Welcome to
Plants and Pipettes
Join us in exploring the fantastic world of molecular plant biology! We dive deep into the cells of all green things and together we discover the mechanisms behind photosynthesis, flower development and much more!
Turning Cabbage into Cauliflower
Cauliflower’s ability to imitate anything from ‘rice’ to ‘wings’, has seen the previously humble veggie rise in power in recent years. Yet while its transformative powers are celebrated by foodies acr…
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Plants ‘smell’ pheromones of parasitic worms
Plants perceive the chemical signals that waft off worms like bad B-O as a sign to hunker down and start preparing their defences. The fact that nematodes -a type of small slender worm- are the most a…
May The Fourth Be With You
The answer to the question, ‘what has a light sabre got to do with how plants express themselves’
Bug Pest Steals Plant Genes to Neutralize Plant Defences
Plants and herbivorous insects have long struggled in an evolutionary arms race. Now, in the first example of animals thieving plant genes, research shows that sweet potato whiteflies have overcome pl…
This superhero protein will fight anaemia
I like plants a lot – especially when I can eat them. A purely plant based diet, however, might not include enough iron to stay healthy (although not necessarily). New research could change that. …
It’s time we talked about see-through wood
Using the chemicals we bleach our hair with and a little sun we can create a new type of wood that’s (nearly) as clear as glass. Wood is a rather remarkable material that humans have been using …
Why the length of your DNA matters
A recent publication describes the extraction of ultra-long DNA. We discuss why the length of a DNA strand is important for science.