12-06-14 A new study eases concerns that irrigating crops with water released from sewage treatment plants -- an increasingly common practice in arid（干旱的） areas of the world -- fosters emergence of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria that cause thousands...

12-05-31 It took some 10 million years for Earth to recover from the greatest mass extinction of all time, latest research has revealed. Life was nearly wiped out 250 million years ago, with only 10 per cent of plants and animals surviving. It is currently m...

12-05-27 Scientists believe they've pinpointed the last crucial piece of the 80-year-old puzzle of how plants know when to flower. Determining the proper time to flower, important if a plant is to reproduce successfully, involves a sequence of molecular even...

12-05-17 Plants are dependent on the sun. Sunlight does not only supply them with energy, but also controls their development steps. So-called photoreceptors（感光器） activate the processes of germination（发芽） , leaf development, bud formation, and bloss...

12-05-15 Research groups from Iowa State University and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have uncovered the function of three plant proteins, a discovery that could help plant scientists boost seed oil production in crops, thereby benefitting the pr...

12-05-11 A detailed description of development of the first practical artificial leaf -- a milestone in the drive for sustainable energy that mimics the process, photosynthesis（光合作用） , that green plants use to convert water and sunlight into energy --...

12-05-04 Experiments may dramatically underestimate how plants will respond to climate change in the future. That's the conclusion of an analysis of 50 plant studies on four continents, published this week in an advance online issue of the journal Nature, wh...

12-04-25 An international team of scientists has uncovered the first evidence of a non-human species cultivating plants for use other than as food. Instead, bowerbirds（园丁鸟） propagate fruits used as decorations in their sexual displays. The researchers d...

12-04-17 Have you ever wondered why stems grow upwards and roots downwards? Why plants always seem to turn towards the light and climbing plants run up the trellis（格子，框架） rather than down? The answer is simple: auxin（植物生长素） . But maybe not that...

12-04-10 A new study by Rice University scientists reveals that plants can use the sense of touch to fight off fungal infections and insects. The study, which will be published in the April 24 issue of Current Biology, finds that plant defenses are enhanced...