A 2-year field study has demonstrated that volatile compounds produced by plants when they are attacked by herbivores act as defenses by attracting predators to the herbivores and increasing the reproduction of the plants.

A bacterial protein can be programmed with short RNA molecules to stimulate genome editing at specific sites in human cells.

The strain of Phytophthora infestans that caused the Great Famine in the late 1840s was caused by a single genotype that is distinct from, but closely related to, the most prevalent modern genotype.

Structural and biochemical analysis of a protein called Ecp6, which is produced by a tomato fungus, reveals how the protein prevents plants from launching an immune response to the chitin in fungal cell walls.

Computational modelling indicates that C₄ photosynthesis in distantly related plant species arose through a number of independent evolutionary paths.

A fungal effector secreted by the corn smut pathogen increases the virulence of the pathogen by elevating anthocyanin production and reducing lignification in maize.

Pairwise combinations of growth-promoting genes regulating distinct cellular mechanisms lead to synergistic effects on leaf growth, and hence greatly increased leaf size.

Increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide reduce the mineral content but increase the levels of starch and sugars found in crop plants; which could exacerbate both obesity and malnutrition in some human populations.

The transcription factor Pou3f1 triggers embryonic stem cells to become neuronal progenitor cells in two ways: by activating the expression of pro-neuronal genes and by blocking external inhibitory signaling cascades.