Tag Archives: plant

An international team of archaeologists has discovered the earliest evidence of humans processing plants for food found anywhere in the world. The findings are reported in the journal Nature Plants. Exceptionally preserved archaeobotanical remains from the Takarkori rock shelter, Tadrart Acacus, Libya, dating from 7500 to 4200 BC: a – …

Herbivorous, or plant-eating, mammals have bigger bellies than their usually slim carnivorous counterparts, according to a study led by University of Zurich researcher Marcus Clauss. Hippo family in Botswana. Image credit: Hans Stieglitz / CC BY-SA 3.0. Prof. Clauss and his colleagues from Germany and the UK studied the shape …

Photosynthesis evolved some 3 to 3.5 billion years ago, allowing organisms to turn solar energy into sugars. This process has worked pretty well for all that time, but humans have very specific requirements for the plants we grow as crops. It may be possible to tweak photosynthesis to improve yields …

South Africa’s Western Cape has more botanic biodiversity than the rainforests of the Amazon. Most of this is composed of “fynbos” – scrubland plants – the majority of which do not grow anywhere else in the world. Fynbos has given one entrepreneur the opportunity to develop her business from a …