Plant biology

Image of a 400+ year old tree in Georgia

Stand in the place where you live

Trees are all over, above us and below us. They connect soil to the atmosphere. They create forests and confer their beauty on our city. In Athens we have the tree that famously owns itself, a white oak. Maybe you've taken a stroll through Oconee Forest Park or noticed the smell of the woods on

Photosynthesis & waffles: how plant sap gets on our breakfast plates

Maple syrup is a staple in Western breakfast culture. True maple syrup – as opposed to the thick corn syrup imitation that sits in many American diners – comes from a variety of trees, mostly  the sugar maple. But this breakfast condiment is more than just goo that happens to ooze out of a plant

The Solar Power of the Sunflower

This article is part of our brand new Athens Science Observer interview series. We are conducting interviews with established scientists in order to get first person accounts of exciting research and hear the stories of those who are making a difference. You may have heard that sunflowers can track the sun during the day, but

Plant Cells, an Unculturable Mystery

The simplest unit in biology is the cell. This central tenet has remained true since the coining of the term 'cell' in 1665 by Robert Hooke. Cells have enabled multicellular organisms to conquer every part of the planet, enabling cell line specialization and the formation of more complex organisms. Multicellularity allowed organisms to thrive by

How do plants sense their surroundings?

When laying the most essential foundation of biological sciences to a bunch of first graders, educators often start with a lima bean. Between two layers of a wet paper towel, a lima bean takes root and then sprouts its first two leaves. In a mere eight days, what was once a dry bean is a

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