News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
By Penny Sarchet Darwin hybrid red tulips, primroses f o g a a s/Tom Meaker/Shutterstock Hello, and welcome to January’s Wild Wild Life, the monthly newsletter that celebrates the biodiversity of our planet’s animals plants and other organisms. To receive this free, monthly newsletter in your inbox, sign up here. I spent much of late … Read more
A major crop pest has 50 genes that appear to originate from plants, and it might use them to detoxify plants’ chemical defences Life 27 January 2022 By Jake Buehler Silverleaf whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) Nigel Cattlin / Alamy Whiteflies appear to have taken the saying “you are what you eat” somewhat literally. New research suggests … Read more
EPA is preparing to Supreme Court-proof President Biden’s ambitions for a carbon-free power grid by looking beyond direct greenhouse gas regulation and relying on the knock-on effect of stricter air, waste and water rules. It’s a “comprehensive approach” to decarbonize the power grid that’s been in the works since the beginning of the Biden administration … Read more
A field trial found that levels of nitrogen oxides and ozone similar to those near roads led to a 70 per cent drop in the numbers of bees and butterflies on mustard plants Environment 19 January 2022 By Adam Vaughan A marbled white butterfly (Melanargia galathea) feeding on a greater knapweed flower (Centaurea scabiosa) robertharding … Read more
Scientists in China say they have found the oldest flower bud in the fossil record, finally aligning the fossil evidence with the genetic data suggesting flowering plants, or angiosperms, evolved tens of millions of years earlier than we initially thought. The team hopes their discovery will help “ease the pain” around a nagging, centuries-old mystery that … Read more
As Earth heats up from the burning of fossil fuels, the climate conditions that species have adapted to are increasingly shifting away from their historical ranges. But while birds and other animals can often fly, walk or swim to follow their preferred environment, plants are quite literally rooted to the ground. They require outside forces … Read more
Declines in bird and mammal species are making plant seed dispersal more difficult, which means plants can’t adapt as effectively to climate change Environment 13 January 2022 By Adam Vaughan An American robin eats a winterberry Paul Vitucci Losses in the number of birds and mammals are limiting the capacity of plants worldwide to adapt … Read more
A slow death is creeping through Earth’s forests and other green landscapes. As animals are killed by hunters or forced away by logging, for example, the plants that depend on them to carry their seeds begin to disappear. Over time, trees and other plants may vanish. Climate change is accelerating this process, a new study … Read more
A study suggests that a small device powered by wind and rain can boost crop yield, but other researchers have cast doubt on the findings Life 13 January 2022 By Adam Vaughan Pea plants growing in a greenhouse Andreeshcheva Katerina/Shutterstock A team of researchers claims to have shown that a high-voltage electric field generated using … Read more
Following the time of the dinosaurs, it might well be that the evolution of flowering plants drove the explosion in the diversity of life on Earth, according to a 2021 paper. Most of the plants we now eat, drink, wear, and build with are of the flowering variety. They’re called angiosperms, which roughly translates from … Read more