All articles tagged with #plants
Pando is the heaviest living organism on Earth—a clonal stand of quaking aspen in Utah’s Fishlake National Forest that weighs about 13 million pounds (6 million kilograms) and covers 106 acres (43 hectares), all connected by a single sprawling root system. DNA analyses suggest the grove, made up of about 40,000 trees, could be tens of thousands of years old, and the name “Pando” comes from Latin for “I spread.”
A study in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres uses 3D climate models to project Earth's vegetative biosphere over the next 2 billion years. It finds the last plant could linger about 1.84–1.87 billion years from now as the Sun brightens; under a strong CO2-weathering cycle, CO2 drops and plants die around 1.84 billion years, while in a weak-weathering scenario temperatures rise to about 65°C, pushing land plants to extinction about 1.87 billion years out. The researchers caution that evolution or human tech could extend plant survival beyond these limits, and the simulations do not account for future plant adaptation or geoengineering possibilities.} } }**Note: There is an extraneous closing tokens at the end due to formatting; correct JSON would end after the closing brace.** However, in this response, the essential fields are provided.** (If you’d like, I can present the strictly formatted JSON payload.)**}
A 3D climate-model study projects that Earth's vegetative biosphere could persist for about 1.84–1.87 billion years as the Sun brightens. Depending on how the carbonate-silicate weathering cycle responds to warming, CO2 may steadily drop and starve plants (strong weathering) or temperatures could climb to around 65°C (weak weathering), placing the maximum plant lifetime at roughly 1.87 billion years. The researchers note that evolution, future technology, or geoengineering could extend this, potentially making the biosphere’s lifetime similar to the duration of Earth’s oceans.
This guide lists all Grow a Garden 2 seeds and plants, where to obtain them (in-game shop, redeemable codes, seed packs), their costs in Sheckles, and rarity/harvest types. It highlights top seeds like Ghost Pepper, Dragon’s Breath, and Moon Bloom, notes that Super is the highest rarity, and provides pointers to a tier list and related guides for deeper strategy.
Scientists exposed Physcomitrium patens moss to the exterior of the ISS for 283 days; most spores survived and later regenerated after return to Earth, suggesting terrestrial plants can endure space conditions, likely due to efficient DNA repair and protective spores. Modeling also suggests such spores could survive in space for roughly 15 years without protection, a finding with profound implications for space exploration, exobiology, and the panspermia hypothesis.
Water drawn through the hollow stem of a living horsetail (Equisetum) shows the most extreme oxygen-isotope signature ever measured in terrestrial water, a finding that stretches Earth’s isotope range and prompts a reevaluation of how evaporation, plant water, and fossil proxies reveal past humidity and climate.
A Yale-led study shows garlic does more than repel pests: when fruit flies and two mosquito species taste the garlic compound diallyl disulfide, it activates the TrpA1 receptor and triggers bitter/ fullness signals that stop feeding and, crucially, reproduction. The effect is taste-based (not smell) and wasps lacking TrpA1 are unaffected. This points to garlic-derived compounds as targeted, safer pest-control tools, and the researchers also introduce phytoscreen as a simple method to screen plant substances for behavioral effects on insects.
Researchers recorded stressed tomato and tobacco plants and found they emit airborne ultrasonic clicks not audible to humans. Stressed plants produce roughly 30–50 sounds per hour (healthy plants are mostly silent), with sounds varying by stress type (dehydration vs. cutting). A machine-learning model could distinguish healthy vs stressed plants and identify the stress type and plant species. The exact origin may be cavitation, and it’s unclear if these sounds are deliberate signals or byproducts. Ecologically, other organisms might hear and respond to these signals, and there could be agricultural uses for monitoring crop health and irrigation.
A Southampton-led study finds tormentil, a small yellow bogland wildflower, slows the growth of the drug-resistant bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii and may boost the effectiveness of the last-resort antibiotic colistin. The researchers identified two active compounds, agrimoniin and ellagic acid, that starve bacteria of iron, with consistent antimicrobial activity across three Irish bogs, suggesting potential for plant-based drug development—though translating these findings into safe, effective medicines will require extensive further work.
Using a UV camera mounted on a research vehicle, scientists captured hundreds of tiny corona discharges glowing along treetops during thunderstorms, showing that nearly every leaf can glow under a storm’s electric field; each corona carries about a microamp of current and produces hydroxyl radicals that can scrub pollutants but may also damage leaves, with potential implications for forest chemistry and even storm dynamics, observed across multiple storms and tree species and reported in Geophysical Research Letters by Penn State researchers led by P. J. McFarland.
A Taipei-based randomized, double-blind trial tested a plant-based scalp serum (Centella asiatica–derived vesicles plus caffeine, panthenol, FGF-7, IGF-1) in 60 adults over eight weeks, finding about a 25% increase in hair density and thicker strands versus placebo. While promising, results are from a short study without direct comparison to minoxidil/finasteride, and longer, independent replication is needed to confirm durability and safety.
A Guardian photo essay by Christer Björkman spotlights Swedish scientists, each with a personal object or book, as they explore life from tiny insects to hairy plants. The portraits span entomology, mycology, palaeontology and taxonomy, showcasing researchers continuing Linnaeus’s legacy and highlighting biodiversity and the extinction crisis through a visual record of work across Swedish institutions.
Plants first evolved from green algae and began colonizing land around 470 million years ago. To survive, they developed a waxy cuticle to reduce water loss, stronger cell walls, and simple anchor structures; by about 420 million years ago, vascular tissue allowed taller growth and the creation of soils, accelerating weathering and increasing atmospheric oxygen. Later, seeds around 380 million years ago improved reproductive success in dry conditions, and flowering plants around 140 million years ago spread with animal pollinators and fruit dispersal, driving widespread biodiversity. This chain of innovations transformed Earth’s atmosphere, soils, and ecosystems, enabling life to flourish on land.
Scientists say stressed plants emit ultrasonic noises—clicks and pops inaudible to humans. A 2023 Cell study led by Lilach Hadany at Tel Aviv University found dehydrated tomato and tobacco plants averaged about 40 clicks per hour, with sounds detectable from over a meter away, suggesting a potential sound-based form of plant communication that could influence nearby insects and animals; cavitation is a likely source, though other mechanisms are being explored, along with how these sounds operate in natural environments.
Researchers use a new leaf-imaging system that combines microscopy, gas sensors, and controlled environments to video-record stomatal openings in living leaves, linking pore movements to CO2 uptake and water loss in real time and highlighting variability among pores—offering a tool to help breeders improve crop water-use efficiency.