ScienceDaily: Botany News
Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:05:01 EDT

'World's most useful tree' provides new low-cost water purification method for developing world
A low-cost water purification technique could help drastically reduce the incidence of waterborne disease in the developing world. The procedure, which uses seeds from the Moringa oleifera tree, can produce a 90.00% to 99.99% bacterial reduction in previously untreated water.
Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EDT

Unlocking the opium poppy's biggest secret: Genes that make codeine, morphine
Researchers have discovered the unique genes that allow the opium poppy to make codeine and morphine, opening the door to alternate methods of producing these effective painkillers either by manufacturing them in a lab or controlling the production of these compounds in the plant.
Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST

New defenses deployed against plant diseases
Researchers have transferred broad spectrum resistance against some important plant diseases across different plant families. The breakthrough provides a new way to produce crops with sustainable resistance to economically important diseases.
Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST

Plants discover the benefits of good neighbors in strategy against herbivores
Scandinavian scientists have discovered that a species of tree defends itself from herbivore attack by using chemicals emitted by neighboring plants. The study reveals how species of Birch tree absorb chemical compounds from neighboring Marsh tea plants, Rhondodendron tomentosum, in a unique "defense by neighbor strategy."
Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST

Genome analysis of marine microbe reveals a metabolic minimalist
Flightless birds, blind cave shrimp, and other oddities suggest a "use it or lose it" tendency in evolution. In the microbial world, an unusual marine microorganism appears to have ditched several major metabolic pathways, leaving it with a remarkably reduced set of genes.
Sat, 13 Mar 2010 05:00:00 EST