Plants
- Agriculture
Sneaky! Virus sickens plants, but helps them multiply
The cucumber mosaic virus helps tomato plants lure pollinators. When the plants multiply, the virus now gets new hosts.
- Plants
Young sunflowers keep time
The plants don’t just use light to follow the sun. An internal clock helps their stems bend as the sun moves across the sky.
- Life
Plants, animals adapt to city living
Cities have turned into experiments in evolution for both plants and animals, from the taste of clover to the stickiness of lizards’ toes.
- Plants
Climate closing the gender gap for this mountain flower
Among valerian plants, males like it hotter than the females do. So a warming climate has been speeding their migration up once-cool mountainsides.
- Fossils
Identifying ancient trees from their amber
A Swedish teen’s analyses of a sample of amber may have uncovered a previously unknown type of ancient tree.
- Plants
New species of terrifying tomato appears to bleed
A new species of Australian bush tomato bleeds when injured and turns bony in old age.
- Health & Medicine
Common plant could help fight Zika virus
A teen discovered that extracts from leaves of the San Francisco plant (Codiaeum variegatum) kill larvae of the mosquito that helps spread the Zika and dengue fever viruses.
- Health & Medicine
The cool science of hot peppers
Why are chili peppers spicy? Why does anyone crave food that burns? Uncovering this fiery veggie’s secrets could help fight pain and obesity.
- Animals
Pollen can become bee ‘junk food’ as CO2 rises
Increasing levels of the greenhouse gas are changing diminishing the food value of pollen, bees’ only source of protein.
- Animals
Spiders eat insects — and sometimes veggies
Plant-eating spiders have been found on every continent except Antarctica, a new study notes.
- Plants
Less brilliant flowers still keep bees coming back
Bumblebees prefer petals that aren’t overly shimmery. This suggests plants are attuned to what insects see.
- Plants
Explainer: Some supplements may not have what it takes
Dietary supplements made from plants may not contain all of the chemicals that usually make a particular plant healthy for humans.
