A million year-old mating opens up an improved future A coming together and genetic merging of an American plant with an African or Asian plant one or two million years ago produced the ancestor of …
Growing drugs, Identify life and make way for microbes. Wednesday at Botanical Congress
Queensland researchers believe future cancer drugs could be grown in sunflowers and ultimately delivered as a seed ‘pill’. They’ve got a long way to go, but the concept illustrates the power of …
Could we grow drugs using sunflowers?
Queensland researchers believe future cancer drugs could be grown in sunflowers and ultimately delivered as a seed ‘pill’. They’re a long way from that outcome. But, as they reported to the XVIII …
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Make way for the microbes?
Our civilisation is built on plants – they provide food, shelter, fuel and medicine. Can we rely on them in the future? Or will it be the era of the microbes. …
IdentifyLife and Atlas of Living Australia joint release
Posted on behalf of Lynne Sealie, Communication Manager, Atlas of Living Australia. Photos available. “The beginning of wisdom is to call a thing by its right name.” Chinese proverb IdentifyLife …
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Tuesday at the International Botanical Congress
The world’s favourite tree The world loves our eucalypts. Now Eucalyptus had become the world’s favourite tree for farming and today in Melbourne its genome is revealed at the International …
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Eucalyptus genetic secrets unlocked
The world’s most farmed tree has had its genome read, opening the way to new breeding, biofuel, and conservation opportunities. The genome of one of Australia’s biggest Eucalyptus trees, the …
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Adapting crops and ‘natives’ to a changing climate
Posted on behalf of CSIRO CSIRO scientists are investigating the potentially damaging effects climate change will have on Australia’s agricultural crops and native plants as carbon dioxide …
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The Acacia debate
A plant name dispute that has bubbled away for a decade has finally been resolved at the XVIII International Botanical Congress in Melbourne. The species concerned are the acacias, which until now …
Decisions of the Congress on nomenclature
Key decisions of the Nomenclature Section of the XVIII IBC Written by Nicholas Turland The Nomenclature Section met for five days, 18–22 July 2011, to discuss proposals to amend the …
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The vines they are a-changin’
Climate change is already changing the environment of the established “terroirs” of Australian wines, such as the Coonawarra and the Barossa Valley, says Prof Snow Barlow of the University of …
Feeding the future
The world cannot rely solely on high tech, genetic modification to generate the extra food needed to satisfy a human population projected to peak at about 9.5 billion later this century, according to …