Plants

DNA has been recovered from an ancient form of barley that persisted for more than 3,000 years and the tastes of five civilizations in Egypt’s upper Nile, according to a new study.

The barely was particularly well-adapted to the region’s parched climate, allowing it to trump more bountiful but less hardy varieties, according to genetic analyses of the preserved grains.

The finding could assist efforts to breed modern crops that are able to survive a drying climate, noted plant researcher Robin Allaby, an associate professor at the University of Warwick in the UK.

“If we find genes that have evolved to cope with arid conditions, we can then look to transferring those genes, or replicating those genes in modern varieties,” he explained to me in an e-mail exchange.

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A temperature spike about 55 million years ago gave bugs the munchies, according to a new study.

If modern temperatures continue to rise as anticipated in the coming years, researchers add, the planet could see a similar increase in insect damage to crops and other plants.

Deep in Norway’s frozen Svalbard archipelago sits a high-tech facility that could save the world.

If global catastrophes like asteroid impacts or disease pandemics were to strike, seeds stored in this first ever “doomsday” vault would ensure that humans could regrow the crops needed for survival.

The towering redwood trees that once dominated the coastal forests of the U.S. West Coast may soon be restored throughout their historic range.

A group of historic tree buffs will collect genetic samples Tuesday from the tops of several old-growth redwood trees in California—the first step in cloning the trees and regrowing lost forests.

Two types of genetically modified plants can remove toxic compounds from the environment, according to research by a pair of independent groups.

One group developed Arabidopsis plants—small plants related to cabbage and mustard—that can clean up soil contaminated with cyclonite, or RDX. The widely used explosive is highly toxic and carcinogenic.

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Much like how humans now send instant messages to each other on the Internet, plants such as strawberry and clover can exchange information along linked networks, ongoing research suggests.

Looking for frequent flyer tips? Ask an Arctic plant.

The hardy flora rack up the miles as climate change sends them adrift in search of fresh places to put down roots, a new study says.