The journey so far You finish high school, then a bachelor’s degree, then a master’s, and eventually a PhD. Each step can feel like the natural continuation of the one before it. Along the way, you collect the moments that remind you why you chose science: the smell of a greenhouse after watering, the first […]
In 2011, with funding from the NSF, ASPB and the Botanical Society of America convened a workshop to work out how the Vision and Change recommendations might be put into practice in plant biology. The concern that emerged most was not a gap in research or in funding. It was that undergraduate curricula underrepresented and […]
Ancient trees exhibit remarkable longevity amid changing environments over centuries to millennia. To achieve defense against biotic stresses, extensive secondary metabolism reprogramming is needed. However, the regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, using Ginkgo biloba individuals ranging from 1 to 1,070 years old, we found that ancient ginkgo trees do not simply show an age-associated decline […]
A job application asks you to provide a teaching portfolio, and you are stumped. Never fear! This short blog will walk you through the basics of compiling your very own teaching portfolio, provide links to additional resources, and offer helpful tips to make this process as pain-free as possible. (Note: This post is written from […]
You have gone through years of training, landed a grant to start your own lab at your dream university, and now you are standing in an empty lab space full of equipment thinking, “Wow! Now I actually need to hire people to help me do science.” Given it is conference season (we had an amazing […]
Why go to Mars Everyone wants to have a house with a garden later on in life. Producing your own vegetables, or just having a glass of wine in an armchair in the light spring wind, sounds charming. Imagine this on another planet, retiring to Mars and doing some gardening. Throughout history, when people have […]
You’ve seen our First Authors on X, BlueSky, and Facebook. Behind the manuscripts are researchers, professors, professionals, and students dedicated to advancing the field of plant science. Read more about these dedicated scientists here. Siddique I. Aboobucker Siddique I. Aboobucker is the First Author of The Stunt of Stunted Silk: A Novel Pollination Control Mechanism […]
Plantae Presents: Healthy Supervision in Plant Sciences Featuring Chien Van Ha, Johannes Kromdijk, and Charles Anderson When: Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at 9:00 AM PDT | 12:00 PM EDT | 5:00 PM BST | 12:00 AM Beijing About this Webinar Supervision is an important part of research and training in plant science, shaping not only […]
What does it mean to fail in science? In scientific research, what we call “failure” does not always mean the same thing. While some failures arise from technical issues, others stem from the scientific process itself. In the first case, experimental problems due to procedural mistakes, inadequate methodologies, or suboptimal experimental design can often be […]