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Phytotron Stands the Test of Time

Department of Plant and Microbial Biology

Woman with cassava plants in a greenhouse

Nov 27, 2017

Student Spotlight: ‘Plant Research Immediately Impacts People’

After a summer undergraduate research experience with a leading NC State plant scientist, Catherine Doyle was hooked. The Ph.D. student traveled to Tanzania to see the problems posed by cassava mosaic disease. 
Angels de Luis Balaguer in NC State lab.

Nov 17, 2017

Getting to the Genetic Root of Stem Cells

NC State scientists find faster ways to identify the complex gene interactions that make stem cell renewal and differentiation in plants possible. 
Cyanobacteria in a flask

Nov 6, 2017

Lost and Found

A cyanobacterial strain with an intriguing backstory could have an even more remarkable future, because the organism produces possible anticancer agents. Two NC State University scientists team up to find out how. 
Woman holding a clear cube with 3-day-old corn seedlings.

Sep 19, 2017

Scientists Unravel Mysteries of DNA Replication in Corn

For the first time, scientists have characterized the DNA replication timing process for an entire plant genome. 
Sunlight through trees in a Brazilian forest.

Aug 30, 2017

Expanding Tropical Forest Spells Disaster for Conservation

An NC State University study shows that fire suppression efforts in Brazilian savannas turn many of those areas into forest lands, with negative consequences for the plants and animals that live there. 
Woman with cassava plants in a greenhouse

Jul 17, 2017

Tackling Cassava Mosaic Disease: One Week in Tanzania

NC State Ph.D. student Catherine Doyle had seen infected cassava in a lab, but a trip to Tanzania allowed her to connect that work to what's happening in the field. Read more in this second in a series of posts on her journey to help defeat cassava mosaic disease. 
Two scientists in an agricultural field.

Jul 7, 2017

Studying a Disease in Order to Prevent Starvation

CALS student Catherine Doyle is preparing to spend several weeks in Tanzania, doing field work related to a research effort aimed at tackling a disease that threatens the livelihood of people through sub-Saharan Africa. Read more from NC State's Abstract. 
CALS alumna Kim Shearer

Jun 13, 2017

AgPack Strong: A World of Possibilities

Kim Shearer is the tree and shrub breeder at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Ill. Find out how she landed her dream job -- and why plants make her happy. 
Jenny Xiang surrounded by a flowering dogwood in full bloom.

Apr 5, 2017

Xiang Explores the Evolutionary History of Dogwood Diversity

With flowering dogwoods in full bloom, NC State's Jenny Xiang takes time out to discuss her research to understand more about the intriguing evolutionary history of its genus. 
Three people examine plants in a large, lighted chamber.

Jan 13, 2017

Phytotron Stands the Test of Time

In the growth chambers and greenhouses of the Phytotron, researchers find ways to improve agriculture, the environment and even transportation and medicine.