Spotted gum, complete
A second species of eucalypt has had its complete genome revealed.
A second complete eucalypt genome has been assembled and publicly released following a decade-long project involving ...
Plants
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Pretty flowers get more attention
But less attractive plants deserve to be studied too, scientists say.
Scientists aren’t immune to the lure of beauty, it seems, tending to shun plants that are rare and have ecological si...
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Genome of resurrected plant is sequenced for the first time ever
2000-year-old seeds of extinct Judean date palm shows Roman influence in Middle East.
For the first time ever, scientists have sequenced the genome of a resurrected plant that went extinct 2000 years ago...
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How spinifex grasses got their ring shapes
Scientists studying spinifex unearth the good and bad of soil microbes.
Scientists say they may have solved a longstanding mystery of how Australia’s iconic spinifex got its distinctive rin...
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Animal ‘relax’ gene helps plants save water
Pores stay closed to prevent water loss during drought.
In order to save water, plants might be able to use an animal relaxing gene. A team of Australian and German resea...
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You may have missed...
Stray science stories from last week to cheer up your Monday.
It's getting hot in here ... 430 degrees Celsius hot, that is. Artist's interpretation. Credit: RenderArea, https://r...
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Cats love it but mozzies don’t
Scientists reveal why catnip is a potent insect repellent.
At the risk of becoming the Pied Piper of cats, you could use the garden herb catnip as a non-toxic insect repellent ...
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Carbon storage stars
Mangrove forests get top sequestering marks.
Mangrove forests could be the key to reducing carbon, according to a new study. Researchers studying mangrove for...
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Home gardens vital for pollinators
They provide a rich and diverse nectar source, study finds.
Urban areas are a surprisingly rich food reservoir for pollinating insects such as bees and wasps, according to a UK ...
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Fungi first
A microfossil from China might be among the oldest land organisms discovered.
A US-China collaboration has uncovered the oldest terrestrial fossil ever found: that of a tiny, fungi-like organism ...
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Gardeners may have one gene to thank
Study pinpoints the cause of flower diversity.
The huge variety of flowers we know has made them seem very complex, but there may be a relatively simple reason why ...
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The underground life of plants
Study investigates why roots go where they go.
The energy a plant devotes to its roots depends on its proximity to other plants, according to a new study. The ro...