Gardening can be a lot of work. For some people, that's the whole point in doing it. If you're not one of those people, however, then you might like GardenSpace. It's a robotic device that automatically monitors, waters and protects your plants.
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It takes cross-breeding to turn flowers certain colors, but scientists can dig right in and change them at a genetic level much faster. Using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool, scientists have changed the flowers of the Japanese morning glory from its usual violet to a pure white.
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While growing organic herbs and veggies in your home is a good idea, all those trays and overhead lights can take up a lot of space. That's where OGarden comes in. It houses the plants in what's essentially a mini ferris wheel with a grow light in the middle.
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Plants are smarter than we give them credit for. Now, a team from the University of Birmingham has discovered a cluster of cells in seeds that act like a brain to decide when the plant should sprout, in a find that could help improve crop yields.
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Lumber is accompanied by documents that state its geographic origin, so buyers can check it wasn't harvested from protected areas. Unfortunately, those documents can easily be forged. That's why scientists have developed a method of determining where wood comes from, based on its chemical signature.
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According to a new study, Antarctica is increasingly turning green in response to rising temperatures. Researchers from the University of Exeter have taken core samples from moss banks along the Antarctic Peninsula, and found that biological activity has ramped up massively over the last 50 years.
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For people who hate vacuuming, there's already the Roomba. However, what if weeding is the task that you hate? Well, there may soon be something for that, too. Entrepreneur Joe Jones – inventor of the Roomba – is now developing a little weed-whacking robot known as Tertill.
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Plant roots are industrious, often burrowing in search of water even if it means dislodging things like pavement and sewer lines. But how is it exactly that they sense a source of water and nutrients and alter their path to find it?
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As tomatoes ripen, they change in color from green to orange to red. Assessing when they're at peak ripeness is done with the naked eye, and is therefore somewhat subjective. Thanks to new research, however, producers may soon be using a laser device to take the guesswork out of the equation.
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They may give us an almost endless supply of eggs and nuggets, but industrial chicken farming comes with a tradeoff: it produces a lot of poop. To turn a con into a pro, researchers have developed a process that mixes chicken manure with an invasive weed to create a feedstock for making biofuel.
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