For those of us who are concerned with the negative consequences of consuming genetically modified foods, new research may put our minds at ease. For three years, researchers from the GMSAFOOD consortium studied the effects of genetically modified maize (corn) on various piglets. Pigs and humans have...

Florida has an invasive species problem. At the edge of the Caribbean, it attracts unwanted attention from organisms looking to spread out and settle down in a tropical paradise where agriculture is as important as tourism. There they feed on the crops and molest the visitors, threatening both the...

Phosphorus, essential to the health of plants, is unfortunately in short supply. Over the next twenty years our soils will experience the crunch of phosphorous depletion, a fate suffered by some already. As the amount of phosphorous in the soil decreases, the vitality of the plants growing there is...

Barley is an important cereal grain and a vital component of many healthy foods. It’s commonly grown by farmers and yields profit, but can be economically devastating when attacked by a certain pathogen.

Stem rust, a crop disease, is a new threat to barley and can contribute to the total...

It may interest insomniacs to know that bugs also need sleep; without it, they feel the effects of environmental stress much more acutely. In fact, if disturbed from their typical rest cycle, they can even die.

Enter the corn earworm, bane of American agriculture. This insect costs American...

With Halloween just around the corner, all I can think about is the delicious chocolate I will be munching on. Although I love Twix and Snickers candy bars, my very favorite are the gourmet Godiva and Ghirardelli chocolates. Regardless, all of these chocolates contain the base ingredient: cacao.

Cacao...

Vegetable oil, flour, milk, tofu and many other foods incorporate the widely cultivated edible plant species known as soybean. Even the immature version of soybean can be cooked and consumed and finally served as edamame. Many animals feed off of soybean on a daily basis and rely on its nutritious...

While conventional wisdom tells us to rid our gardens and farmlands of weeds, a new study indicates that we may, in fact, be better off with them than without them.

In agricultural societies such as ours, we strive to maximize efficiency and to reduce waste; on a farm, this tenet typically...

As any college student, I have definitely experienced the effects of stress and anxiety. Trying to balance school with work and extra-curricular activities is tough and can take a toll on your health. To combat these pressures we typically buy over-the-counter conventional medications. However, scientists...

Rice, one of the most common cultivated foods, is a staple crop for a multitude of countries around the world. It is in our cereals and is commonly used when cooking. Additionally, rice’s low-labor costs combined with its nutritious value deem it a vital food item for most of the world. But in order...

With just a few more exams left for my junior year, I was frantically studying to get through it. Almost everyone undergoes moments of stress and adapts various ways to cope with it. But, just like people, plants too fight periods of stress and must find ways to manage.

I usually deal with...

Toucans play a vital role in nutmeg seed dispersal by ingesting the seeds, digesting their outer layers, then regurgitating the seeds in different locations where they may develop into new trees. Researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute devised a method to track when and where seeds...

A new study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reveals that rice plants can become hardier when colonized by fungi—specifically, endophytes found on dunegrass.

Scientists had previously believed that the salt tolerance of dunegrass was a genetic adaptation. However, when the fungi were...

Pesticide use has long been associated with many costs—among them financial and environmental. The assumption has always been that the advantage of deterring crop-eating insects outweighs the disadvantages.

A new study at the Biocenter of the University of Würzburg not only challenges this...

“Chocolate or vanilla?” The question seems to be the never-ending debate of ice cream connoisseurs around the world, but what if neither flavor existed? Would we have to tune our taste buds to the tanginess of sherbet instead?  Thanks to research from The University of Nottingham, those vanilla...

Consider the Hessian fly and the wheat plant. A fly larva chews holes in the plant’s leaves; the plant, unable to flee, loses a few leaves to its tormentor. Here the story ends, right? Not exactly. When the Hessian fly larva feeds on the wheat plant, a complex chemical battle ensues between insect...

Although we typically use term biological warfare to describe human military operations, ours is not the only species to adopt such tactics. Plants too have evolved their own versions of biological warfare. To deliver our poisons we build bombs. Plants, by contrast, have adopted a subtler method:...

Synthetic fertilizer is often considered necessary for the world today, given that since its introduction, both the yield and quality of crops have grown substantially. In a time where increasing the amount of food available remains a necessity, synthetic fertilizer does indeed have its uses. However,...

