A new neglected crop: cannabis
To many, cannabis is a recreational drug; to some, it is a medicine. Now, it is increasingly seen as a crop, to be grown in quantity and engineered for better traits—not just pharmacological effects, but
Elizabeth Pennisi
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Tending the global garden
<p>In 2008, Brazilian researchers embarked on a major effort to develop a comprehensive list of the nation's plants by 2010, the deadline for the goals set forth in the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, an international treaty on the conservation of flora and fauna worldwide.
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On rarity and richness
Microbes aside, upward of nine in 10 species crowd into the 30% of Earth's surface that's dry. It wasn't always that way, say a pair of researchers at the University of California (UC), Davis, who have been studying land and ocean features to understand how evolution proceeds in these two realms.
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Technologies for a better farming future
If one gene is good, more genes are better. That's the mantra of plant biologists working to improve crops. Already, companies have engineered varieties that carry both herbicide and insect resistant genes.
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Romping through maize diversity
A computer whiz turned geneticist borrows tactics from Wal-Mart and cattle breeders to manage what may be the world's largest genetic analysis.
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The blue revolution, drop by drop, gene by gene
Researchers probe the secrets of how plants cope with water stress to improve crop yields.
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Corn genomics pops wide open
The sequencing of maize genomes and the development of new strains are enabling faster exploitation of this key crop's natural diversity.
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Rocking the cradle of humanity
The nation of Ethiopia is seeking to leverage its past-including its most famous daughter, the hominid called Lucy-to help secure its future.