Without the traditional sensory organs we associate with our own 5 senses, you’d be forgiven for assuming plants detect their environment differently to us. However, the membrane protein receptors found in plants are strikingly similar to our own. Known as Leucine-Rich Repeat (LRR) receptor kinases, they detect chemical signals, such as the surface proteins of…
Science
Nitrate chemicals pollute rocks
Eutrophication is a serious threat to water ecosystems; excess nutrients, such as nitrates, cause algal blooms which kill all plants and fish in an area. Changes to agricultural practice have reduced this type of pollution from fertilisers. However, recent surveys have found a large source of nitrates within rocks, threatening to seep into underground water…
Science
Meet the Gastronauts
“It’s good to eat your bogeys!” To the horror of parents, BBC Gastronaut Stefan Gates in his talk on Sunday for the Norwich Science Festival, assures a crowd of delighted children that eating your own bogeys is actually good for your health. Dressed in his ‘I’m Revolting’ t-shirt, Stefan used a range of unique and…
Science
Saturn moon storm
Titan, the largest of Saturn’s 60 moons, is a glacial, -180°C rock orbiting 1.4 billion km from Earth, where methane replaces water in its lakes and rivers. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft took almost seven years to reach it, and after its 13 year mission was decommissioned in 2017. Computer models using from this spacecraft have given…