Out-Of-Control Plants? A couple of reports in the science news a few years ago seemed to suggest that one way to cope with global climate change may be unbridled plant growth. One such report involved the discovery of a cellular regulator for the synthesis of cellulose by plant cells. The …
“..And all the leaves on the trees are falling To the sound of the breezes that blow…”– Van Morrison How Can I Miss You, If You Won’t Go Away? Ah, November in the Pacific Northwest, when the autumn leaves are being scoured from the trees by blustery winds and driving …
How Plants Work….For Us Back in the day, if I was teaching botany or plant physiology, I’d typically start off the first-class with reasons why the students should care about plants. (Sad, but true.) Besides reminding them that the air they breathed and the food they consumed (even if they …
To make complex organisms takes specialized cells. Animals and flowering plants require specialized cells with distinct abilities in order to accomplish higher order functions – such as vision or flowering. It’s somewhat like a symphony orchestra. The orchestra integrates different musicians playing different instruments. The characteristic sounds of the instruments …
I’m Melting!! Remember the melting witch in The Wizard of Oz? What if corn stalks, for instance, could be induced to “melt” – that is, to go from tough biomass into a sugary puddle? In biochemical terms, it would be the equivalent to the conversion of cellulosic biomass into a …