Social distancing among plants
The Covid-19 outbreak, the strike of one of the most contagious viruses in human history has caused a global pandemic with widespread infections around the world. The coronavirus spread so fast that people can get infected either through close contact with infected people, a few touches with an item’s surface that has viruses on it, or just staying in the same room with an infected person for a short time. Because of the airborne ability, […]
Read More
Ginger – the omnipotent root
Ginger undoubtedly is a magic plant that possesses incredible healing and disease-fighting powers. Scientifically known as Zingiber officinalis in the family Zingiberaceae, native to southern China but is widely cultivated around the world. Closely related to the well-known species like turmeric and cardamom, ginger is highly valued as a medicinal plant for thousands of years both in India and China. The parts of the ginger that usually consumed are the modified roots known as rhizomes, […]
Read More
Endless possibilities – plant tissue culture (2)
Plant tissue culture has gained phenomenal success in applications for fast multiplication, but the possibilities are far more than that. Unlike the conventional methods, the in-vitro method involves the usage of artificial nutrient media, plant growth regulators, and well-controlled light, air, and temperatures, all together allow tuning of the inner physiology and resetting of the expression pattern of genes that are responsible for growth and development. Tissue-cultured plants grow much faster at an early stage […]
Read More){kind=link}
Agricultural biotechnology – plant tissue culture (1)
The world constantly facing an increasing challenge of balancing between food security and the expanding human activities such as deforestation for agricultural, housing, and industrial activity. According to the United Nations, the global population had more than doubled in just 50 years reaching approximately 7.8 billion as of October 2020 compared to the 3.6 billion in 1970. Modern agriculture continues to evolve in order to accommodate the growing population, from which biotechnologies bring vital progress […]
Read More){kind=link}
Trick or treat? The Halloween pumpkin
Knock! Knock! Trick or treat? Candies, vampires, ghosts, skulls, of course, the freak pumpkins. Botanically pumpkin is the common name of Cucurbita pepo L. in the family of Cucurbitaceae, which has the most species as human food. The genus Cucurbita is native to North America, including northeastern Mexico and the southern United States. Cucurbita fraternal and Cucurbita Texana are the possible progenitors for pumpkins. How pumpkin became the major role of Halloween, and why carving […]
Read More
Before they are served to our table, crop improvement
Naturally, we judge the foods based on their appearances such as color, shape, smell, and arrangement. Domestic crops have traits that are significantly different from their wild relatives. Undoubtedly tomato is red, banana is yellow, the carrot is orange. But how they end up being what they are on our plates? Can you imagine eating a banana with large seeds, a carrot in purple color, or tomato in black color? What happened to those fruits […]
Read More
Durian, an exotic fruit that is the King in Southern Asia
Thanks to the convenience of air transportation and the active exchange of commodities globally. Durian, an exotic fruit that most Americans are not familiar with, can be found in most Asian supermarkets across the USA. This fruit is extraordinarily unique, known as the king of the fruits in Southern Asia, but also brings two extremely controversial responses, people either love or hate it. The taste of durian is a complex experience that has been described […]
Read More
The blessings not to be taken for granted – why plants matter
There are scientific terms called Plant Awareness Disparity (PAD), or Plant Blindness (PB) referring to peoples who recognize plants as a disadvantage or simply not as aware of them compare to animals and other organisms. Surprisingly, researchers found that the PAD is quite widespread indicating that many of us tend to not recognize the existence of plants. There are many reasons that the importance of plants is often neglected by us. However, a group of […]
Read More