Carnivorous plants that look like Drosera
Well, we heard of sundew, the Drosera, when the dew is shined by light, it produces a mini rainbow. Why does it not called a rainbow plant? This is because the rainbow plant, the common name, is taken by Byblis under the family of Byblidaceae that is native to Australia. Byblis can appear as frosted sprays of water and sparkle with multicolored hues in the presence of light. It is not a sundew but it […]
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An imagination story: an introduction of carnivorous plants
Plants are mostly autotrophic that produce food by photosynthesis from inorganic raw material like sunlight and carbon dioxide. However, there is a very special group of plants that evolved in a unique way that they obtain nutrients through trapping animals. Unlike parasite plants who are unable to photosynthesis, carnivorous plants are capable of making their own food by photosynthesis and meanwhile capable of eating animals. As sessile and passive forms of life, how do carnivorous […]
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Know your kitchen plants like a botanist
How many names of the fruits and vegetables do you know in the market or your kitchen? To know their common name, it is easy! That is because all plants are labeled before we purchased them from the market. However, do you know what is a vegetable and fruit scientifically? When we buy some vegetables at wet markets or freshly from the farms, we often see tomatoes are selling together with other vegetables such as […]
Read MoreUK government sets out new and ambitious R&D Roadmap to attract global talent
Government to ensure UK is the best place in the world for scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs with new and ambitious R&D Roadmap Roadmap sets out vision to attract global talent, cut unnecessary bureaucracy and cement the UK as a world-leading science superpower significant £300 million government investment will upgrade scientific infrastructure across the UK new Office for Talent set up to make it easier for leading global scientists, researchers and innovators to come to the […]
Read MoreTobacco Company working on potential COVID-19 vaccine
01 April 2020 Potential vaccine in development for COVID-19 using new, fast-growing tobacco plant technology – pre-clinical testing under way Tobacco plants offer the potential for faster and safer vaccine development compared to conventional methods Potential to manufacture 1-3 million doses of vaccine per week BAT’s US bio-tech subsidiary, Kentucky BioProcessing (KBP), is developing a potential vaccine for COVID-19 and is now in pre-clinical testing. If testing goes well, BAT is hopeful that, with the […]
Read MoreUSDA SECURE Rule Paves Way for Agricultural Innovation
(Washington, D.C., May 14, 2020) U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced a final rule updating and modernizing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) biotechnology regulations under the Plant Protection Act. The Sustainable, Ecological, Consistent, Uniform, Responsible, Efficient (SECURE) rule will bring USDA’s plant biotechnology regulations into the 21st century by removing duplicative and antiquated processes in order to facilitate the development and availability of these technologies through a transparent, consistent, science-based, and risk-proportionate regulatory […]
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Drosera, not the morning dew but sundew
Sundews (Drosera sp.) are probably the most diverse genus of carnivorous plants in the world which consisting of around two hundred species. Commonly known as sundew because the word, Drosera in Greek means dewy. The “dew” found on the hair of sundew exhibit mini-rainbows whenever they are struck by sunlight. They can be found in Canada, Alaska, Siberia, Europe, Nother America, Brazil, Queensland, southernmost regions of New Zealand, and South America. It occurs on almost […]
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Pinguicula – the flypaper
Pinguicula sp. under the family of Lentibulariaceae, commonly known as butterwort, and means the little greasy one in Latin. It consists of about 50 species. It is greasy due to the slimy, sticky, and greasy touch of the leaves. “Ping” is not sticking to the common impression of carnivorous plants. They do not have the capability of killing large insects or small mammals with specialized and colorful leaves that differentiated into sophisticated traps. Pinguicula is […]
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