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The sciences and arts are often described as two separate cultures, but fruitful collaborations across this divide highlight the artificiality of such distinctions.
Cities need green spaces to maintain the well-being of their citizens. But is the realization of their value making them more private luxury than public commons?
The recent International Botanical Congress in Shenzhen was the largest meeting in its history. That a gathering rooted in the superficially traditional science of taxonomy is thriving in the age of genomics and biotechnology shows the strength and adaptability of modern botany and botanists.
Fire has always been one of the more dramatic routes by which humanity and the plant kingdom interact. Forest management practices, urban planning and global warming are conspiring to make the relationship ever more destructive.
Science is a competitive business and in any competition there can be ‘shortcuts’ to success. Transparency is the only way to guarantee that research results can be trusted more than some sporting achievements.
In the March for Science, held on 22 April in cities around the world, many placards bore Galileo's assertion that scientific truth is unaffected by political circumstance, “Eppur si muove”. But scientific research is inevitably shaped by the political climate in which it takes place.
A long and almost uncrossable distance separates fundamental plant research carried out predominantly in rich countries, and the production of better crops in the fields of poor farmers from developing regions. A unique network of international organizations involved in global agriculture helps bridge that chasm.
If, as the former editor of The Washington Post Phil Graham said, “[journalism] is the first rough draft of history”, then it is sometimes worth looking back at recent news to try to identify the significant events among the noise.
Plant biology has a long history in helping to illuminate the most detailed workings of living organisms. This tradition is amply represented by a trio of structures appearing this month.
For millennia, Chinese knowledge of agriculture and crop breeding influenced the whole world. After an extended period of introspection, Chinese plant biology is once again establishing global eminence.
January is traditionally a time for reflections and resolutions. By looking back on the past year at Nature Plants, we can perhaps see what might be in store for the year to come.
