Big Storms Brewing

Meet some of the people featured in the February 2019 issue of The Scientist.

Internalizing the environment might be the next step in humans’ relationship with our planet.

Take a break from the bench to puzzle and peruse.

Selected Images of the Day from the-scientist.com

With genetic tweaks, researchers can coax corn and other cereals to take in more iron, but sometimes the plants rebel.

Authors of a small study say the two abilities likely evolved in tandem.

Researchers develop an app that can estimate the biological age of a rodent from its mug shot—and could give a boost to the science of human aging in the process.

In plants ranging from liverworts to wheat, parasitic water molds build intracellular structures analogous to the nutrient-exchanging structures of symbiotic fungi.

Risks that pertain to all manner of new crops are often misattributed to genetic engineering. This distorts the public’s view of the technology.

Adenine editing enzymes have been adapted for use in plants.

Small RNA-containing particles in ginger root are found to promote the growth of beneficial bacteria and alleviate colitis in mouse guts.

Pathogens appear to steal the metal from plants using the erratic motion of microscopic particles.

A compound produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa activates signaling pathways that prevent seeds from growing in unfavorable environments.

This University of California, Davis, botanist studies the genes that regulate plant anatomy.

The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory researcher is fueled by curiosity about how one species’ genome can produce a wide variety of traits.

Three techniques capture data on numerous protein interactions in plants, mice, and human cells.

The agritech industry is editing plant genomes to feed a growing population, expand the produce aisle, and make tastier, more convenient food products.

A new book traces the surprisingly short history of the environment as a shared conceptual construct.

James Kirkham Ramsbottom saved Britain’s daffodil industry from a devastating parasite, only to be forgotten.

Trees are resilient, but researchers wonder if climate change will outpace their adaptations.

Apoptosis and other types of programmed cell death appear to be reversible.

Adenine editing enzymes have been adapted for use in plants.

A growing branch of research on how plants use exosomes to interact with their environment is opening up a new field of plant biology.

Small microRNA-containing particles found in the plant can boost populations of healthy gut bacteria, and even improve colitis symptoms in mice.