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The researchers think it is likely that most flowering plants, or angiosperms, contain similar sucrose-susceptible genes, making their “sweetening technology” widely applicable. Credit: Cienpies Design ================================================================================================= Previous research has shown that the sugar sucrose plays a role in controlling key fruit genes involved in sugar metabolism. Efforts to control these genes succeeded in increasing the sugar content in fruit but also resulted in stunted growth. Researchers from Tohoku University in Japan used a bioinformatics search tool to find nucleotide sequences in the tomato genome similar to a known tobacco gene sequence that can be repressed by sucrose. When a special...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won't be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn't asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table(recipes)preserving, good living - there is no...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won't be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn't asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table(recipes)preserving, good living - there is no...

Sheep on drugs have gone on a "psychotic rampage" after eating cannabis plants dumped in a quiet village, it is feared. The remains of an illegal cannabis factory was fly-tipped on a Welsh village road - and worried locals think the sheep have been chowing down on the psychotropic herbs. County councillor Ioan Richard said sheep have been "roaming the village" and causing havoc by breaking into homes and getting killed by cars as they stumble about in what appears to be a druggy haze.

For the eighth time, Peruvian actor and environmental activist Ricardo Torres has symbolically married a tree as part of an ecological awareness campaign to urge others to care for the environment. The wedding took place at a landmark location, the town of Santa Maria del Tule, which is home to an ancient 2000-year-old cypress tree. The tree's estimated weight is more than 544.3 million kilograms. Torres left the house of his godmother, accompanied by a committee of village elders, friends and family, and walked down the Sabino street towards a cluster of Cypress tree leaves to start with the ritual...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won't be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn't asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table(recipes)preserving, good living - there is no...

An East Bay neighborhood terrorized by a swarm of aggressive bees over the weekend is safer now, authorities said. Concord police told residents Sunday the bees have been mostly eradicated after an amateur beekeeper got rid of a hive Saturday night. A bee expert called to the neighborhood also declared the area safer. The bees began terrorizing the 3800 block of Hitchcock Drive on Friday, attacking residents, dogs and even a mail carrier. Concord police received a number of reports of "aggressive bees" in the area. According to one neighbor, two dogs died as a result of numerous bee stings....

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won't be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn't asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table(recipes)preserving, good living - there is no...

OK I went to the garden store this morning to load up on even more veggies. There was one spot where they had a few pepper plants left, so I checked them out and picked the best one. Little did I know... Now I had heard in the past about these peppers and thought they were maybe a little hotter than a standard chile pepper. So now my question is whether to even plant it or not! My neighbors have grandkids and dogs come around once in a while so my question is can I buy insurance or something? Put...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won't be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn't asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table(recipes)preserving, good living - there is no...

An Oklahoma homeowner got quite a surprise while trying to do yard work on Wednesday. Around 12:30 p.m., officers were called to the 3800 block of N.W. Arlington after a man said he found a “bomb” while mowing his backyard. Officers found a large shell that was about one foot long. It was immediately handed over to investigators from Ft. Sill, who believe it is a World War I 75 MM explosive ordnance.

... Yes, you can make your own anti-biotics at home. I’ll show you how to make a really super powerful one (it’s easy to do). Anyone can do it. Most people will want to do this in their backyards or on a patio. But I suppose you could do it indoors too. This one I’ll show you how to make is way more complex than anything the pharmaceutical companies can produce, yet it is simpler and easier to make. No, you won’t need a lab of chemistry set. No, you won’t need microscopes or chemicals. Nope, you won’t even need...

Little Robin Hits Worm Jackpot

I'm not sure how I got on HRC's mailing list. Here's today's. I guess they think my name is Ann and I have some sort of restroom-use conundrum.

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won't be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn't asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table(recipes)preserving, good living - there is no...

Since both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sander are quite keen to talk about climate change and carbon taxes, let’s take a brief break from the campaign trail and check in on how Mother Gaia is doing these days. We’ve recorded what some climate scientists claim is a string of record warmest months over the past year and if I were judging by the almost snow-free, mild winter we just enjoyed in upstate New York and the rest of the northeast (watch out for the bears) I’d have to agree. So I assume this means we’re all doomed. But oddly...

I've seen a few opuses (opi?) here on Free Republic the last couple of days. They are mostly of the "I'm gonna take my ball and go home!" genre. Well, those balls aren't going to do much good just sitting in the closet at home. These people should give their balls to Hillary Clinton. Hillary isn't much of a basketball player, but she will take these balls and stab them and grind them up and use them as borders for the rose garden at The White House. So, don't just take your balls and go home, give them to Hillary....

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won't be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn't asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table(recipes)preserving, good living - there is no...

Not many substances are as widely studied as tea. Now, the verdict is in. The bottom line: if you're not drinking tea on a regular basis, it might be a habit worth starting. That's because when it comes to your health, tea packs a powerful punch. Combined studies examining literally hundreds of thousands of tea drinkers led a vast array of scientists to conclude that a consistent dose of tea is good for the body. Most of the research was conducted in Asian countries, on people drinking hot, green tea. The amount mattered. Usually people only experienced health benefits if...

Donald Trump was giving it his all during a final rally in New York Monday, but in the midst of his speech he made a flub. In a video obtained by CNN, the GOP candidate accidentally refers to 9/11 as the convenience store 7-Eleven, probably best known for its Slurpees. "I wrote this out, and it's very close to my heart because I was down there and I watched our police and our firemen down at 7/11, down at the World Trade Center right after it came down," he said. "And I saw the greatest people I've ever seen in...