Revealing the nanostructure of wood could help raise height limits for wooden skyscrapers
Cambridge researchers have captured the visible nanostructure of wood in its live hydrated state for the first time using an advanced low-temperature scanning electron microscope.
Network and genetic analyses reveal 32 cambium transcription factors
A comprehensive analysis of the transcription factors (TF) that play in the vascular cambium has boosted our understanding of the underlying transcriptional regulation in this important plant meristem through the discovery of 32 cambium TFs.
Seeds, Bees and Pollen was the theme at this year's hands-on exhibition run jointly by the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU) and Cambridge University Botanic Garden (CUBG) at Big Biology Day.
Overlap in lateral root and nodule development brings self-fertilising cereals one step closer
A vision of creating crops that do not need chemical fertilisers is one step closer thanks to the recent discovery that a substantial overlap exists in the developmental programmes plants use for lateral roots and nitrogen-fixing nodules.
Once dismissed as ‘junk DNA’ that served no purpose, a family of ‘jumping genes’ found in tomatoes has the potential to accelerate crop breeding for traits such as improved drought resistance.
Food of the Future: free online course launched to inspire the next generation of scientists
A new, free online course aimed at 16-19 year olds across Europe, funded by EIT Food and developed by the Gatsby Plant Science Education Programme (GPSEP) at the University of Cambridge alongside international partners, aims to inspire young people to study science so they can help to create food of the future.
Engineering new rhizosphere signalling networks to produce crops that need less fertiliser
An interdisciplinary research collaboration between SLCU and the University of Oxford has engineered a novel synthetic plant-microbe signalling pathway that could provide the foundation for transferring nitrogen fixation to cereals.
