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plants

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Ancient plant's leaves didn't follow golden rule as modern ones do

Most modern plants grow leaves in a pattern that follows the Fibonacci sequence, but a reconstruction of a 400-million-year-old plant reveals that its leaves grew much more chaotically

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Why used coffee grounds may be doing your plants more harm than good

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R126CH Unrecognisable woman in casual clothing holding a box of used coffee ground to use as compost in her garden.

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Robot gardener grows plants as well as humans do but uses less water

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The AlphaGarden robotic gardener
Ramaria flava or Golden coral fungus in natural habitat, oak forest, close up view, horizontal orientation; Shutterstock ID 1739516405; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

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Underground fungi absorb up to a third of our fossil fuel emissions

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Rare plant turns carnivorous when it is low on a key nutrient

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380 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong Region EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01GMT May 22 Calotes goetzi The Cambodian blue-crested agma, an aggressive lizard that changes color as a defensive mechanism ? Henrik Bringsoe

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Hundreds of species new to science discovered in South-East Asia

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Lastrea focnisecii; Anna Atkins (British, 1799 - 1871), and Anne Dixon (British, 1799 - 1877); 1853; Cyanotype; 25.4 ?? 19.4 cm (10 ?? 7 5/8 in.); 84.XO.227.24; No Copyright - United States (http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/)

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New book collates the pioneering photographs of Anna Atkins

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GDX76B Allium ursinum. Foraging wild garlic in an English woodland - spring, UK

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Foraging for wild garlic: how, when and what to watch out for

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Woman cares for plants, watering green shoots from a watering can at sunset. Farming or gardening concept. Bottom view.

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Why watering your plants at midday won't damage their leaves

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Technology

Wood transistor could let us embed electronics in trees

An electrochemical transistor made from balsa wood opens up the possibility of embedding sensors and other electronic devices in plants, which could help in agriculture and forest management

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A wood transistor made from balsa wood soaked in a conductive polymer, along with carbon fibres, paraffin wax, silver paste and carbon paste.

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Carnivorous plants use a sneaky trick for luring different bugs to eat

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Life

What is so special about orchids and why are there so many?

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The spiky shape of sunflower pollen may clear bee guts of parasite

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Environment

Climate change is fuelling the spread of viral diseases in plants

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