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Keyword: bromeliads

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  • Sapphire Tower Plant Blooms For First And Last Time In 20 Years...This plant has spectacular, otherworldly-looking flowers.

    04/23/2024 12:00:22 PM PDT · by Red Badger · 7 replies
    IFL Science ^ | April 16, 2024 | ELEANOR HIGGS
    It's not hard to see how the sapphire tower gets its name. Image Credit: HannaTor/Shutterstock.com Sometimes in nature, there are events that we have to wait for. Some, like the upcoming American cicadapocaplypse might not be so popular – whereas, across the pond in Birmingham, UK, botanists are thrilled to reveal the blooming of their sapphire tower. The sapphire tower plant (Puya alpestri) from the Chilean Andes can take up to 10 years to flower. The plant is a member of the bromeliad family, distantly related to the pineapple. Normally found at high elevations of up to 2,200 meters (7,218...
  • Australian researchers find pineapple crush can fight cancer

    07/25/2005 7:14:23 PM PDT · by Coleus · 5 replies · 328+ views
    Yahoo News ^ | 07.07.05
    SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian scientists have discovered pineapple molecules can act as powerful anti-cancer agents and said the research could lead to a new class of cancer-fighting drugs. Scientists at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) said their work centred on two molecules from bromelaine, an extract derived from crushed pineapple stems that is used to tenderise meat, clarify beers and tan hides. One of the molecules, CCZ, stimulates the body's immune system to target and kill cancer cells, the other, CCS, blocks a protein called Ras, which is defective in 30 percent of all cancers. QIMR researcher Tracey...