Philosophy
May 9th, 2014
ScienceDaily
Scientists from the University of the Philippines, Los Baños have discovered a new plant species with an unusual lifestyle -- it eats nickel for a living -- accumulating up to 18,000 ppm of the metal in its leaves without itself being poisoned, says Professor Edwino Fernando, lead author of the report. Such an amount is a hundred to a thousand times higher than in most other plants. The study was published in the open access journal PhytoKeys.
The new species is called Rinorea niccolifera, reflecting its ability to absorb nickel in very high amounts. Nickel hyperaccumulation is such a rare phenomenon with only about 0.5-1% of plant species native to nickel-rich soils having been recorded to exhibit the ability. Throughout the world, only about 450 species are known with this unusual trait, which is still a small proportion of the estimated 300,000 species of vascular plants.
The new species, according to Dr Marilyn Quimado, one of the lead scientists of the research team, was discovered on the western part of Luzon Island in the Philippines, an area known for soils rich in heavy metals.
"Hyperacccumulator plants have great potentials for the development of green technologies, for example, 'phytoremediation' and 'phytomining'," explains Dr Augustine Doronila of the School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, who is also co-author of the report.
Phytoremediation refers to the use of hyperacccumulator plants to remove heavy metals in contaminated soils. Phytomining, on the other hand, is the use of hyperacccumulator plants to grow and harvest in order to recover commercially valuable metals in plant shoots from metal-rich sites.
The field surveys and laboratory work of the scientists are part of the research project funded by the Department of Science and Technology -- Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD).
List of hyperaccumulators [Wikipedia]
- Gruesome Dwarf Herbivores...the Pegomastax
"Bizarre Species of Miniature Dinosaur Identified" by John Noble Wilford October 3rd, 2012 The New York Times Not every dinosaur grew up to be a mighty predator like Tyrannosaurus rex or a hulking vegan like Apatosaurus. A few stayed small, and some...
- A Squirrel Ate A Seed And Now We Have A Blooming 30,000 Year Old Plant
"It's Alive! Pleistocene Plant Blooms Again"A Siberian plant frozen in the permafrost 30,000 years ago has been brought back to life.February 21st, 2012Discovery NewsFruit seeds stored away by squirrels more than 30,000 years ago and found in Siberian...
- Poetic [narrative] License...non-existent Plants
I remember as a adolescent being somewhat fascinated by the power of tanna leaves in those old Universal mummy movies. Ardath Bey would burn a few and chant some lines to direct the mummy to life to find his lost love Princess Ankh-es-en-amon. WOW, the...
- Neanderthals Cooked Their Vegetables
An interesting story. I often wondered how many lives were lost before ancient man realized which plants were poisonous, medicinal, and tasty and the same with hunting technology or even sex and communication. "Neanderthals cooked and ate vegetables"...
- Natalie King And The Smart Plant Pot
I would say that she has a strong future in industrial designing. "Intelligent plant container could become top of the pots" Industrial design student Natalie King has drafted a pot that glows and shakes when the plant needs attention by Steven Morris...
Philosophy
Hyperacccumulator plant...Rinorea niccolifera
"New species of metal-eating plant discovered in the Philippines"
May 9th, 2014
ScienceDaily
Scientists from the University of the Philippines, Los Baños have discovered a new plant species with an unusual lifestyle -- it eats nickel for a living -- accumulating up to 18,000 ppm of the metal in its leaves without itself being poisoned, says Professor Edwino Fernando, lead author of the report. Such an amount is a hundred to a thousand times higher than in most other plants. The study was published in the open access journal PhytoKeys.
The new species is called Rinorea niccolifera, reflecting its ability to absorb nickel in very high amounts. Nickel hyperaccumulation is such a rare phenomenon with only about 0.5-1% of plant species native to nickel-rich soils having been recorded to exhibit the ability. Throughout the world, only about 450 species are known with this unusual trait, which is still a small proportion of the estimated 300,000 species of vascular plants.
The new species, according to Dr Marilyn Quimado, one of the lead scientists of the research team, was discovered on the western part of Luzon Island in the Philippines, an area known for soils rich in heavy metals.
"Hyperacccumulator plants have great potentials for the development of green technologies, for example, 'phytoremediation' and 'phytomining'," explains Dr Augustine Doronila of the School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, who is also co-author of the report.
Phytoremediation refers to the use of hyperacccumulator plants to remove heavy metals in contaminated soils. Phytomining, on the other hand, is the use of hyperacccumulator plants to grow and harvest in order to recover commercially valuable metals in plant shoots from metal-rich sites.
The field surveys and laboratory work of the scientists are part of the research project funded by the Department of Science and Technology -- Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD).
List of hyperaccumulators [Wikipedia]
- Gruesome Dwarf Herbivores...the Pegomastax
"Bizarre Species of Miniature Dinosaur Identified" by John Noble Wilford October 3rd, 2012 The New York Times Not every dinosaur grew up to be a mighty predator like Tyrannosaurus rex or a hulking vegan like Apatosaurus. A few stayed small, and some...
- A Squirrel Ate A Seed And Now We Have A Blooming 30,000 Year Old Plant
"It's Alive! Pleistocene Plant Blooms Again"A Siberian plant frozen in the permafrost 30,000 years ago has been brought back to life.February 21st, 2012Discovery NewsFruit seeds stored away by squirrels more than 30,000 years ago and found in Siberian...
- Poetic [narrative] License...non-existent Plants
I remember as a adolescent being somewhat fascinated by the power of tanna leaves in those old Universal mummy movies. Ardath Bey would burn a few and chant some lines to direct the mummy to life to find his lost love Princess Ankh-es-en-amon. WOW, the...
- Neanderthals Cooked Their Vegetables
An interesting story. I often wondered how many lives were lost before ancient man realized which plants were poisonous, medicinal, and tasty and the same with hunting technology or even sex and communication. "Neanderthals cooked and ate vegetables"...
- Natalie King And The Smart Plant Pot
I would say that she has a strong future in industrial designing. "Intelligent plant container could become top of the pots" Industrial design student Natalie King has drafted a pot that glows and shakes when the plant needs attention by Steven Morris...