Plant science for plant people.
We read the research papers so you don't have to. 4814 discoveries from PubMed, iNaturalist, bioRxiv, and more, synthesized for curious gardeners.
Editing strigolactone hormone receptor for robust antiviral silencing in rice.
Poplar trees, it turns out, have a politics. Male and female poplars of the same species share the same web of fungal threads in the soil under their roots, and the females draw noticeably more nitrogen through those connections for themselves. The underground exchange between trees is not a democracy.
The story is bigger than poplars, though. Plants release chemicals through their roots that shape which tiny organisms live in the surrounding soil, and those organisms don't disappear when the plant does. They linger, primed to help whatever grows next. Seeds themselves arrive packed with dormant microbes, generalists that wake for any kind of stress and specialists tuned to specific threats like drought or cold. What you grew last season is still quietly working for you.
So the soil isn't just dirt with roots in it. It's a memory, a community, and apparently a politics, too.
nutrition
If you grow food
How science is making crops tougher, tastier, and easier to grow.
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If you grow food
How science is making crops tougher, tastier, and easier to grow.
landscape
If you're curious about soil
The living network of fungi, bacteria, and chemical conversations beneath your feet.
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If you're curious about soil
The living network of fungi, bacteria, and chemical conversations beneath your feet.
sensors
How plants talk
Chemical signals, stress responses, and the hidden language of plant communication.
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How plants talk
Chemical signals, stress responses, and the hidden language of plant communication.
thermostat
Living with a changing climate
How plants adapt, migrate, and respond as seasons shift and extremes intensify.
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Living with a changing climate
How plants adapt, migrate, and respond as seasons shift and extremes intensify.
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