Entries by Plantae Community

The Science Foundation What IFS 2026: An Opportunity for Basic Research Funding and Call for Reviewers

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The Science Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan organization, is running our second competition to fund approximately ten <$10,000 research projects in all domains of basic science. SciFnd (“Sci Fund”) is seeking to (i) support the basic science research ecosystem, (ii) increase public visibility and engagement with science, and (iii) experiment with efficient ways of evaluating proposals. […]

From Data to Discovery: The Power of Statistics in Research

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The Crimean War was brutal on the soldiers and caused high mortality rates. It was believed that battle wounds were the leading cause of death. But the ‘lady with the lamp’, who was a nurse and also a gifted statistician, proved that unhygienic living conditions, not battle wounds, led to the increased mortality rates (Kukula, […]

Plantae Presents – Photosynthesis: Importance, Recent Improvements, and Opportunities (an ASPB member-only webinar)

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Plantae Presents – Photosynthesis: Importance, Recent Improvements, and Opportunities Featuring Ádám Solti, Katarina Kurtović, and Nancy Kiang When: Friday, October 2, 2026, at 9:00 AM PDT | 12:00 PM EDT | 5:00 PM BST | 12:00 AM Beijing   About this Webinar Photosynthesis is a key process, serving as the only source of energy not […]

Engaging Undergraduates in Plant Science Research Groups

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Plant Science: The Science of Life, The Future of Life Despite plants being everywhere, we often ignore their importance. They are crucial for life on Earth, supporting ecosystems, providing the oxygen we breathe, the food we eat, and renewable resources for our society. Climate change, food shortages, loss of biodiversity and the need for sustainable […]

Four Things Wrong with How We Teach Plant Science

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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 […]

How Can Ancient Trees Remain Chemically Defended Over Centuries to Millennia?

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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 […]

How to Construct a Teaching Portfolio

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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 […]