Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A new DNA method lets scientists measure plant roots underground, opening doors for climate research and smarter farming.

When it comes to DNA extraction, most people tend to think of blood or tissue samples like hair, muscle, or bones. But what about plants? Though plants are probably not the first to come to mind when ...

Locations of 59 lakes sampled for sedimentary DNA analysis, overlaid on a vegetation map of the Tibetan Plateau. Ⅰ, needleleaf forest; Ⅱ, needleleaf and broadleaf mixed forest; Ⅲ, broadleaf forest; Ⅳ, ...

Scientists have found another key to unlocking part of our planet’s history, thanks to a discovery made inside a nearly 3,000-year-old brick. According to the research report published on Aug. 22, a ...

In the plant world, when two different species mate, their offspring often don't survive. The reason lies in their DNA: incompatible genes often mix in their offspring, triggering a fatal breakdown ...

For millions of years, fireflies have relied on a precise chemical ballet to signal for mates in the summer dusk. Meanwhile, deep-forest fungi emit a ghostly luminescence to attract spore-dispersing ...

(Nanowerk News) Scientists have uncovered a critical role for rapid DNA repair in maintaining genome stability. A new study reveals that repair of double-strand breaks (DSBs) in nuclear DNA serves as ...

"It's really important to look across the plant kingdom because plants have solved so many problems already. Why not read their genomes like a book and try to understand it and solve the problems ...

You walk through a field of wheat, ryegrass, or clover and notice the sway of stems and leaves. What you cannot see is where most of the action happens. Beneath the soil surface, roots spread, compete ...