While past articles in the biofuels section of Greenseedling have suggested that corn might not be the most ideal crop for biofuel production, research that has been conducted by Rice University postdoctoral fellow Morgan Gallagher and colleagues has revealed information that might alleviate some...

Rice, one of the most important crops for a large part of the world, is extremely sensitive to drought, but can tolerate floods due to its high demand for water. With the climate constantly changing, researchers have searched for ways to keep the plant stably growing in both precipitation extremes.

According...

It seems as though we always discuss what we, society, can do to protect the environment, but what if we left the responsibility up to the plants instead?

Scientists from the University of Missouri have discovered that buffer strips of grass can help limit ground erosion and can reduce herbicide...

As I often research water conservation efforts around the world for my current internship, I recently came across an extraordinary study conducted by two scientists from the University of California-Santa Barbara. The study, published in the journal Oeciligia earlier this year, highlights the UC Santa...

Essential oils of plants are often extracted for their various uses, therapeutic or otherwise. Steam distillation, often used to extract oils from aromatic compounds due to the temperature-sensitive nature of plants, also produces wastewater. However, according to recent research, this wastewater...

A recent study published in Nature Communications explains the impact that ants and termites have on dryland wheat yields. It is already known that ant and termite activity can affect a plethora of different aspects of soil. For example, ants and termites can alter the aeration or nutrient cycling...

If you have ever eaten a banana, you know that there are no seeds. But in natural conditions, bananas have hundreds of seeds and are only seedless when produced in commercial settings. Other fruits, like the cherimoya, also known as the custard apple, are native to the Andes valley and are considered...

For more than half a century now, scientists have known that DNA is the genetic material, and that mutations in DNA thereby drive evolution.  However, if a mutation occurs in an essential gene, it could cost the gene its original function and jeopardize the organism’s survival.

Many scientists...

For all of human history, we omnivores have been inextricably dependent on plants for their ability to convert gaseous carbon dioxide into a solid form useable to us. While all plants convert (or “fix”) atmospheric CO2 into sugar, two classes of plants exist, distinguished by their method of delivering...

[Greenseedling is celebrating St. Patrick's Day with a week of St. Paddy's Day-themed stories.  Beer, Four-Leaf Clovers, Potatoes....A perfect holiday for the plant enthusiast!] St. Patrick’s Day is a widely celebrated holiday that appreciates the patron saints of Ireland. It...

As a tourist in Peru a few years ago, I learned that coca leaves were often used by laborers to wake up early and stay focused throughout the day. In addition, many foreigners often chewed on coca leaves to help adjust to the drastic change in elevation and prevent altitude sickness. In fact, the...

As many of you probably know by now, I have been living in Damascus, Syria for the past 8 months as a part of an Arabic Studies Scholarship known as the Arabic Flagship Program. For the past month or so, I have been fortunate enough to have been able to intern with a project funded by the European...

How many times have you gone to the grocery store and been unable to find a good stem of lettuce? Many times the leaves are either yellowing or marked with spots or smears. We constantly need lettuce, for it is used in common dishes such as salads, burgers, sandwiches and tacos. This leafy vegetable...

Reminiscing back to my elementary school years, I thoroughly remember the cereal commercial that sang “Wheaties, the breakfast for champions!” In fact, this whole wheat rich cereal got me energized every morning. However, now that I’m older, it is interesting to think how wheat is actually processed...

Few compounds or elements are as crucial to plant growth as water, but nitrogen comes close—in fact, it’s the second most common growth-limiting factor for plants (after water, of course).  But why is nitrogen such a limiting factor when it makes up so much of our atmosphere?

Last week,...

By 2050, scientists forecast that daytime and nighttime temperatures will have increased at least a few degrees Fahrenheit above the temperatures seen today. Although this may not seem drastic, such a “small” increase can actually have tremendous effects on plant and animal life. Therefore, scientists...

While most of us probably know that the Agave plant is good for making tequila, many of us might not be aware of is that this plant is also useful for making another “powerful” liquid, and I wouldn’t recommend drinking this one: Biofuel. Researchers in the bioenergy field have recently identified...

The domesticated grape and its principal product, wine, have colored human art, behavior, and history for at least 6,000 years, permeating everywhere from the poet Homer’s “wine-dark sea” to the glasses of four-star restaurants. But while the grape has diversified the human experience, a new...

A few months ago,we reported that annual ryegrass had been developing a resistance to herbicides, and in turn was becoming a “superweed.”  In fact, many superweeds in the United States have developed a resistance to the commonly used herbicide glyophosate, more commonly known as Roundup.

