Plants

Biologists used artificial intelligence to make discoveries about molecules and the brain, and overturned long-held assumptions about the immune system and RNA.

Invisibly to us, insects and other tiny creatures use static electricity to travel, avoid predators, collect pollen and more. New experiments explore how evolution may have influenced this phenomenon.

European beech trees more than 1,500 kilometers apart all drop their fruit at the same time in a grand synchronization event now linked to the summer solstice.

To calculate the amount of carbon stored inside peatlands, researchers developed a unified theory of “bog physics” applicable around the world.

A mutant seedling revealed how plant tissues scatter incoming light, allowing plants to sense its direction and move toward it.

New modeling work suggests why nature is more diverse than niche-based ecological theory predicts.

By replacing thousands of equations with just one, ecology modelers can more accurately assess how close fragile environments are to a disastrous “tipping point.”

Supergenes that lock inherited traits together are widespread in nature. Recent work shows that their blend of genetic benefits and risks for species can be complex.

Using inserted genetic circuitry, synthetic biologists controlled the growth of plant roots for the first time.