Growth Spurts

Nitric oxide, sometimes a toxic byproduct of nitrogen oxidation in soil, may have broader implications in plant processes than previously realized. Recent research has identified its modification of proteins — a process called S-nitrosylation — as an important signaling molecule in plants, as it is in mammals.
In studies using the tropical medicinal herb Kalanchoe pinnata [...]

Extracts from tree heartwood limit the growth of Phytophthora ramorum, the microbial agent that causes sudden oak death (SOD) in more than 100 plant species.
Since it surfaced on the West Coast in the mid-1990s, SOD has killed an estimated 1 million oaks and tanoaks. For years, scientists have known that tree heartwood contains protective antimicrobial [...]