Now...

Just earlier this week on the popular CBS television show 60 minutes, anchor Steve Croft interviewed J. Craig Venter, a famous microbiologist whose company has been credited for mapping the human genome and creating what he calls “the first synthetic species”. While the experiments that...

[IT IS HARVEST WEEK AT GREENSEEDLING!  This week, we’ll be featuring a timely collection of stories comparing organic and conventional food.   HAPPY THANKSGIVING to our U.S. readership!] A trip down the produce aisle used to be a somewhat simple task.  Select certain fruits...

[IT IS HARVEST WEEK AT GREENSEEDLING!  This week, we’ll be featuring a timely collection of stories comparing organic and conventional food.   HAPPY THANKSGIVING to our U.S. readership!] Questions about the potential benefits of organic farming center on its differences—or...

[IT IS HARVEST WEEK AT GREENSEEDLING!  This week, we’ll be featuring a timely collection of stories comparing organic and conventional food.   HAPPY THANKSGIVING to our U.S. readership!] A major difference between organic and non-organic crops involves the use of pesticides to...

When I head back to Kansas in a few weeks for winter break, it looks like I will have something new to talk with my uncle about. He’s carried on the family farm in northern Kansas his whole life, and while our conversation usually centers on horses and pigs, this time it’ll be switchgrass and...

Despite the fact that agriculturists have crossbred plants for years to genetically modify their crops, the phrase “genetically modified organism” continues to receive a bad reputation.  Organisms with genes specifically selected to resist disease or produce higher crop yields can serve as one...

Since the identification of DNA as the molecular basis of inheritance and the coding source of proteins half a century ago, researchers have focused on questions of how, when, and where the organism expresses each of its genes, the functional elements of DNA. Scientists at the Boyce Thompson Institute...

Before the 1980s, society more or less encouraged smoking tobacco; however, when scientific evidence proved cigarette smoking detrimental to health, smoking prevalence declined and tobacco’s reputation took a turn for the worse.

While the downfall of smoking ultimately benefits the population’s...

Growing up in an Indian family, rice was the primary staple in our diet and we it ate almost daily. However, never did it occur to me that the very rice my mother made could potentially be a health remedy. How exactly could this simple grain play such a role in people’s lives?

According to...

Not unlike Superman’s relationship with kryptonite, weeds around the world often fall without much of a fight when confronted with paraquat, one of the world’s most widely used herbicides. However, the difference in these two antagonistic relationships is that Superman developing a resistance...

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently determined the optimal protocol for planting winter canola, a crop that could serve northwestern farmers very well in the future. With the ability to control weeds, winter canola has always been an attractive option for farmers. However,...

For the much of previous millennia, the European corn borer has been a tremendous pest to grain crops worldwide. In particular, the European corn borer has an affinity for corn (hence its name); when corn borer caterpillars are hatched from their eggs, they damage both the ear and stalk by chewing...

Much debate has transpired from the use of pesticides in crop cultivation.  Some of the pesticides that farmers use have proven to be harmful to human health; however, these same substances deemed as “unsafe” play a major role in allowing farmers worldwide to produce enough food to sustain the...

Recently, corn and peanuts have been the target of a fungus that produces no symptoms in plants but could have dire consequences if consumed by humans.

Aspergillus niger, the fungus of interest, lives within the tissues of corn and peanut plants as an endophyte, meaning there is no apparent...

As chance would have it, I am writing this article sitting in my apartment overlooking Jabal Qasioun, the beautiful mountain which rises high above the hustle and bustle of the streets of Damascus, Syria. I have been living in this fascinating city since the beginning of June of this year continuing...

Comprehending a world without computers may be difficult for today’s tech savvy generation.  Societal norms of free wireless Internet on every street corner and limitless social networking websites have forced even the most technologically illiterate individuals to integrate modern technologies...

In 2003, the Central Potato Research Institute in India created a “protato,” a genetically modified potato containing up to 60% more protein than the average potato, but only last week published a research paper in which they claim to have inserted the single protein-enhancing gene into seven...

Plenty of life in the southwestern part of the United States is threatened by the rise of one of the most fearsome epidemics in recent history.

Although the lives of humans are not directly affected by the sweeping disease, wheat streak mosaic virus remains the most widespread malady among...

