Only after a species is identified and listed by taxonomists can it be protected. Yet we still don’t have one globally agreed-upon list of every species. A new 74-nation survey points to the solution.
Creeping avens – a plant native to mountains in Central Asia and Europe.
Losapio/Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
With their vibrant blooms and a lineage tracing back to the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana, wattles have a lot going for them.
Understanding the human microbiome will lead to breakthroughs in health care, including treatments for ailments such as irritable bowel syndrome.
Shutterstock
The microbiome is one of the largest organs in the body. Understanding its constituents and their functions will lead to breakthroughs in health care and well-being practices.
The short answer is that leaves fall off trees when they aren’t doing their job any more.
Emily Nunell/The Conversation CC-NY-BD
Fruit ripening is all about plants getting animals to eat the seeds that are inside their fruits. This helps the plants get their seeds to somewhere new where they can grow into a new plant.
One of the great Australian trees – messmate stringybark, Eucalyptus obliqua.
Even the slightest touch of a D. moroides leaf can cause excruciating pain. An intense stinging, burning pain is felt immediately, then intensifies, reaching a peak after 20 – 30 minutes.
Marina Hurley, Author provided
A seed contains nearly everything a tree needs to get growing. Just add a dash of water, a bit of warmth and the right location, and you’ll be seeing green in no time.
Almost every star has planets – so there are more planets in our galaxy than there are stars.
NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle
Australia’s risks losing its valuable native plants that could help solve a global food problem. So do we need new laws to stop the seeds being taken overseas?
It’s true: many species will go extinct due to the direct and indirect impacts of climate change. We will have to make some hard decisions about where to invest conservation dollars for the best effect…