The Decline of Classical Botany Though many of us may recognize the word ‘botany’, we may also associate it with dusty books and 18th century science. ‘Botany’ is not used frequently in our vocabulary. The origins of the word are likely Greek, from botane (meaning plant or herb) and dates…

Most shapes in plant organs are pre-determined at the primordial stage and from this point, growth will establish and maintain this shape. Rarely will re-shaping of an organ occur post-organogenesis. However, Hu et al. describe a notable exception in Capsella rubella, a close relative of Arabidopsis…

For living organisms, proper control of element location is just as important as the control of enzyme location, but harder to study. A new study by Ramakrishna et al. uses an exciting new technology, cryo nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry ion microprobe, to investigate elemental distribution…

Domesticated plants and animals are remarkable human achievements but were achieved with rather blunt instruments. With the benefit of hindsight, we can now see that some of the genes and alleles that passed through the population bottlenecks and artificial selection process are deleterious. Glaus et…

Memory—a mysterious cognitive process that retains information over time and shapes future interpretations and actions—is not exclusive to animals. In plants, a similar phenomenon occurs where past exposure to environmental stressors is “memorized,” enabling plants to respond more effectively…

The advancement of scientific knowledge often relies on long-term research efforts, which enable researchers to study multiple factors and thoroughly test their hypothesis. In plant biology, long research projects serve as a cornerstone, providing crucial insights into complex processes and environmental…

Dr. Rachel Egger is a principal scientist at Syngenta. She obtained her Ph.D. in 2016 from Stanford University, where she investigated maize reproductive development. In 2018, she joined Syngenta and has recently been acknowledged as an Inspiring Woman in Plant Science by ASPB (https://blog.aspb.org/25-inspiring-women-in-plant-biology/).…

Is there anything more daunting than beginning a new writing project and staring at a blank page for days or even weeks? This common challenge often feels overwhelming, but there are strategies to overcome it. Scientific writing can be especially demanding. Crafting a journal article requires simplifying…