plants

Plant to Farmer: “Water me!”

A new monitoring system allows plants to text farmers when thirsty

Just in time for this year’s growing season, farmers have new equipment to help keep tabs on their crops while away. With SmartCrop, a system developed by Accent Engineering, farmers get text messages when their plants need water. The system uses infrared thermometers to measure leaf temperature and data is then transferred to a computerized base station. A cellphone modem hooked up to the base station allows farmers to receive SMS alerts when their plants are too hot. Research has shown that each plant species has a range of temperatures that is best for its growth.

[ Read Full Story ]

Of Plants and Powders

Scientists gain new understanding of how plants' self-defending toxins could become humans' substances of choice

Our most popular and addictive drugs come from plant toxins; caffeine, tobacco, cannabis, cocaine, heroin, are all derived from what are supposed to be poisons. These toxins were developed by plants to ward off herbivores who would otherwise eat them. So why is it that we not only tolerate them, but have found ourselves in a position of craving them, sometimes desperately? It is a paradox at which researchers are taking a fresh look.

[ Read Full Story ]
READ MORE ABOUT > , , , ,

What's the Biggest Thing a Carnivorous Plant Will Eat?

And should we humans be worried?

A Venus Fly Trap Catches Prey: Photo by Stefano Zucchinali
Carnivorous plants generally stick to a diet of bugs that they ensnare. On rare occasions, though, tropical pitcher plants—which drown and break down prey in vase-shaped traps that can be smaller than a little finger or larger than a football—have been found holding the skeletal remains of frogs, geckos and even small rodents. But what about human flesh?

[ Read Full Story ]

PPX: The PopSci Predictions Exchange

RSS Link

New IPO

  • Pennies Phased Out

    Will the U.S. Government phase out the penny by 2009 in order to conserve metal resources?

Hot Stocks

Ready to bet on the future? Start here!

Subscribe for 2 free issues!

may2008_cover.jpg