With increased use over the past few years of Artemisia annua, a crop known for its medicinal potency, many people believe that a shortage of this anti-malaria and anti-cancer miracle plant is forthcoming.  In order to prevent a shortage, researchers at University of York sought to understand the...

Scientists from the Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology at the University of Leeds and the Department of Biology at the University of York recently published a study comparing the effects of conventional farming on wildlife with protected areas (spared land) and organic farming without...

After learning about cellulose in early high school, my vegetarian mind often wondered how much more energy I could have potentially obtained if humans had the ability to digest cellulose. Of course, with cellulose being the most common biopolymer on Earth, it seemed inevitable that one day, a scientist...

Personally, I find it hard to be productive outside in summer when temperatures climb to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Luckily, I can take refuge in an air-conditioned home, car, or store to save me from the blistering heat. However, so many plants endure the taxing temperature on a daily basis, sitting...

Yellow and green streaks seen on the leaves of maize are not just unique; they’re “psychedelic.” The coloring is due to genes that are known as Psychedelic, and these genes may play a role in altering plant yields.  Plants with a yellow- and green-streaked leaf phenotype have a mutation...

In an effort to determine the effect of a major pest on the Colombian Andes commercial potato (Solanum tuberosum), researchers from Cornell University, the University of Goettingen, and the National University of Columbia tested tuber growth in the presence of pest infestation. Expecting that infestation...

Many of us have heard that soybeans are being used for an increasing number of products these days, especially with the rise of vegans and vegetarians in America, but how many of us know what makes soy special?

At Purdue, they understand that soy serves a number of purposes that will only increase...

Growing up as the son of two Pakistani immigrants, I was fortunate enough to be able to sample delectable Pakistani cuisine on an almost daily basis throughout my childhood. As almost any South Asian will tell you, Daal, or a variety of lentils, is considered a staple that is eaten with almost every...

The sage-grouse numbers in eastern Oregon have been diminishing recently, likely due to overgrazing by the cattle of nearby ranchers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be examining the state of the grouse on a yearly basis to determine if Endangered Species Act protection is needed. Although...

When a pathogen reproduces, it synthesizes both essential and non-essential molecules.  Genes important for the production of molecules that are not as important can easily be mutated without much difference to the function or survival of the pathogen. However, genes important for the production...

In my Spanish class recently we learned the future tense. In an attempt to keep things interesting, the topics covered by the future tense chapter were space travel and genetic engineering. We discussed the consequences of creating babies “a la carte”, and for our final assignment we had to write...

Although the phenomenon of potatoes darkening after cooking or processing is widely known, after-cooking darkening (ACD) had not been researched thoroughly enough (until recently, that is) to determine methods of prevention. Although the darkening does not compromise the nutritional value or the flavor...

Stress is the number one reason why students underperform and get depressed; as a college student, I can definitely attest to the negative effects of stress that I feel, especially during midterms. Sometimes, the pressure of too many things on my plate can push me to be productive, but when I feel...

About a month ago, just before getting into my car to head to work, I noticed that my shiny black car had taken on a completely new color without ever having visited the paint shop.  As I quickly swiped my finger across the trunk, the culprit for this sudden color change was identified – pollen! ...

Almost  everyone is familiar with the many uses of silicon in plastic surgery and the nanotechnology industry. What may shock you are the effects of this commonly used metalloid on plants. From ancient times, sunflowers provided extraordinary nutritional benefits and their beautiful flowers have...

In the last few decades, genetic engineering has been a hot research area. Genetic engineering techniques have succeeded in feats such as mapping the human genome, cloning various animals, creating hybrid animals (such as Ligers!), increasing resistance to diseases, and, the most common application,...

There is something about sodium chloride (NaCl) that causes humans the world over to indulge in the delicious salty products. For example, I ate a large burrito last night for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants and when I got home feeling like I was about to explode, my appetite was miraculously...

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you only inherited traits from one parent?  Instead of having your mother’s nose and your father’s smile, you might resemble a clone of one parent, not a mixture between the two; however, without perfection of the cloning process, we do not need...

Today, I realized how many new things I have learned from writing these articles! For instance, I was under the assumption that the tomato is one fruit that can be grown anywhere. This thought was based on the wide variety of world cuisines that all make use of tomatoes. However, apparently there...

