We just joined Twitter! Follow us @greenseedling.
Currently Browsing: Featured Articles
MRI of….a watermelon?
Summer is almost over and hopefully it was one filled with fresh fruits and veggies. We’ve found a site that presents our favorite summer fare in an … unusual way. Check out this fantastic site to see movies made from MRI images of our favorite vegetables and fruits! [Thanks, Dr. Hughes!]
You’ve...
Getting the Most Out of Your Animal Feed
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...
How Can Beans Beat the Heat?
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...
Removing Arsenic with Genetically Modified Plants
Detoxifying soils that are contaminated with arsenic has always been difficult to achieve with human hands and instruments. However, the introduction of genetically modified plants may be able to reduce arsenic levels with much greater ease.
The gene of interest comes from the fern Pteris vittata, a...
Psychedelic Maize Yields Groovy Results
Posted by Amar in Agriculture, Bio Fuels, Featured Articles, GM Foods on 06 13th, 2010 | No Comments
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 genes...
Doubling the Size of Potatoes with… Spit?
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...
Useful Wild Plants: Not your Mainstream Encyclopedia Collection
[This week, we bring you a special FEATURE LENGTH article on an amazing encyclopedia collection!]
The closing of a spring semester evokes a new persona in typical study-crazed college students. Before attempting to successfully complete course finals while sleep deprived or participating in annual...
We’re taking a break!
Thanks for visiting! The greenseedling staff is taking a Early Summer Break for a couple of weeks, but we’ll be back with a ’summer schedule’ of stories beginning May 24. Until then, enjoy some of our archived stories and other offerings! Happy Summer! – The gs staff
Inside the Seed Cathedral
The Seed Cathedral in Shanghai, part of the World Expo 2010. Simply amazing.
The theme? People cannot live without plants!
Gallery of pictures: http://www.popsci.com/technology/gallery/2010-05/gallery-inside-seed-cathedral
News Article: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/04/awe-inspiring-seed-cathedral-shanghai-world-expo-2010.php
Diversifying the Soybean Line
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 in...
New lentil variety proves improve crop yield
Posted by Jen in Agriculture, Environment, Featured Articles, GM Foods on 05 4th, 2010 | No Comments
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 Grouse Compromise
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 it...
Just another effect of Global Warming
Whenever I fly to or from the Houston, I am always amazed at the vast greenery the city has to offer that I am able to view from my airplane window during descent and ascent. Although many look at Houston as an overcrowded, sprawling, and polluted metropolis, I absolutely love the place and its many...
Broad Spectrum Pathogen Resistance Conferred Between Plant Families
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 of...
Genetically Engineered Crops in Need of Qualified Supervisor
Every week while researching the latest news in plant research, I notice an abundance of articles pertaining to genetic modification. Whether scientists have sequenced a particular plant’s genome or discovered a gene regulator, such as the riboswitches we discussed last week, genetic modification...
Medicinal Mint from Brazil
Over the course of 20 years, I have witnessed my mother prepare some odd homemade remedy for an illness that my siblings or I had contracted. When young, I never really thought to question the effectiveness of these treatments, because I always believed that mother knew best. But now, I often wonder...
Twenty years later, plant-mapping project finally comes to an end
Perhaps the most devastating effect of deforestation is the immense diversity of plant and animal life that is lost in the process. This effect is even further compounded when we talk about the tropical rainforest deforestation that has steadily become more and more commonplace over the past few and...
Flipping the Switch on Chloroplasts
Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology have recently uncovered a new method for genetically modifying plants by manipulating the genes found in chloroplast.
As you may already know, the chloroplast aids in plant survival, as this organelle takes on the responsibility helping...
Genetic Engineering: Boon for Grape Cultivars
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...
Preventing Potatoes from Darkening After Cooking
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...
The Balance of Life
As a child, I would often ask my mom why things in nature are the way they are and she would always give me the same answer: to provide an overarching balance to the world. Although this answer seemed overly simplistic to me even as a kid, I have come to realize over the years that there was great wisdom...
Plants Get Stressed Out Too!
Posted by Pallavi in Agriculture, Environment, Featured Articles, Research on 04 14th, 2010 | No Comments
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 as...
Pollen – The Nomad of the Plant Kingdom
Posted by Sarah in Agriculture, Environment, Featured Articles, GM Foods, Research on 04 13th, 2010 | No Comments
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! ...
