News by Subject Biology

By using modern gene-editing technologies to learn key insights about past agricultural revolutions, two plant scientists are suggesting that the next agricultural revolution could be at hand.

Studying the complex layers of immunity in maize, a staple for diets around the world, scientists have identified key genes that enable surprisingly diverse antibiotic cocktails that can be produced as defensive blends against numerous disease agents. UC San Diego biologists describe how they combined an array of scientific approaches to clearly define 6 genes that encode enzymes responsible for the production of key maize antibiotics known to control disease resistance.

Of the major food crops, only rice is currently able to survive flooding. Thanks to new research, that could soon change -- good news for a world in which rains are increasing in both frequency and intensity.

Since they first arrived on land, plants have likely been using the same genetic tools to regulate whether they grow bigger or reproduce. The discovery was made using liverwort, one descendant of the first plants to move out of the ancient oceans and onto land. 'Liverworts have the maximum power with the least structure,' said Professor Yuichiro Watanabe from the University of Tokyo's Department of Life Sciences, an expert in plant molecular biology.

Research shows adding sesame to cotton-sorghum crop rotations is possible in west Texas

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are building up in the environment, and scientists are becoming concerned. These substances, ubiquitous as water-repellent or nonstick additives in many consumer products, are persistent and have been accumulating in organisms throughout the food chain over many years. Now, researchers reporting in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology have identified bacteria from a New Jersey wetland that, surprisingly, can break carbon-fluorine bonds and degrade PFAS.

Scientists from the Desert Research Institute studied air quality inside of four cannabis growing facilities in Nevada and California. They recorded high levels of BVOCs (biogenic volatile organic compounds) and butane inside each growing facility, which can contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone if released into the outdoors.