Plant Cuttings

Detecting cyanobacterial blooms with NASA’s EMIT NASA’s EMIT technology utilizes spectroscopy to analyze minerals in Earth’s deserts and has expanded its utility by detecting phycocyanin in wastewater from the Tijuana River. This insi…

Acronyms, harmful algal blooms and dust?
That can only mean another plant cutting(!).
Intrigued [you should be]?
More at
plantcuttings.uk/2025/08/01/d...
Cheers!
#Botany
#PlantScience

Getting to the bottom of 18th century embalming practice This post explores the intriguing use of wood in an 18th-century Austrian corpse preservation method. The mummified remains of priest Franz Xaver Sidler von Rosenegg were notably preserved using wo…

An intriguing look at an embalming practice in 18th century Austrian today – with a botanical dimension.
Intrigued?
More at
plantcuttings.uk/2025/07/25/g...
More subscribers (it’s free) urgently required to the blog – do consider signing-up.
Cheers!
#Botany
#PlantScience

One week until #Botany2025! Check out the (unofficial) starter pack below to follow along. Let me know in the replies if you're attending and would like to be added.

go.bsky.app/Gu9T4st

Less than a week left to apply! 🌱💚

We’re pleased to announce two new vacancies for senior roles at our institute:

Group Leader in Discovery Plant Sciences: www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/gr...

🗓️ Closes 25 August

Independent Fellowship in Plant-Associated Microbial Interactions: www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/in...

🗓️ Closes 5 September

Recipe: wood + eggs + rice = ? This post discusses the development of engineered transparent wood (ETW) using egg whites and rice (and wood!) as a sustainable alternative to traditional materials like glass. It highlights improv…

A short post about transparent wood, made with rice and eggs(!), this week.
Intrigued?
More at
plantcuttings.uk/2025/07/18/4...
Cheers!
#Botany
#PlantScience

Following herbivory, a plant releases volatiles that trigger jasmonate signaling in nearby plants. This leads to a change in the soil bacteria, which subsequently promotes growth, defense and yield in subsequent plants.

Plant Science Research Weekly: July 18, 2025 plantae.org/plant-scienc... (3/3) The hidden power of water in plant regeneration; ; Unusual cell death pathway in maize endosperm; Herbivore bites promote plant growth in the succeeding year. @matthiaserb.bsky.social @charlesmelnyk.bsky.social

One more week to apply for this exciting Professorship in Plant Sciences at Uni Halle! Join our vibrant plant research community 🌱

Info 👉 wcms.itz.uni-halle.de/download.php...

@unihalle.bsky.social @snp2prot.bsky.social

“Wood and cellulose civilized Man” The post highlights the remarkable utility of wood, emphasizing recent developments in its applications, such as the launch of LignoSat, a satellite made primarily from magnolia wood. This innovati…

Bluesky
Despite its title, this post looks back at an older one about a wooden satellite…
Intrigued? More at
plantcuttings.uk/2025/07/11/w...
Cheers!
#Botany
#PlantScience

Solar eclipses and ‘talking trees’ Researchers found that spruce trees exhibit synchronized bioelectrical responses before and during a solar eclipse, potentially anticipating the event up to 14 hours in advance. Despite concerns ov…

A semi-cautionary tale about science and its reporting in science media – and solar eclipses and trees’ responses. Intrigued?
More at
plantcuttings.uk/2025/07/04/s...
Cheers!
#Botany
#PlantScience

My son: The manual in the car says not to turn up the volume of the stereo to the maximum.

I told him that's.... sound advice.

Thank you so much for signing-up to the site! Posts usually appear Friday evenings (UK time). The next one looks at solar eclipses and 'talking trees'. Cheers, Nigel

Thank you for your kind words!
If you want more of this, may I suggest you subscribe to the blog? It's all free, at plantcuttings.uk
Cheers.

Too much, I can resist no longer.
I'm going 'ome...
Stay safe.

Photosynthesis operating above par… Lazzarin et al. (2025) show that far-red light (701-750 nm), previously considered outside of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), can enhance photosynthesis in tomato plants. While research …

A post about tomatoes and PAR (photosynthetically-active radiation) this week, and whether its definition ought to be revised.
Intrigued?
More at plantcuttings.uk/2025/06/27/p...
Cheers!
#Botany
#PlantScience

And you seemed so well-grounded...
Stay safe.

But, it's only a light sentence...
Stay safe

So, you might say they're going ... batty..?
Stay safe.

