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Forest & trees

Amazon forest disturbance is changing how plants are dispersed - New research finds tropical forest disturbance goes beyond species loss and includes a shift towards smaller seeds and an increase in the proportion of trees dispersed by animals, impacting how the ecosystem functions.
Nitrogen-fixing trees help tropical forests grow faster and store more carbon - New research shows that the ability of tropical forests to lock up carbon depends critically upon a group of trees that possess a unique talent -- the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere.
Climate warming disrupts tree seed production - Research has revealed the effect of climate warming on the complex interactions between tree masting and the insects that eat their seeds.

News & articles

DNA from ancient packrat nests helps unpack Earth's past - New work shows how using next-generation DNA sequencing on ancient packrat middens -- nests made out of plant material, fragments of insects, bones, fecal matter, and urine -- could provide ecological snapshots of Earth's past. The study may pave the way for scientists to better understand how plant communities -- and possibly animals, bacteria, and fungi as well -- will respond to human-caused climate change.
Plant-based relatives of cholesterol could give boost to gene therapy - Gene-infused nanoparticles used for combating disease work better when they include plant-based relatives of cholesterol because their shape and structure help the genes get where they need to be inside cells.
Unexpected insights into the dynamic structure of mitochondria - As power plants and energy stores, mitochondria are essential components of almost all cells in plants, fungi and animals. Until now, it has been assumed that these functions underlie a static structure of mitochondrial membranes. Researchers have now discovered that the inner membranes of mitochondria are not static, but constantly change their structure every few seconds in living cells.