Press Releases

Feb

06

2012

Steroids control gas exchange in plants

By Carnegie HQ

Stanford, CA — Plant's leaves are sealed with a gas-tight wax layer to prevent water loss. Plants breathe through microscopic pores called stomata (Greek for mouths) on the surfaces of leaves. Over 40% of the carbon dioxide, CO2, in the atmosphere ...

Dec

20

2011

New tool offers unprecedented access for root studies

By Carnegie HQ

Stanford, CA — Plant roots are fascinating plant organs – they not only anchor the plant, but are also the world’s most efficient mining companies. Roots live in darkness and direct the activities of the other organs, as well as interact with the ...

Dec

08

2011

The heart of the plant

By Carnegie HQ

Palo Alto, CA — Food prices are soaring at the same time as the Earth’s population is nearing 9 billion. As a result the need for increased crop yields is extremely important. New research led by Carnegie’s Wolf Frommer into the system by which ...

Nov

22

2011

Big Boost to Plant Research

By Carnegie HQ

Palo Alto, CA--The four largest nonprofit plant science research institutions in the U.S. have joined forces to form the Association of Independent Plant Research Institutes (AIPI) in an effort to target plant science research to meet the profound ...

Aug

18

2011

New component of a plant steroid-activated pathway discovered

By Carnegie HQ

Palo Alto, CA —Plant biologists have been working for years to nail down the series of chemical signals that one class of plant hormones, called brassinosteroids, send from a protein on the surface of a plant cell to the cell’s nucleus. New research ...

Jun

15

2011

What makes a plant a plant?

By Carnegie HQ

Palo Alto, CA — Although scientists have been able to sequence the genomes of many organisms, they still lack a context for associating the proteins encoded in genes with specific biological processes. To better understand the genetics underlying ...

Jan

24

2011

Nailing down a crucial plant signaling system

By Carnegie HQ

Palo Alto, CA— Plant biologists have discovered the last major element of the series of chemical signals that one class of plant hormones, called brassinosteroids, send from a protein on the surface of a plant cell to the cell’s nucleus. Although ...

Dec

13

2010

Unlocking the secrets of a plant’s light sensitivity

By Carnegie HQ

Palo Alto, CA— Plants are very sensitive to light conditions because light is their source of energy and also a signal that activates the special photoreceptors that regulate growth, metabolism, and physiological development. Scientists believe that ...

Nov

24

2010

How pathogens hijack host plants

By Carnegie HQ

Palo Alto, CA — Infestation by bacteria and other pathogens result in global crop losses of over $500 billion annually. A research team led by the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Plant Biology developed a novel trick for identifying how ...

Nov

15

2010

Mastermind Steroid Found in Plants

By Carnegie HQ

Palo Alto, CA— Scientists have known for some time how important plant steroids called brassinosteroids are for regulating plant growth and development. But until now, they did not know how extensive their reach is. Now researchers, including Yu Sun ...

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