One of the most seemingly boring aspects of plants is perhaps the most exciting. Plants are sessile organisms, which means that they do not move. In order to respond to environmental stresses and to interact with other organisms, plants instead rely on a chemical language. Volatiles,... click to read more

While many people remember the wonderful flavor of a garden-grown heirloom tomato, this flavor is not found in modern commercial tomatoes. Modern tomato breeding has focused on disease resistance, yield, shelf-life and firmness for shipping. While these traits are essential for large scale year-round production... click to read more

Whether or not you like your sprouts, plants will likely form a major component of your diet: cereals, bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, chips, etc. all come from plants. Rice, maize and wheat alone make up 60% of the world's food intake. Not only are plants... click to read more

Kipling once said: "Only mad-dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon day sun". To this list we can also add plants they are out in the noon day sun because they are not able to move to the shade when things get hot. Plants... click to read more

In biology, life success is based on the ability to have offspring. For that, before reproduction, organisms must deal with different and sometimes unfriendly situations. The capacity to overcome environmental challenges increases the possibility to have descendants, and will determine then that organism's life success. A... click to read more