coercion so that their children will develop a taste for this green vegetable early on. As a young child, I can recall sitting at the dinner table and staring at my...

In the year 1844, an Italian man by the name of Innocenzo Manzetti first came up with the idea of a “speaking telegraph”. More than a century and a half later, cellular telephones have come to dominate the way humans communicate with one another. I remember growing up as a kid watching the once acclaimed...

Dennis Buckmaster, an associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue University, recently published a study on maximizing the efficiency of biofuel production. This particular study focused on the efficient production of ethanol from the cellulose in corn stalks. The current...

It’s no secret that blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and plums are rich in antioxidants. However, many people don’t know that the reason for the abundant antioxidants is mainly due to high levels of anthocyanins, chemicals that are responsible for the fruits’ vibrant colors,...

It is a commonly known fact that ultraviolet light can be harmful to human skin. Most of us tend to use sunscreen lotion or sun-blocks, and Australians supposedly even wear huge hats when they know that they will be out in the sun for long. We never really pause to think of other organisms, though; do...