Helping Plants by Harming Their Enemies
Major impediments to plant growth include disease, malnourishment, and predators. Limiting any of these factors would greatly benefit plants struggling to survive. Researchers at the University of California at Irvine have concluded that insect-eating animals such as birds and lizards can reduce the...
So you thought silicon was only useful in making chips? Think again.
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 contributed...
Nature Conducts Genetic Engineering, Too!
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,...
Plants Have Their Very Own NINJA to Ward Off Predators
For most, the act of defense may be associated with the process of a physical attack; however, because of the immobility of majority of plants, they must possess unique methods of defense against the environment in order to survive in nature. Although plants may not mount a physical attack on a predator,...
St. John’s Wort and Its Curative Properties
St. John’s wort, a plant widely known for relieving symptoms of depression, may have more curative properties than originally thought. St. John’s wort can refer to any species in the plant genus Hypericum, which persists throughout the entire Northern Hemisphere, and researchers at the Agricultural...
Don’t Want an Inhaler? Eat Blackcurrants!
Asthma and allergies afflict over 60 million people in the United States, making it the most prevalent chronic disease in the nation. Many people visit their local allergists to be treated, and treatment can often include the prescription of an inhaler that relaxes the muscles of constricted airways....
Making More Tomatoes: a genetic approach
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...
A serendipitous discovery leads to a faster way to breed plants
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...
Quality Tomatoes are Less Dependent on Sunlight Than Previously Believed
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 is...
The debate continues on the history of flowers
This past week, I had the remarkable opportunity of visiting a country that has intrigued me for a very long time, that is, Japan. Since childhood, my older brother and I have been fascinated by this unique nation’s technology, culture, and viable economy that all seemed to have survived the immense...
Cup Plants Add Diversity to the Great Plains
Posted by Amar in Agriculture, Bio Fuels, Environment, Featured Articles on 03 24th, 2010 | No Comments
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....
County or Lentil?
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...
From Opium to Opiate: Harnessing the Opium Poppy’s Genes
When I hear the word “morphine” or “codeine,” the first thought that comes to mind is not that of a flower. Although these two drugs may fall under the classification of some of the strongest pain medications on the market, people often fail to acknowledge the source of morphine and codeine:...
Pea Plants: A Spherical Approach to Electrical Energy Production
A few weeks ago, we discussed a method for generating electricity by using a biofuel cell and the power of photosynthesis from a cactus plant; therefore, when selecting this week’s topic, I thought it only appropriate to elaborate on a less prickly approach at harnessing power from plants.
Researchers...
Tobacco: Good for Our Health?
Negative connotations about tobacco are prevalent in many cultures across the world. However, upon closer examination, we may become a bit more willing to accept tobacco plants into our lives – but not in the way you might expect.
Tobacco holds a notorious reputation for giving people health problems...
Potato Strain Resistant to Black Dot and Powdery Scab
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 for various...
Beans! Sharing the Nitrogen Love
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...
Location, Location, Location
The American Association for the Advancement of Science conference wrapped up on the 22nd of February, and the topic of biofuels certainly did not go untouched.
Many scientists have been addressing the commercialization of the algal biofuel production process. Thus far, the obstacle has mainly been a...
Yeast, lowering a plant’s winter heat bill
As I was thinking about my topic for this week’s article, I thought I would do myself a little favor by first baking one of my favorite homemade desserts: white chocolate bread pudding. Not only did this help to inspire my thoughts, but perhaps even more importantly, it fed my unrelenting appetite...
Meet My Distant Cousin…Arabidopsis
For years, scientists have faced the lofty challenge of confirming the evolutionary link between primates and humans, but with new research from Purdue University, scientists may turn their focus on evolutionary kinship between apes and plants.
While attempting to revive dying plants, researchers discovered...
Organic Anti-Fungal Compound
Food competition in the tropics is not limited to two animals fighting over a single prey. In fact, carnivorous plants and fungi also compete for food, albeit at a much more molecular level. After an insect is trapped by a carnivorous plant, it falls into the plant’s “pitcher,” which contains enzymes...
New Way to Reduce Resistance to Breast Cancer Drug
With the advent of the cold season, several of my classes here at UT Austin have been plagued with the echoes of people coughing; the sounds often drown the professor’s voice! I have also started to feel under the weather as of a few days ago. To make matters worse, I seem to have acquired resistance...
