A rapid MXRF method enables precise, extraction-free analysis of light elements in small plant samples, advancing studies of salinity tolerance and early d

Abstract. Determining elemental concentrations in plant tissues is essential for physiological studies on abiotic stress. However, high-throughput routine

Aguilar-Gómez et al. use exome sequencing of 347 strawberry poison frogs to uncover the genetic basis of color variation. They identify that kit, ttc39b, and bco1 underlie blue-red, yellow-red, and gr...

Combining arsenic and sulfide in skin cells forms a less toxic mineral—and turns the animals bright yellow

Short summary: Metal hyperaccumulation and hypertolerance in Arabidopsis halleri rely on elevated HMA4 transcript levels. Compared to A. thaliana HMA4, enhanced AhHMA4 promoter activity requires CCA1 ...

One of life's decisive innovations was to harness the catalytic power of metals for cellular chemistry. With life's expansion, global atmospheric and biogeochemical cycles underwent dramatic...

The trace element selenium is essential for human nutrition but is distributed unevenly in soils worldwide with extensive selenium-deficient regions and selenium-enriched (seleniferous) areas. Neptuni...

Plant and rhizosphere soil samples of the rare earth element (REE) hyperaccumulator plant Dicranopteris linearis were collected across tropical and subtropical China to elucidate how rhizosphere micro...

The medical world relies on horseshoe crab blood in the production of vaccines and equipment. A synthetic is available, but companies have been slow to adopt it.

The value of herbarium specimens depends largely on the accuracy and accessibility of the data captured, which is dependent on curation practices. Previous studies have shown high levels of misidenti...

The 40cm-long insect, named Acrophylla alta, weighs slightly less than a golf ball and may be the heaviest insect in Australia

Critical mineral supply and demand require global coordination to reduce market volatility and conflict risk

Illegal mining ransacked these Indonesian islands. Tech titans turned a blind eye.

Toxic metal pollution is ubiquitous in soils, yet its worldwide distribution is unknown. We analyzed a global database of soil pollution by arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel, and lead...

Scientists sound the alarm over substances such as arsenic and lead contaminating soils and entering food systems

China is blocking exports of these vital minerals. What makes them so special?

Since its inception over three decades ago, phytomining has finally reached the stage of commercial-scale implementation, at least for nickel. Much potential remains to be realised for other elements....

Hoping to stave off a global health crisis, scientists are breeding a new generation of crops that suck the mineral, which helps the thyroid and immune system, from soil