Tag: Botany

  • Science & Tech

    Battling toxic molds

    Molds are found in all kinds of environments. Estimates of the number of kinds of molds range from tens of thousands to more than 300,000, with more than 1,000 species known to typically grow indoors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While many molds appear to be benign to humans — and…

    1–2 minutes
  • Science & Tech

    Pollen production — and allergies — may rise significantly over next 50 years

    Ragweed, which flourishes along roadsides and in disturbed habitats throughout North America, produces one of the most common allergens. A study by Harvard researchers found that ragweed grown in an atmosphere with double the current carbon dioxide levels produced 61 percent more pollen than normal. Such a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide is expected to…

    1–2 minutes
  • Health

    Oldest known flowering plants identified by genes

    Flowering plants now number 250,000 different species, including virtually all the vegetables and grains we eat, as well as most of the food of the animals that we consume. “It’s difficult to imagine a world without flowering plants,” said researcher Michael Donoghue. In 1999, as a result of analyzing the genes from all flowering plants…

    1–2 minutes
  • Science & Tech

    Saving plants that may save us

    One particular discovery highlights the importance of facilities like the Harvard Herbaria and Arnold Arboretum in storing and preserving the important information found in plants. An extract of a small tree in the Bornean forest called Calophyllum stopped AIDS, but when researchers rushed back to the site where it had been collected, the tree had…

    1–2 minutes