Imagine that instead of switching on a lamp when it gets dark, you could read by the light of a glowing plant on your desk. MIT engineers have taken a critical first step toward making that vision a reality. By embedding specialized nanoparticles into the leaves of a watercress plant, they induced the plants to […]
Science Confirms You Should Stop And Smell The Roses
Short nature intervention can bring out the best in people. Is it any wonder that most happiness idioms are associated with nature? Happy as a pig in muck, happy as a clam, happy camper. A UBC researcher says there’s truth to the idea that spending time outdoors is a direct line to happiness. In fact, […]
Amaranth Is Believed To Have Anti-Cancer Properties
A study on amaranth reported that its seeds contain not only important nutritional properties, but also phytochemical compounds like rutin and nicotiflorin, and peptides with the ability to help lower hypertension and incidences of cancer. The high amount and quality of protein may be the most famous health benefit of amaranth grains, but it is […]
Patients With Drug-Resistant Malaria Cured By Plant Therapy
When the standard malaria medications failed to help 18 critically ill patients, the attending physician in a Congo clinic acted under the “compassionate use” doctrine and prescribed a not-yet-approved malaria therapy made only from the dried leaves of the Artemisia annua plant. In just five days, all 18 people fully recovered. This small but stunningly […]
Risks from Lawn Care Pesticides
Pesticides are intentionally toxic substances. Some chemicals commonly used on lawns and gardens have been associated with birth defects, mutations, adverse reproductive effects, and cancer in laboratory animals. EPA permits over 200 different pesticides to be used for lawn care, and these are often mixed together and sold as chemical combinations. Approximately 35 pesticides are […]
When It Comes To Red Cabbage, More Is Better
Plant pigments called anthocyanins provide fruits and vegetables with beneficial blue, purple and red coloring. Now Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are learning more about these compounds and their absorption into the human blood stream. Anthocyanins are a group of healthful compounds that fall within the flavonoid class of plant nutrients. ARS scientists have identified […]
Synthetic Forests And The Dangers of Genetically Engineered Trees
Synthetic Forests provides an investigation into the devastating effects GE trees could have on our health and the environment. The documentary features interviews with leading scientists and activists who discuss the negative effects genetically engineered trees can have if released into our ecosystems. The documentary is a tool we can use together to challenge this […]
Indoor Plants Can Reduce Formaldehyde Levels
Researchers are studying the ability of plants to reduce formaldehyde levels in the air. A study led by Kwang Jin Kim of Korea’s National Horticultural Research Institute compared the absorption rate of two types of houseplants. The results of the experiment on Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina) and Fatsia japonica, an evergreen shrub, were published in the […]
X-rays reveal uptake of nanoparticles by soybean crops
Metals contained in nanoparticles can enter into the food chain. Scientists have, for the first time, traced the nanoparticles taken up from the soil by crop plants and analysed the chemical states of their metallic elements. Zinc was shown to dissolve and accumulate throughout the plants, whereas the element cerium did not dissolve into plant […]
House Plants Purify Air Nasa Study
In the late 1980s, a study by NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) was conducted to find ways to purify the air for extended stays in orbiting space stations. The study resulted in excellent news for homeowners and office workers everywhere, because it concluded that common houseplants not only make indoor spaces […]