2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species reveals 15,589 species at risk of extinction
... efforts focused specifically on those animals and plants on the brink of extinction, and on those areas whe...tems, or particular groups, such as invertebrates, plants and fungi, which make up the majority of biodiversity," says Craig Hilton-Taylor, IUCN's Red List Pr...Researchers discover defense mechanisms in some plants believed bred out by humans
...s have a "fight or flight" response to danger, but plants can't flee. They originally had a built-in defense...m to protect them from bugs and injuries, but some plants that were cultivated to serve humans' needs lost the ability to defend themselves. So costly pestici...Tiny plant a model for commercially important trees
...mation, we will have a better understanding of how plants produce this valuable commodity upon which we all rely," said Beers....Plant pathologists offer soybean rust identification and management tips
...ses, premature defoliation and early maturation of plants is common. Soybean rust can go from a few pustules in a field to full field defoliation in a matter of about two weeks. The main method of controlling soybean rust is through early detection and application of fungicides, said Jardine. "If the diseas...Visualizing the end of the human genome
...t. Other versions of POT1 have since been found in plants and mice each recognizing a telomeric sequence that is unique to that organism. POT1 is critical to normal cell division and survival; experiments in fission yeast have shown that without it, most cells die immediately. Cells that do manage to s...Scientists achieve self-assembly of spider silk fiber in insect cells
...s of the webs, through the use of bacteria, yeast, plants and mammalian cells in tissue culture. But these efforts were unsuccessful in producing fibers with properties similar to the natural ones. Now, the Israeli-German scientific team has succeeded, through techniques of genetic engineering, in creating ...Census of Marine Life - Discoveries and Highlights 2004: Scientists add 4m+ records, 13,000 species
...ound, Alaska. Hard, red, resembling toy jacks, the plants roll like tumbleweed in beds used as nurseries by scallops, shrimp, and other invertebrates, prompting plans to study the plants' contribution to the ecosystem. Additions to the book of life from hydrothermal vents and seeps Using manned and...Livestock grazing study finds moderate grazing beneficial to Great Basin plant communities
...etative ground cover, while outside there are more plants as well as a greater variety of plants. The study specifically addresses the view that rangelands are irreparably damaged by domestic grazing in the Great Basin and should subsequently be off-limits to livestock. Perryman said that the study has the...Studies in Royal Society journals include stress in birds and depletion of medieval fish stocks
...ser and Dr MV Price Humans rely on pollination of plants by insects, but human activities threaten pollinators and plants with extinction. This paper combines computer models with extensive records of pollination to explo...How city dwellers and living things put the green into our urban open spaces
...alone, but by ordinary residents and all manner of plants and insects, animals and birds making themselves a...ise that cities sustain important 'communities' of plants and animals drawn together from many different routes and places. Urban wildlife groups, amateur nat...New method to measure ancient land elevation developed by Field Museum scientist
...evation involves counting the stomata on leaves of plants going back as far as 65 million years ago. Stomata...te openings on the surface of leaves through which plants absorb gases, including carbon dioxide, which plants need for photosynthesis.Anyone who has climbed ...US trees affected by growing number of health concerns
...ed to oaks and tanoaks. While many of the non-oak plants do not die as a result of their exposure to the pathogen, they may help the disease to spread. Another tree that has recently been seriously harmed by a Phytophthora in Northeastern U.S. is European Beech. The new beech disease is caused by a differe...Global assessments of biodiversity argue for expansion of protected areas in key regions
...million localities; it considers 98,000 species of plants and invertebrates. (Threats to invertebrates urgently need further assessment but are hard to include in conventional gap analyses). Ferrier's analysis, which is more easily applied to poorly-known species than standard techniques, concludes that 43...NU researcher finds missing atmospheric carbon dioxide
...n soil was CO2 fertilization, the process by which plants grow better when exposed to high CO2 levels, and to investigate the extent to which CO2 fertilization could be increasing the amount of carbon stored in soil under white oak trees. The researchers studied the soil below white oak trees in the tempera...UCSD biologists identify gene in corn plants that may have paved way for development of maize
...ecessive mutation leading to barren stalks in corn plants was first identified in 1928 from seeds collected in South America by early maize geneticists. Because the mutation so dramatically affected the reproductive parts of the plants, and because the development of maize involved changes in the architectu...Northwestern and Chicago Botanic Garden join forces to train botanists
...loe rauhii of Madagascar, thousands of the Earth's plants are in peril. According to a 1997 World Conservati... Here in Illinois, more than 300 species of native plants are listed as threatened or endangered. The primary causes of species extinction or endangerment are...Study: Eat leafy green veggies to help prevent cataracts
... that lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants found in plants such as kale, spinach and collard greens, helped to protect the cells from exposure to ultraviolet light a leading cause of cataract formation. The researchers compared the effects of these antioxidants to vitamin E, an antioxidant also thought t...Stanford biologist working to restore native forests to Hawaii
... than worth the price of admission. "Many Hawaiian plants and animals have already gone extinct," Daily said... her collaborators found that not only were coffee plants located near an intact rainforest more productive but the beans were also of higher quality. They tr...Wolves gone, western ecosystems suffer
...North America, which led to a browsing pressure on plants that was unprecedented. Predation effects involving wolves and elk were also found in aspen growth in Jasper National Park. In Grand Teton National Park, the local extinction of grizzly bears and wolves caused an increase in herbivory on willow by ...What have scientists learned since Mount St. Helens erupted?
... Had it happened in late summer and at night, more plants and animals would have perished. "Events such as the season, and even the time of day, strongly influence survivorship and recovery," Crisafulli says. "If it had been late summer, there would not have been late-lying patches of snow to protect subalp...