A Filter for Fisheries
A few years ago, a friend of mine told me that we could minimize water pollution by using Brita water filters and scooping out water from local rivers and ponds. As preposterous as it sounds, the concept of filtering the water was actually a decent idea. But how could you get a filter to fix the pollution...
Happy Thanksgiving!
We’re taking the week off! In the meantime, please take a look at our archives, fun stuff, and media page. In the spirit of the season, we’d like to say that we’re certainly thankful for our readers! Happy Thanksgiving! – the greenseedling staff
Don’t Stress It!
As a financial consultant in Chicago, my brother is often required by his job to travel to meet with current and potential clients. About a month ago, he was asked by his boss whether or not he would be interested in helping the San Francisco branch of his firm with an upcoming deadline that they had....
Soybean Oil: Source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Fish oil is known to be one of the healthiest ways to obtain omega-3 fatty acids. DHA and EPA, two of the most studied omega-3-fatty acids, have numerous health benefits; they decrease triglycerides, blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and heart rate. Essentially, they decrease the adverse effects of low...
Plants as Social beings: an Altruistic Growth
The social behavior of kin recognition has been well studied and understood in the animal kingdom, and recently evolutionary biologists have begun to explore this phenomenon in the plant world.
It is widely recognized that plants have the ability to detect and respond to plants around them. However,...
Hands Off the Violet!
As a child, I always wondered why my grandmother never approved of people picking or touching the flowers that surrounded my grandparents’ house. From Texas bluebonnets to Indian paintbrushes and black-eyed susans, her flowerbeds never failed to display of almost every color known to mankind, but...
Help the Kelp
If you have never heard of or seen a kelp forest before, imagine sitting at an ocean floor as numerous columns of macroalgae tower above you and a plethora of marine life forms weave their way in and out of these pillars of plant life. These underwater kelp forests are not just visually breathtaking...
Even green emissions can sometimes be harmful
One of the biggest transitions any teenager makes in his or her life occurs when they move away from their family’s home and begin their independent lives as college students. Although this prospect seems exciting for many young students, I remember feeling a peculiar mix of anxiety and sadness...
Broccoli: As Healthy As Parents Insist?
The nutritional value of cabbage-like vegetables (such as broccoli and cauliflower) has been known for years; parents don’t nag children about eating their vegetables for nothing! A family of compounds known as carotenoids constitutes a major part of the nutritional value that humans get from these...
Global Warming Doesn’t Just Make the Desert Hotter
If I were foolish enough to brave the Sahara Desert mid-summer without water and rations, I would probably trek about 5 paces in before knowing that my journey would be futile. Desert plants, on the other hand, manage to ride out the treacherous heat and drought every day without much of a problem. If...
Genetically Modified Plants Yield Resistant Insects
Last week, we discussed genetically modified squash plants that have become more susceptible to bacterial infection because of their modification to resist viral infections; conversely, a report by Andrew Pollack of The New York Times uncovers another case where genetic modification of plants may actually...
Success in the battle to be fresh
At Georgia State University, microbiologist George Pierce has pioneered a new method to preserve freshness in produce and flowers. The method utilizes naturally occurring “soil microorganisms,” which are known to be beneficial to plants in the same way that probiotics in yogurt are to people.
Climacteric...
It Pays To Research: The Benefits Of Maize
We’ve been posting articles every week on the plant research being done to cure diseases, improve economies, and eliminate hunger. Sometimes, however, it’s a good idea to come back and comment on the results from some of the research being done to improve our society. Whether it is to substantiate...
Calculating Pollution from Pesticides
Increased use of pesticides has always been deleterious to coastal habitats, as the pesticide runs off into local streams and rivers that eventually make their way to the coast. Unfortunately, it has always been difficult to measure the pollution that pesticides may cause, and understanding their long-term...
Genetically Modified Plants: Does the Cost Outweigh the Benefit?
Genetically modified plants are usually engineered to benefit a plant species that would benefit us. However, scientists are now discovering that these modified plants might avoid one adversity just to encounter another. Squash plants that have been modified to resist viral diseases are now more susceptible...
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