50 world-changing plants Stephen Harris’ book, “50 Plants That Changed the World”, highlights the profound impact of plants on human civilization, illustrating their roles as key players in trade, medicin…

My appraisal of a book about plants, that changed the world, for you this week.
Intrigued?
More at plantcuttings.uk/2025/06/20/5...
Cheers!

John Innes Foundation Internship in Plant Science

Keen to work in #PlantSciences? 🌿

Applications are open for a new John Innes Foundation Internship with Dr Carolina Grandellis at the Earlham Biofoundry. 🧬

You'll work on #bioengineering approaches for plant sciences, utilising high-throughput platforms at the Earlham Institute.

When volcanology meets plant biology* Research by Guinn et al. (2024) indicates that volcanic CO2-enhanced plant growth, is detectable via satellite using the NDVI metric. Greener vegetation can be used as a proxy for increased CO2 rel…

Volcanoes, botany, and satellites in this week’s post.
Intrigued?
More at plantcuttings.uk/2025/06/13/w...
AND, free subscription to the blog still available.
Cheers!
#Botany
#PlantScience

24 hours of flower power… “Flower Day” by Sandra Knapp presents 24 mini-essays on diverse plants, highlighting their biology, ecology, and ethnobotanical significance. The book reflects on floral beauty and the …

This week we have an appraisal of a book about plants – mainly angiosperms, and with an emphasis on their flowers and floral biology.
Intrigued?
More at plantcuttings.uk/2025/06/06/2...
Cheers!
#Botany
#PlantScience

The shockingly beneficial effects of lightning on trees The post discusses the dual nature of lightning’s impact on the environment. While it can kill trees, particularly in tropical forests, certain species like Dipteryx oleifera benefit from str…

A post about a beneficial effect of lightning on – some! – trees this week.
Intrigued?
More at plantcuttings.uk/2025/05/30/t...
Cheers!
#Botany
#PlantScience

Plants in the literary tradition The Cambridge Handbook of Literature and Plants, edited by Bonnie Lander Johnson, is a scholarly compilation of 19 expert contributions exploring plant representation in global literature over two …

An appraisal of a book that looks at the ways plants have been used in the world’s literature for over 2000 years.
Intrigued?
More at plantcuttings.uk/2025/05/23/p...
Cheers!
#Botany
#PlantScience

Microplastics and plants: A surprising connection Ye Li et al. (2025) discovered that maize leaves absorb airborne microplastics (MPs) through stomata. Finding MPs in vascular tissues, they could potentially move within the plant, e.g., into devel…

A little piece about stomata and microplastics for you this week.
Intrigued?
More at plantcuttings.uk/2025/05/16/m...
Cheers!
#Botany
#PlantScience

The scented statues: Greco-Roman aromatic practices The post discusses the olfactory heritage of ancient Greco-Roman sculptures, emphasising the use of aromatic oils and perfumes on statues. Research by Cecilie Brøns reveals that scent-enriched reli…

Insights into ancient statuary’s olfactory-adornment practices on the blog this week.
Intrigued?
More at plantcuttings.uk/2025/05/09/w...
Cheers!
#Botany
#PlantScience

Exploring the biology of algae, lichens, and bryophytes The book “Biology of algae, lichens and bryophytes,” edited by Büdel, Friedl & Beyschlag, offers a comprehensive overview of these crucial organisms, highlighting their biodiversity…

My appraisal of a new textbook this week – one devoted to the so-called new cryptogams.
Intrigued?
More at
plantcuttings.uk/2025/05/02/a...
Cheers!
#Botany
#PlantScience

Ancient sand farmers of The Levant The plot-and-berm agroecosystem in Caesarea, established over a thousand years ago, transformed sandy soil into productive agricultural land. By creating small plots surrounded by berms, early inha…

You may not choose to build your house on sand, but apparently you can grow crops in it.
Intrigued?
More at
plantcuttings.uk/2025/04/25/a...
Cheers!
#Botany
#PlantScience

Summary of genetic events discussed in the article

Giving up on #photosynthesis: How a borrowed bacterial gene allows marine #diatoms to live on a #seaweed diet phys.org/news/2025-04...

Diatom heterotrophy on brown algal polysaccharides emerged through HGT, gene duplication, & neofunctionalization journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

#algae #protists

Plants suffer from viruses too… [From algae to rice plants… III] The post considers virus disease of plants and highlights research by Yu Huang et al. (2025) that reveals how rice detects and responds to viral infection. Such work is crucial for enhancing crop r…

The last of a 3-part series of posts that connect marine algae to terrestrial plants. This time it’s looking at the impact of viruses on rice. Intrigued?
More at
plantcuttings.uk/2025/04/18/p...
Cheers!
#Botany
#PlantScience