Root Hair Growth Explained
For humans hair is like an accessory, we spend money cutting it, styling it, and coloring it; almost everything we do with our hair is for superficial reasons (except for cilia in our intestines, nasal cavity etc). Animals have fur for protective purposes, to keep warm in the summer or perhaps camouflage....
Back to the Future of Ethanol Production
The University of Central Florida has taken a leap through time and devised a method of harvesting ethanol from garbage items. Sound familiar? Yes, this scenario is not unlike the DeLorean in the popular science fiction movie, Back to the Future. It may be true that the future of clean ethanol lies in...
Water, without it we simply can’t survive
Posted by Jen in Environment, Featured Articles, Research, Strange But True on 02 24th, 2010 | No Comments
When we made the transition a little over a decade ago from the nineteenth to the twentieth century, many believed that we were finally closing the door on one of the most notably problematic and violent centuries in world history. Not only were two major World Wars fought during this period, but major...
No Electrical Outlet? Try a Cactus!
You may have heard of solar power, but what about harnessing power via photosynthesis? Controlled by humans, solar panels can generate electrical power through photovoltaic cells. As opposed to solar panels, photosynthesis employs only the natural sources of plants and the sun to convert solar...
Preventing the Proliferation of Nematodes with Plants
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 consumed...
Plant Buffers Prove Productive
Posted by Deepa in Agriculture, Environment, Featured Articles, Health on 02 19th, 2010 | No Comments
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 impact...
Global Warming and the Decline of Crop Yields
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....
Mutations Crucial to Viral Infections
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...
Justice: Plant Style
The principle of “an eye for an eye” found in the Code of Hammurabi of ancient Babylonian origin has been understood by anthropologists and other social scientists as being a peculiar characteristic of human social interaction for centuries. Although it may seem that we are the only species of life...
Reviving Western Rangelands with Genetic Modification
In the western United States, extreme weather conditions threaten vegetation, wildlife, and surrounding communities. With conditions ranging from heavy snow in the winter to severe drought and wildfires in the summer, the plant life in these areas takes a brutal beating by Mother Nature. Under...
Auxin May Provide Stronger Root Systems
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 infections...
Invasive Plants at Walden Pond: bane or boon?
In the battle to survive and thrive in today’s world of unpredictable climate change, it may be that the invasive and non-native plants reign supreme. Charles C. Davis, an assistant professor at the Harvard Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, recently published his findings from...
The Phenomena of Whispering Leaves
In many of my previous articles, I have often discussed the rather interesting phenomenon of plant communication. While this is undoubtedly an amazing testament to the inherent complexity of plant life, evolutionarily, the ability for plants to be able to communicate with one another is more of a pragmatic...
Fire, Smoke, and Plants
There will be blood in a football game that sets two bitter rivals against each other. However, not all of the players are on the field with a mindset of inflicting permanent pain upon the other team. Some players, the good sportsmen, will be kind enough to help lift their counterpart up after a rough...
GM Forests: Raising the bar for Timber Production
Posted by Deepa in Agriculture, Environment, Featured Articles, GM Foods on 02 4th, 2010 | No Comments
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...
Sugarcane Afflicted with New Rust Fungi
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 from...
Tobacco Plants Scared of the Dark?
It is a common belief that going out at night is much more dangerous than going out during the day. Although reasons for fearing the dark differs amongst humans, the fear is usually rational and can often prevent unnecessary tragedies. As a teenager, I was often irked when my parents refused to let me...
Almonds Never Tasted So Toxic
If asked to identify three poisonous entities that can be found in nature, what first comes to mind? A snake? A spider?
How about an almond tree? Although almonds may have many health benefits associated with their consumption, the nectar of an almond tree actually has quite the opposite effect.
After...
Soybean Genome Mapped
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 and...
Appraisal on the Algae Approach
Recent findings at the University of Virginia’s department of Civil and Environmental Engineering have caused increased scrutiny of current alternative energy procurement processes concerning algae.
Exxon Mobile’s $600 million investment for the research and development of biofuel in addition to...
Bundle Up Those Genes – It’s Cold Out!
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 changing...
What Can Kanna Do?
