Stem cells function as a source of new cells to grow or replace specialised tissues. To perform this function, these cells must divide to renew themselves, while some of their descendants eventually ...

The study reveals how Balanophora plants function despite abandoning photosynthesis and, in some species, sexual reproduction. Their plastid genomes shrank dramatically in a shared ancestor, yet the ...

Plants grow best when genetics inside cells cooperate, while mismatched genetics reduce photosynthesis and climate resilience ...

In the damp understory of forests in Taiwan, mainland Japan, and Okinawa, a plant called Balanophora can fool you at first ...

New understanding of circadian rhythms could be key to stronger, drought-resistant crops in the face of climate change. The biological clock of a popular food crop controls close to three-quarters of ...

1. Solid biosilica (phytoliths) deposited in plant tissues is thought to function as structural support, as a cost-effective alternative to lignin, and in herbivore defence, by limiting nutrient ...

Human chromosomes behave in much the same way as those of rodents, primates, and other close evolutionary cousins. But researchers don’t know whether those similarities might extend to distantly ...

Two-component systems have emerged as important sensing/response mechanisms in higher plants. They are composed of hybrid histidine kinases, histidine-containing phosphotransfer domain proteins and ...