Desert Rhubarb 
Scientists have discovered the world’s first ’self-watering’ plant in Israel’s Negev desert – one of the driest regions on earth. The Desert Rhubarb can hold 16 times more water than its rivals and has developed a unique ability to effectively water itself in its barren habitat.

  Robert Buelteman uses high voltage photography
Forget the notion of a reverent nature photographer tiptoeing through the woods, camera slung over one shoulder, patiently looking for perfect light. Robert Buelteman works indoors in total darkness, forsaking cameras, lenses, and computers for jumper cables, fiber optics, and 80,000 volts of electricity. This bizarre union of Dr. Frankenstein [...]

 
Sagebrush exhibits communication only when air contact is allowed
To thine own self be true” may take on a new meaning—not with people or animal behavior but with plant behavior.

 
Marijuana smoke may increase the risk of cancer, scientists report
Using a highly sensitive new test, scientists in Europe are reporting “convincing evidence” that marijuana smoke damages the genetic material DNA in ways that could increase the risk of cancer.

When maple seeds become airborne they pick up downward speed and start to spin around their center of gravity, which is located in the nut.
The twirling seeds of maple trees spin like miniature helicopters as they fall to the ground. Because the seeds descend slowly as they swirl, they can be carried aloft by the [...]

Scientists working to develop wheat varieties resistant to a strain of “stem rust” 
The Ug99 fungus, called stem rust, could wipe out more than 80% of the world’s wheat as it spreads from Africa, scientists fear. The race is on to breed resistant plants before it reaches the U.S.

Root Beer is our favorite Zevia flavor

For many years I have been occasionally drinking diet soda, but always with a slight hesitation because I was unsure how healthy the drink ACTUALLY was. Now there is no need for that. I can whole heartedly consume a drink and know it is all natural and zero calorie. How [...]

 Lettuces are grown in a sterile environment at Ozu Corporation’s plant factory in Japan – without being exposed to the air outside
 They look more like the brightly lit shelves of a chemists shop than the rows of a vegetable garden.  But according to their creators, these perfect looking vegetables could be the future of food.

Tiny seahorse – Hippocampus satomiae
The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and an international committee of taxonomists – scientists responsible for species exploration and classification – today announce the top 10 new species described in 2008.

 Shoppers in the future will be able to ‘harvest’ fruits and vegetables from supermarket shelves
Supermarket shoppers in the next decade will be able to pick fruit and vegetables from plants still growing on the shelves, according to a report into the future of retailing.

Example of a BioWall 
We’ve all seen them in action (sort of), so now it is time to check them out on a new level and get at least a cursory look at the different off-the-shelf options out there for living walls. A few select companies are offering systems that are available to North American buyers [...]

Seedbomb 
Legend has it that after the World War II got over, American pilot Gale Halvorson airdropped candies in the name of hope, for the Berlin children. War equals devastation, so dropping candies instead of bombs was probably personal retribution. Inspired by this incident, designer Hwang Jin wook and pals have come up with a plan [...]

Paragon’s Lunar Oasis
Astronauts’ meals have come a long way from the freeze-dried powders and semi-liquid pastes of decades ago: now US scientists want to grow vegetables in mini-greenhouses on the Moon.

 Myrmecophyte plants-otherwise known as ant-plants
Nature is full of mutually beneficial arrangements between organisms-like the relationship between flowering plants and their bee pollinators. But sometimes these blissful relationships have a dark side, as Harvard biologist Megan Frederickson describes in an article for the May issue of The American Naturalist. (Pics)

Volvox colony (dancing algae) 
Scientists at Cambridge University have discovered that freshwater algae can form stable groupings in which they dance around each other, miraculously held together only by the fluid flows they create.

 
“All you have to do is climb a tall building in Germany, and you’re going to see green roofs all over the place.”
Many countries like Germany (pictured) and Switzerland are now mandating that all new buildings with flat roofs must plant a garden on them. What will cities look like when this practice becomes the [...]

The Renewable House is a timber frame house with hemp-lime walls.
Britain’s University of Bath’s Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, its Department of Mechanical Engineering, and the Building Research Establishment Ltd (BRE)  formed a partnership in 2006 to conduct research on innovative and sustainable construction materials and to provide knowledge and leadership to the building [...]

Whimsical Tree House In Oregon
Nature with architecture is not an odd pairing by any means, but it’s never been done quite like this. But another factor plays heavily on this contemporary, flowing style – music. Architect Robert Harvey Oshatz has created this awesome, artistic piece of architecture in the woods of Portland, Oregon, for a [...]

10. Total Lunar Eclipse 
The world is filled with sluggish spectacles. Watching them would be painful were it not for time-lapse photography, which can make those long stories short and remarkably entertaining. 

Are you slowly killing your houseplants? Is it because you’re too busy Twittering? THEN HAS THE INTERNET GOT THE SOLUTION FOR YOU!

 
Duman Oceanarium
It is expected that the proposed enormous oceanarium in Moscow will form part of an amusement complex complete with a cinema, hotel, business center, shopping mall and many restaurants. According to news sources, the Eurasian country of Kazakhstan, which is the world’s largest landlocked country, is financing the construction of one of the new [...]

Miracle fruit
Have you tripped-out on a miracle fruit pill? A”trip” is when you allow a miracle fruit pill to dissolve on your tongue and then sit around and eat sour pickles, limes, or Hot Tamales candy. (Don’t try it… you’ll end up getting acid reflux anyway!)

 
 Things change in a year but do you notice it? Here’s a video about the forest, the changes in one year.

Genetically modified tobacco plant 
Tobacco isn’t famous for its health benefits. But now scientists have succeeded in using genetically modified tobacco plants to produce medicines for several autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including diabetes. The research is published in the open access journal BMC Biotechnology.

 
 
Vegecool
The idea of a living wall conjures up all sorts of images, but in reality it is nothing more than a wall completely covered in vegetation. In order to create a living wall pre-vegetated or fabric panels containing plastic containers, or geotextiles, as well as irrigation systems and vegetation are attached to the wall or [...]