Mary Williams This week’s Research in Focus is reprinted from an In Brief published by Science Editor Jennifer Mach in The Plant Cell, which summarizes an article newly published by Fortunato et al. This study explores the role of diatom phytochromes in sensing red and far-red light. In land plants, phytochromes sense red and far-red light and … Read more
By Courtney Price, Education & Outreach Specialist, Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center & Center for Applied Plant Sciences In order to engage students in the learning process it is important to provide opportunities for hands-on activities that bring to life important science concepts. However, for some educators the task of developing new lesson plans that demonstrate … Read more
In a study reminiscent of Jurassic Park, scientists have resurrected an extinct enzyme and watched it respond to today’s world. Rubisco is much older than dinosaurs; it is an ancient enzyme, billions of years old, and predates the origin of eukaryotes. Rubisco is found in all photosynthetic organisms, be they bacteria, algae or plant, as … Read more
Many scientists are exploring the use of blogs to share their experiences of science and nature with a wider audience. I asked John Palka, retired neuroscientist (University of Wasthington) and author of the popular blog Nature’s Depths how he got started blogging and if he has any advice to those considering blogging. Here are his … Read more
We had many excellent proposals submitted for the third round of the “Teaching Tools in Plant Biology” competition, from which we selected three for further development. We’ve added another opportunity for you to submit your ideas for consideration as a Teaching Tools, deadline October 1, 2016 (see this for more information). Feel free to contact … Read more
This week’s Research in Focus is reprinted from an In Brief published by Science Editor Jennifer Lockhart in The Plant Cell, which summarizes an article newly published by Ondzighi-Assoume et al. This study examines how internal and external signals affect lateral root production, and specifically the interaction between nitrate and the hormone abscisic acid (ABA). … Read more
Previously we shared a list of videos spanning the plant biology part of an introductory biology course at the University of California at Berkeley. A reader shared a link to another plant biology course taught at Berkeley, the Plant Molecular Genetics (PMB160) course, taught in 2012 by Jenn Fletcher and Bob Fischer. Here is a … Read more
While updating the materials for upcoming workshops (Nottingham and Potsdam next month) on careers, communication and writing, I asked Matt Candeias, author of the popular blog In Defense of Plants how he got started and if he has any advice to those considering blogging. Here are his replies. I started In Defense of Plants as … Read more
Recently, we’ve been profiling first authors of Plant Cell papers that are selected for In Brief summaries. Here are the first-author profiles from December’s issue of The Plant Cell. Jeffrey P. Simpson, featured first author of A novel pathway for triacylglycerol biosynthesis is responsible for the accumulation of massive quantities of glycerolipids in the surface … Read more
On January 6, 2016, The New York Public Library enhanced access to all public domain items in its Digital Collections so that everyone has the freedom to enjoy and reuse these materials in almost limitless ways (read more about the collection and the ways you can use it here). The images are browsable, searchable, and … Read more
Note: Sadly, these videos have been removed from public view. See more about this decision here. Have you been looking for high-quality, university-level introductory plant biology videos? There are not many available on topics other than photosynthesis and pollination. The University of California at Berkeley publishes videos from many of its course lectures on YouTube. … Read more
When we look at a metabolic pathway, we usually assume that the metabolites behave as diagrammed; that substance A will remain substance A unless acted upon by enzymes X or Y. It is becoming clear that this assumption is false, and that metabolite damage occurs alongside normal metabolic processes. Metabolite damage is described by Hanson … Read more
It’s time to register for the Plant Biology meeting, July 9 – 13 in Austin, Texas. Hurry, because the deadline to have your abstract considered for a minisymposium or lightning talk is January 25! The Major Symposia are always some of the highlights of the Plant Biology meetings. They bring together some of the most … Read more
Attending Plant Biology 2016? The conference starts in six months, but if you want your work to be considered for a minisymposium or lightning talk, you need to submit your abstract now (or by 25 Jan, EST). You can read more about the conference, including major symposia topics and speakers, and the countless networking opportunities … Read more
Attending Plant Biology 2016? The conference starts in six months, but if you want your work to be considered for a minisymposium or lightning talk, you need to submit your abstract now (or by 25 Jan, EST). You can read more about the conference, including major symposia topics and speakers, and the countless networking opportunities … Read more
This week’s Research in Focus is reprinted from an In Brief published by Science Editor Jennifer Mach in The Plant Cell, which summarizes an article newly published by Simpson and Ohlrogge. This study uses biochemical, morphological, and transcriptomic methods to examine an unusual surface wax produced by bayberry fruits, and reveals a cutin-related biosynthetic pathway … Read more
Guest post by Dr. Mike Jackson (bio below). Peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas – and other leguminous species. All are pulses or grain legumes, important crops around the world, adding essential nutritional value to human diets. And, while they’re about it, improving soil fertility through nitrogen fixation. During 2016, pulses will be in the spotlight. … Read more
In a New York Times Opinion article, Nobel Laureate Phillip Sharp and CEO Emeritus of AAAS Alan Leshner make a strong case for raising the level of funding for agriculture research. Such an increase is necessary to maintain agricultural productivity in response to challenges such as the prolonged drought in California and the avian flu … Read more
Learning to read a scientific paper is an important skill for undergraduate students to acquire, but selecting a suitable paper to read with undergraduates can be challenging (see this for example). The chosen research article should be accessible (meaning not too much specialized terminology or methodology), interesting, and meaningful. A new Plant Physiology paper by … Read more
BREAKTHROUGHS AND EVENTS CRISPR Science magazine named CRISPR the 2015 breakthrough of the year. Although the application of CRISPR-mediated genome editing in plants dates back a few years, the rate of its use has been growing rapidly. Searching PubMed for CRISPR shows an exponential growth in citation numbers. There’s no doubt that this technology provides … Read more
