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Categories: Biology: Botany, Mathematics: Modeling
Published Artificial intelligence boosts super-resolution microscopy



Generative artificial intelligence (AI) might be best known from text or image-creating applications like ChatGPT or Stable Diffusion. But its usefulness beyond that is being shown in more and more different scientific fields.
Published Sweet success: Sugarcane's complex genetic code cracked



Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants. Exploring sugarcane's genetic code could help researchers develop more resilient and productive crops, with implications for both sugar production and biofuels.
Published Combination of the climate crisis and continued deforestation may result in significant damage to the animal world



A new study states that the combination of global warming and extreme heat events, alongside the continued expansion of deforestation in the world, may be devastating for many species of animals, especially those that know how to climb trees. As part of the study, the researchers focused on lizards and showed that following the effects of climate change, they will seek refuge from the hot ground by spending a lot of time on trees. However, due to human-related activities, such as deforestation, urbanization and the expansion of agricultural lands at the expense of natural lands, the availability of trees in the areas where the lizards live will decrease, and this may lead to the collapse of many populations.
Published Researchers find energy development and tree encroachment impact Wyoming pronghorn



While Wyoming is home to some of North America's most abundant populations of pronghorn that have largely been stable in recent years, a new analysis shows that many herds are experiencing long-term declines in fawn production.
Published Discovery of amino acid unveils how light makes plants open



Scientists have uncovered a unique mechanism that regulates the opening of stomata in plants. Phosphorylation of the amino acid Thr881 on the plasma membrane proton pump plays a key role in this process. The study paves the way for the targeted manipulation of plant physiology, with potential applications in agriculture and environmental sustainability.
Published New maps help decision-makers factor albedo into tree-planting decisions



A new study provides a global analysis of where restoration of tree cover is most effective at cooling the global climate system, considering not just the cooling from carbon storage but also the warming from decreased albedo. The researchers provide a tool practitioners and land managers can use to determine just how much of a problem albedo is for any reforestation or afforestation project on the globe.
Published Seeing the forest for the trees: Species diversity is directly correlated with productivity in eastern U.S. forests



When officials make tough calls on which areas to prioritize for conservation, biodiversity is often their top consideration. But there are several types of diversity, and not all of them overlap perfectly. In a new study, researchers analyzed 20-years' worth of U.S. Forest Service data and show that the simplest measure of diversity is the best predictor of healthy forest growth, providing a roadmap for quickly and efficiently protecting ecological resources.
Published 'Winners and losers' as global warming forces plants uphill



Some plant species will 'win' and others will 'lose' as global warming forces them to move uphill, new research shows.
Published Rectifying AI's usage in the quest for thermoelectric materials



AI is revolutionizing the way researchers seek to identify new materials, but it still has some shortcomings. Now, a team of researchers has navigated AI's pitfalls to identify a thermoelectric material that boasts remarkable properties.
Published Physicists develop modeling software to diagnose serious diseases



Researchers have recently published FreeDTS -- a shared software package designed to model and study biological membranes at the mesoscale -- the scale 'in between' the larger macro level and smaller micro level. This software fills an important missing software among the available biomolecular modeling tools and enables modeling and understanding of many different biological processes involving the cellular membranes e.g. cell division.
Published Rose essential oil: A safe pesticide for organic agriculture



Following injury, plants release terpenoids to enhance their defenses. Researchers studying terpenoid-enriched essential oils (EOs) have found that rose EO (REO) can stimulate defense genes in tomato leaves. Furthermore, REO attracts herbivores that protect the plant from the moth species, Spodoptera litura, and Tetranychus urticae, a mite pest. This suggests that applying REO could be a sustainable approach to pest management in organic farming.
Published Decoding the plant world's complex biochemical communication networks



A research team has begun translating the complex molecular language of petunias. Their grammar and vocabulary are well hidden, however, within the countless proteins and other compounds that fill floral cells. Being rooted to the ground, plants can't run away from insects, pathogens or other threats to their survival. But plant scientists have long known that they do send warnings to each other via scent chemicals called volatile organic compounds.
Published New route to recyclable polymers from plants



Cellulose, abundantly available from plant biomass, can be converted into molecules used to make a new class of recyclable polymers, to sustainably replace some plastics.
Published Researchers investigate how freshwater diatoms stay in the light



Researchers sought to understand how diatoms -- microscopic, photosynthetic algae that make up an estimated 20 percent of global carbon sequestration and oxygen production -- are able to bloom in an ice-covered Lake Erie and how ice decline across the Great Lakes is impacting the algae.
Published Across oceans and millennia: decoding the origin and history of the bottle gourd



Researchers have uncovered intriguing details about the origins and spread of the bottle gourd, one of the oldest domesticated crops. Their work unveils the genetic diversification and population history of this hard-shelled plant that was used to make bottles, instruments, and containers for over 10,000 years by ancient civilizations.
Published Powerful new AI can predict people's attitudes to vaccines



A powerful new tool in artificial intelligence is able to predict whether someone is willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Published Fairy circles: Plant water stress causes Namibia's gaps in grass



Namibia's legendary fairy circles are mysterious, circular, bald patches in the dry grasslands on the edge of the Namib Desert. Their formation has been researched for decades and has recently been the subject of much debate. With extensive fieldwork, researchers investigated how freshly germinated grass dies inside the fairy circle. Their results show that the grass withers due to a lack of water inside the fairy circle. The topsoil, comprised of the top 10 to 12 centimeters of the soil, acts as a kind of 'death zone' in which fresh grass cannot survive for long.
Published New technique helps AI tell when humans are lying



Researchers have developed a new training tool to help artificial intelligence (AI) programs better account for the fact that humans don't always tell the truth when providing personal information. The new tool was developed for use in contexts when humans have an economic incentive to lie, such as applying for a mortgage or trying to lower their insurance premiums.
Published Cacao plants' defense against toxic cadmium unveiled



Researchers used bright X-rays to unveil how cacao trees protect themselves from toxic metal cadmium.
Published Why do tree frogs lay their eggs on the ground?



A curious aspect of tree frogs is that they often lay their eggs on the ground where the risk of predation by natural enemies is greater than in the trees where they live. A research team suggested that the reason for this behavior is to protect the eggs from low temperatures. Their findings highlight the challenge faced by tree frogs: Should they attempt to maintain an optimal temperature for their eggs or risk predation?