Biological, physical and mathematical sciences at Michigan State University
The continued growth of cropland and loss of natural habitat have increasingly simplified agricultural landscapes in the Midwest. Having a single, dominant crop rather than a variety of wild plants is associated with increased crop pest abundance and insecticide use, consequences that could be tempered by perennial bioenergy crops. While the relationship between landscape simplification, [...]
MSU’s Bioeconomy Institute in Holland, Mich., has scheduled a Fall speaker series featuring several CNS faculty. The Opportunities in Bio-Innovation speaker series will feature Chemistry Professor Ned Jackson on October 13 and Plant Biology Professor Jonathan Walton on November 3. Read more…
A team of MSU Plant Biologists published research in the May 18 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences related to genetic discoveries from the plant Euonymus alatus that could lead to advances in biofuels and low-calorie food oils. Read more>>>
Ground was broken for the new $43 million Plant Science Facility on April 16, 2010. The new building, at the corner of Wilson and Bogue Streets, will allow MSU to contribute more to areas such as the bioeconomy, nutrition and plant development. Read More | Images | Slideshow
There is a small, unassuming plant in the mustard family – thale cress – that grows in Europe and Asia and has been cultured in the International Space Station. Better known as Arabidopsis thaliana, or just Arabidopsis, it is one of the most studied plants in the world. At MSU, it plays a central role [...]
Gemma Reguera, assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, has developed a process that can be harnessed to produce electricity and fuel from plant biomass. Using a specific selection of metal-reducing microorganisms in the Geobacter species, Reguera was able to design a microbial fuel cell that acts as a natural battery to convert plant biomass [...]
Fueling a vehicle made with biofuel from a rutabaga may be in the future because of research breakthroughs by a team of scientists led by biochemistry professor Christoph Benning. A newly discovered protein, Trigalactosyldiacylglycerol 4, or TGD4, is directly involved in building chloroplasts, which operate in the conversion of sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into [...]
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