The Great Plains is known for the massive area it covers and the multitude of crops it produces. However, each individual lot of farmland may be limited in biodiversity. Currently, the Great Plains is slated to become the new home of a mixture of biofuel crops, such as switchgrass and prairie cordgrass....

When I google the word “essex” all I find is a reference to a county in Northern England that just happens to be one of the most populous ones in the area.  However, that wasn’t what I had been searching for. I had been searching for the Essex that is a new breed of lentil developed by George...

Did you know that potatoes are not considered vegetables? They are edible tubers. On average, a person eats 73 pounds of potatoes, internationally; Americans eat almost twice that amount at 130 pounds per year!

However, among the four top-most produced crops, potatoes are the easiest targets...

Crops have always been plagued by insects, disease, nutrient-poor soil and drought. Now, it seems that one small part of the problem may be solved. One of the critical nutrients that plants require to grow is nitrogen. Nitrogen must be ‘fixed’ in order to turn Nitrogen from the air into a usable...

Originally shipped to the United States in the 1930’s to help reduce soil erosion, the Chinese bush clover (Sericea lespedeza) is now being used to promote the health of pasture-grazing mammals. When the Chinese bush clover is put into pelleted form, it can be added to livestock’s feed.  When...

The cycle of agricultural life across the globe occurs as a series of chain reactions. Scientists are now becoming acutely aware of the immense cross industrial impacts that stem from a few seemingly harmless practices in the agricultural world. Today’s featured study is one that investigates the...

Studies have shown that the yields of many different plant species decrease by as much as 30% when the temperature has surpassed 86 degrees Fahrenheit.  Such a profound decline in crop yields would harm producers and consumers alike, and it appears that this problem may get worse with global warming....

As I was reading this article today, I realized that for some reason I tend to prefer learning about genetic research over other sub disciplines in Biology. The more knowledge we have about the specific functions of genes, the better chance we have of curing genetic diseases.  Research into the viral...

Every time I read about agricultural research, I notice that the focus is always on the need for food. More specifically, the need to be able to grow more plants with fewer resources so that we can alleviate world hunger. A lot of the studies I have read and written about focus on cures for fungal...

America has long embraced the wide use and consumption of genetically modified or GM foods in daily life. But now, there seems to be a new buzz in the air about using the benefits of genetically modifying trees to increase the rate of growth in the United State’s southeastern forests.

A proposition...

As humans we have seen and heard about multiple kinds of influenza viruses. Currently, one of the problems caused by H1N1 infection is being able to distinguish the symptoms of a sick person. Doctors and researchers have been trying to figure out the best ways to differentiate the symptoms of H1N1...

As I plan ahead for college graduation and graduate school, it is sometimes easy to get carried away and wish for things to be easier and different. Sometimes I just don’t want to be in any more science classes, but I know that success in medical school or graduate school depends on me going back...

They say in Texas, “If you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes and it will change.”  With days that range from 30 degrees to 80 degrees in the winter months, I may have my heat running at full force on a Monday, and then the air conditioner blasting by Friday; but how does this rapidly...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

In the wild, what we think of as spices are actually a key component to a plant’s defense mechanism. Now, Dr. Murray Isman of the University of British Columbia recently published a study on these organic pesticides that has produced fruitful results. The research has shown that common household...

Ever since the Silicon Valley technology boom of the nineties, the phrase “nanotechnology” has attained a special place in the science world’s colloquial vocabulary.

Proposed devices implementing nanotechnology include LED contact lenses, improved fiber optics, and increasingly...

Most agricultural studies focus on improving crop yield or preventing the adverse effects of environmental conditions. Other studies, however, focus on increasing the nutritional value of crops. Phillipe Seguin and his fellow researchers from various universities and governmental agricultural agencies...

In the October issue of the journal BioScience, David Flaspohler and Joseph Fargione published their analysis on the impact of biofuel-dedicated land consumption on various wildlife populations throughout the grasslands. The journal article addressed the long term effects of America’s focus on biofuel...

Whether consuming green vegetables raw or cooked, these colorful plants provide us with many essential nutrients. I have always heard, “The greener the vegetable, the better the nutritional value,” but scientists from The University of Nottingham are presently conducting research that could possibly...

Remember when our kindergarten teachers taught us the age-old, seemingly irrefutable rule that “sharing is caring”?

Well, in the case of weeds and their genetically modified crop brethren, a new study in the October issue of the American Journal of Botany has proven that not only is this...