New Atlas

Health & Wellbeing Audio available

Therapeutic human protein grown in tobacco plants

Ben Coxworth February 26, 2019

Made by our kidneys, interleukin 37 is a protein that has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. It's produced in small quantities in the body, but if made externally in larger amounts, it could be used to treat many conditions. Scientists have now developed a way of producing it in tobacco plants.

Tony Jevnikar (left) and Shengwu Ma are affiliated with both Western University and the Lawson Health ...

Biology

Grasses found to cheat evolution by stealing genes from their neighbors

Michael Irving February 19, 2019

Plenty of students cheat on tests by copying off neighbors, and it turns out that grasses are doing the same thing. Scientists have found evidence that some species of grasses are stealing genes from their neighbors to help them adapt, effectively bypassing millions of years’ worth of evolution.

Researchers have found that a species of grass known as Alloteropsis semialata can steal genes from ...

Around The Home

Circular garden makes growing veggies indoors even easier than before

Paul Ridden February 14, 2019

Living in a crowded inner city means that many residents don't have a garden of their own, so are unable to grow their own veggies. Last year's OGarden moved gardening indoors, mounting plants on a ferris-like wheel. The design has now been updated, resulting in the OGarden Smart.

The OGarden Smart has launched on Kickstarter to raise production funds

Environment Audio available

China and India lead the way in "greening" the Earth since 2000

Michael Irving February 12, 2019

A new study of satellite data has shown that the Earth has gotten “greener” in the last 20 years or so, with the biggest contributors being China and India. Before we celebrate though, there are a few caveats to consider.

Satellite data has shown that the Earth has gotten 5 percent greener in recent years, but ...

Environment

Reclaimed smoke-stack mineral could help grow crops

Ben Coxworth February 6, 2019

Sulfur is often chemically "scrubbed" from the flue-gas emissions of coal-burning power plants. Gypsum (aka calcium sulfate) is produced as a byproduct of the process, and typically ends up in landfills. According to new research, however, it could be used to boost crops in a number of ways.

Gypsum can be mined from the earth, but it's also readily available as an emissions-scrubbing byproduct

Robotics Audio available

Plant-inspired robot curls and climbs like a vine

Michael Irving January 29, 2019

Plants might not seem like the most exciting thing to model robots after, but they could make for high-tech decorations or house plants that look after themselves. Now, a team of Italian researchers has developed a soft robot that moves like plant tendrils, climbing and curling around objects.

Italian researchers have developed a soft robot that climbs and curls like a plant tendril

Science Audio available

Tomato "perfume" could protect crops from drought and bacteria

Ben Coxworth January 14, 2019

Tomatoes are certainly hardy plants – this is partly due to a compound which they emit, known as hexenyl butyrate (HB). Spanish scientists have now found that a spray of synthetic HB helps various crop plants to withstand both drought and bacterial infections.

You may not know it, but tomatoes are a good source of hexenyl butyrate

Science

Scientists hack plant photosynthesis to boost crop yields by 40%

Rich Haridy January 3, 2019

A team of researchers has, for the first time, demonstrated that by fixing a common glitch in photosynthesis, a crop’s yield could be improved by around 40 percent. The landmark study suggests optimizing a plant’s photosynthetic efficiency could significantly increase worldwide food productivity.

The genetically modified crops grow faster and taller than their conventional counterparts

Science Audio available

Modified ivy uses synthetic rabbit gene to clean the air

Ben Coxworth December 19, 2018

While plants do help clean the air within a home, it is estimated that over 20 per room would be required to make a difference. That likely wouldn't be the case with a new genetically-modified ivy, however, which has proven to be highly effective at removing chloroform and benzene from the air.

The research team, from left to right: Ryan Routsong, Long Zhang and Stuart Strand

Robotics Audio available

MIT's cyborg plant can drive itself into the light

Michael Irving December 5, 2018

Plants are incredibly complex organisms that sense and react to their surroundings. Their normal methods of getting around are pretty slow, so to give them a helping hand researchers at MIT have now created “cyborg plants” that can control a robot base to drive themselves where they want to go.

MIT Media Lab has created Elowan, a cyborg plant that can drive itself towards light sources