Sceletium tortuosum is a plant native to South Africa that has been used for a few hundred years with a variety of purposes. Also known as Kanna, Channa, and Kougoed, the plant has been known to enhance mood, reduce anxiety, relax the user, and even cause euphoria when taken in large amounts. The plant,...
The often beautiful consequences of Natural Selection
Ever since I was a child, I have always considered the city of Chicago as my home away from home. Although I was born and raised in Houston, my Aunt lives in the windy city and I have been lucky enough to be able to visit her and my cousins at least a few times every year. After my brother graduated...
We’re on Winter Break!
Best wishes for a great holiday season from the greenseedling staff! (Photo courtesy: www.paulrezendes.com)
Seaweed: fuel for thought
The American industry has long dallied with the idea of using microalgae to produce the alternative fuel ethanol, but now a new approach has been proposed. The next stop in our quest to find the best and most efficient alternative fuel: Seaweed, a macroalgae.
Despite its promise as an alternative fuel...
Ethylene Details Discovered
Every person is unique. I have noticed that in every group, each individual offers something valuable to the collective. And, although different, each person depends on someone else in some way. How does this pertain to ethylene? Turns out that a family of ethylene genes (a group of related genes)...
Plants in Disguise
Animals in the wild have many ways of warding off predators. Whether they warn predators through bright coloration, escape danger by changing locations, or use camouflage to blend into their environment, animals seem to have better alternatives than plants to avoid predation. Since plants are grounded...
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...
Arson or Mother Nature’s self-defense?
The motivation for most, if not all of wars is to accumulate resources for the aggressing nation’s or peoples’ benefit. A competition of resources is a motif that has been widely observed in the animal community. Surprisingly, a recent study in the December 2009 issue of The American Naturalist...
Gingko Biloba: Solution to Radiation Damage?
Posted by Pallavi in Featured Articles, Health, Medicinal Plants, Research on 10 29th, 2009 | No Comments
Have you ever thought about the evolution of pharmaceutical drugs? When I watch Grey’s Anatomy or House, I constantly feel amazed by far humans have come, how much we understand about the human body, and how many drugs and procedures have been procured to help us live longer. However, while the contemporary...
Ask yourself: What can your spice rack do for you?
Posted by Deepa in Agriculture, Environment, Featured Articles, GM Foods on 10 28th, 2009 | No Comments
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 spices,...
Conservation or Curing?
Southern Africans have used native plants for hundreds of years to treat a slew of different illnesses in a wide variety of animals. Researchers at Kansas State University are just beginning to document the 506 herbal remedies that have been used in 18 different areas of Southern Africa. While gathering...
Pitcher plants – toilets of the forest?
In the effort to preserve our planet’s natural resources, societies all over the world have promoted the idea of “going green.” For some, this may mean carpooling to work or using re-usable, cloth grocery bags, but for tree shrews, “going green” has a more literal connotation.
According to...
Nanotechnology: Colossal steps into the future
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 faster...
Seeds Yield Nutritional Value
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...
A New Wave of Caution
This month’s buzzword in the world of biofuel production is Caution. The United Nations Environment Programme’s most recent report covers the issue of alternative energy in the face of growing sustainability needs. The report is a compilation of a large number of recent studies on biofuels and conducts...
Reducing Anxiety with a Pacific Plant
For thousands of years, tribes and villagers worldwide have looked to nature for solutions to their medical problems. Even today, researchers continue to look into traditional remedies to discover if they are truly successful. One such natural treatment stems from (pun intended) the kava plant, found...
Public Transportation: Not Always the Environment’s Friend
Posted by Sarah in Environment, Featured Articles, Health, Strange But True on 10 19th, 2009 | No Comments
Before taking your bike out for a joy ride on the same route that your bus travels, you may want to reconsider, or better yet, consult the nearest…tree?
A recent study, by scientists at Western Washington University in Bellingham, has uncovered that the leaves of trees may be very helpful in detecting...
Family First
The expression “family comes first” is one that has and continues to be relayed by virtually every culture of the world. In fact, as a student of Arabic, I was exposed to a peculiar Arab version of this motto that both denotes the importance of family while simultaneously establishing a hierarchal...
Corn Ethanol Production: Boon or Bane?
Posted by Deepa in Agriculture, Bio Fuels, Environment, Featured Articles on 10 16th, 2009 | No Comments
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...
The Greener the Better
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...
Our Sponsors
