Tag

UF/IFAS

A First: Scientists Grow Plants in Soil From the Moon

Scientists have grown plants in soil from the moon, a first in human history and a milestone in lunar and space exploration. In a new paper published in the journal “Communications Biology,” University of Florida researchers showed that plants can successfully sprout and grow in lunar soil. Their study also investigated how plants respond biologically to the moon’s soil, also known as lunar regolith, which is radically different from soil found on Earth.

Rob Ferl Receives NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal

Rob Ferl, distinguished professor in the UF/IFAS horticultural sciences department and assistant vice president for UF research, has received one of NASA’s most prestigious honors, the Exceptional Public Service Medal.

Pushy Plants? Student Discovery ‘Adds New Dimension to Plant Biology’

A new University of Florida study conducted by mathematics and botany senior Camille Sicangco, has been accepted for publication in Current Biology and shows the plant exerts force on its own, not just in response to external forces such as climate and soil. It is rare for an undergraduate student to publish research in such a prestigious journal — let alone to do so using new methods of discovery — but advisor Dr. Francis E. “Jack” Putz encouraged the naturally creative and inquisitive Sicangco to follow her curiosity.

UF Study Shows How Climate Change Can Worsen Impact of Invasive Plants

Scientists have long hypothesized that climate change, by intensifying stressors like drought or wildfires, would make an ecosystem more vulnerable to invasive plants. Those invasive plants may in turn alter the environment in ways that amplify the impacts of climate change, explained Luke Flory, a professor of ecology in the UF/IFAS agronomy department.