Flora Library
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News & Articles
Forest & trees
- How to slow down Ebola - The phylogenetic tree of the 2013-2016 Ebola epidemic doesn't just tell us how the Ebola virus was able to evolve: it also reveals which events and preventive measures accelerated or slowed down its spread. These findings open up new perspectives for the containment of epidemics.
- Improving 'silvopastures' for bird conservation - The adoption of 'silvopastures' -- incorporating trees into pastureland -- can provide habitat for forest bird species and improve connectivity in landscapes fragmented by agriculture. But how do silvopastures measure up to natural forest habitat? New research shows that birds in silvopasture forage less efficiently than those in forest fragments but offers suggestions for how silvopasture habitat could be improved.
- Trees reveal the evolution of environmental pollution - Chemical analysis of tipuana tree rings and bark by Brazilian researchers shows falling levels of heavy metal pollution in the air of São Paulo City, Southern Hemisphere's largest metropolis.
News & articles
- Octopuses given mood drug 'ecstasy' reveal genetic link to evolution of social behaviors in humans - By studying the genome of a kind of octopus not known for its friendliness toward its peers, then testing its behavioral reaction to a popular mood-altering drug called MDMA or 'ecstasy,' scientists say they have found preliminary evidence of an evolutionary link between the social behaviors of the sea creature and humans, species separated by 500 million years on the evolutionary tree.
- A one-way street for salt - Barely heard of a couple of years ago, quinoa today is common on European supermarket shelves. The hardy plant thrives even in saline soils. Researchers have now determined how the plant gets rid of the excess salt.
- Improving 'silvopastures' for bird conservation - The adoption of 'silvopastures' -- incorporating trees into pastureland -- can provide habitat for forest bird species and improve connectivity in landscapes fragmented by agriculture. But how do silvopastures measure up to natural forest habitat? New research shows that birds in silvopasture forage less efficiently than those in forest fragments but offers suggestions for how silvopasture habitat could be improved.