Tag: "edible" at biology news

The evolutionary triumph of flower power

... that in spite of some basic survival uses such as edible or medicinal flowers, most flowering plants grown in the flower industry today are not used for any purpose other than emotional satisfaction. "Our hypothesis is that flowers are exploiting an emotional niche. They make us happy," McGuire says. "Bec...

Aloe vera coating may prolong freshness, safety of fruits and vegetables

...gel from the tropical plant that can be used as an edible coating to prolong the quality and safety of fresh...esting, the researchers say. Although a number of edible coatings have been developed to preserve food freshness, the new coating is believed to be the first...

The roots of civilization trace back to ... roots

... when the lineage of humans and chimpanzees split, edible root plants similar to rutabagas and turnips may have been one of the reasons. According to research by anthropologists Greg Laden of the University of Minnesota and Richard Wrangham of Harvard University, the presence of fleshy underground storage o...

“Hitchhiking?Viruses as Cancer Drug Delivery System

... when the lineage of humans and chimpanzees split, edible root plants similar to rutabagas and turnips may have been one of the reasons. According to research by anthropologists Greg Laden of the University of Minnesota and Richard Wrangham of Harvard University, the presence of fleshy underground storage o...

Curry and cauliflower could halt prostate cancer

...g intervention options based on compounds found in edible and medicinal plants. They have had some success, and a majority of patients with prostate cancer are now combining the conventional therapies with these compounds as alternative, supplementary or complementary medications. For Kong's study, researc...

Poison dart frog mimics gain when birds learn to stay away

...s theory, known as Batesian mimicry, describes how edible species can gain protection from predators by looking like toxic species. ...

Tamed 11,400 years ago, figs were likely first domesticated crop

...ee, we can see the beginnings of agriculture. This edible fig would not have survived if not for human intervention." Figs are very easily propagated: A piece of stem stuck in the ground will sprout roots and grow into a plant. No grafting or seeds are necessary. Bar-Yosef, Kislev, and Hartmann suggest tha...

Gut reaction: Researchers define the colon's genome

...nent of plant cell walls and thus is found in most edible plants, such as apples and carrots. The new study advances the growing field of metagenomics, or the study of many genomes found in a given ecosystem. Scientists at TIGR and elsewhere have recently scooped up whole environmental samples, from soil ...

Contrary to common wisdom, scientist discovers some mammals can smell objects under water

... its star. To determine if the mole can identify edible objects by sniffing alone, Catania created underwater scent trails leading to food and recorded how well the moles' could follow them. To keep the moles from using their tactile star, he put a grid-work between the animals and the scent trails. The o...

Plants give up answers in the war on bacteria

...ther foodborne illnesses rest on the surface of an edible plant, or nestle inside, impervious to washing. "We are thinking about the mysteries of plant pathologies, but these have broad implications," He said. "We haven't understood very well how plants and bacteria interact, but we're finally seeing the ...

Edible coatings will be the packaging of the future

... popular alternatives in the last few years is the edible coating ?a transparent film that covers the food i...ic University of Navarre. In the research, various edible coatings were analysed ?all based on proteins extracted from milk serum (whey protein isolate or WPI...

Sequencing of the oyster mushroom genome

...mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus , will be the first edible mushroom in the world to be genetically sequenced but, apart from its characteristics that make its consumption beneficial (rich in vitamins and proteins), this fungus is a model for studying the CO 2 cycle ?carbon dioxide being one of the principal...

New success in engineering plant oils

...limit the accumulation of saturated fatty acids in edible oils, leading to more healthful nutrition. ...

Parasites' impact goes beyond host to affect ecosystem

...cted snails treatment. "Whatever controls that edible algae controls a lot," says Byers, noting that other snails, isopods, and possibly near-shore fish feed on ephemeral algae. "It’s suggestive that these non-lethal impacts of parasites have influential effects that can trickle down to affect other res...

Modified mushrooms may yield human drugs

...tton variety of mushroom, which is the predominant edible species worldwide. One application of their technology is the use of transgenic mushrooms as factories for producing therapeutic proteins, such as vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and hormones like insulin, or commercial enzymes, such as cellulase fo...

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