'Yellow biotechnology' refers to biotechnology with insects -- analogous to the green (plants) and red (animals) biotechnology. Active ingredients or genes in insects are characterized and used for research or application in agriculture and medicine. Scientists in Germany are now using a procedure which brings forward ecological research on insects: They study gene functions in moth larvae by manipulating genes using the RNA interference technology (RNAi). RNAi is induced by feeding larvae with plants that have been treated with viral vectors. This method -- called "plant virus based dsRNA producing system" (VDPS) -- increases sample throughput compared to the use of genetically transformed plants. 

Around 80 percent of the Andes' most biodiverse and important ecosystems are unprotected according to a new paper published in the open-access journal BMC Ecology. Looking at a broad range of ecosystems across the Andes in Peru and Bolivia, the study found that 226 endemic species, those found no-where else, were afforded no protection whatsoever. Yet time is running out, as Andean ecosystems are undergoing incredible strain: a combination of climate change and habitat destruction may be pushing many species into ever-shrinking pockets of habitat until they literally have no-where to go.

Today's alarmingly high rate of plant extinction necessitates an increased understanding of the world's biodiversity. An estimated 15 to 30 percent of the world's flowering plants have yet to be discovered, making efficiency an integral function of future botanical research.

Studying self-replicating genetic units, called plasmids, found in one of the world's widest-ranging pathogenic soil bacteria -- the crown-gall-disease-causing microorganism Agrobacterium tumefaciens -- biologists are showing how freeloading, mutant derivatives of these plasmids benefit while the virulent, disease-causing plasmids do the heavy-lifting of initiating infection in plant hosts. The research confirms that the ability of bacteria to cause disease comes at a significant cost that is only counterbalanced by the benefits they experience from infected host organisms.

To generate phylogenetic trees and investigate relationships between organisms, scientists usually look for similarities and differences in the DNA. Plant scientists were confounded by the fact that the DNA extracted from the plants’ green chloroplasts sometimes showed the greatest similarities when related species grew in the same area. Scientists have now discovered that a transfer of entire chloroplasts, or at least their genomes, can occur in contact zones between plants. Inter-species crossing is not necessary. The new chloroplast genome can even be handed down to the next generation and, thereby, give a plant with new traits. These findings are of great importance to the understanding of evolution as well as the breeding of new plant varieties.

A team of researchers has discovered an overachieving plant enzyme that works both the day and night shifts. The discovery shows that plants evolved a new function for this enzyme by changing merely one of its protein building blocks.

Found in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia, the world's biggest bromeliad Puya raimondii is imperiled by climate change and human disturbances.

Every night millions of people go to bed hungry. New genetic technology can help us feed the world by making inedible seeds edible and tasty.

Location matters for birds on the hunt for caterpillars, according to researchers. Findings suggest that chickadees and others zero in on the type of tree as much as the characteristics of their wriggly prey.

Even after 100 years have passed a restored wetland may not reach the state of its former glory. A new study in the open access journal PLoS Biology finds that restored wetlands may take centuries to recover the biodiversity and carbon sequestration of original wetlands, if they ever do. The study questions laws, such as in the U.S., which allow the destruction of an original wetland so long as a similar wetland is restored elsewhere.

A solution to the difficult issue of harvesting algae for use as a biofuel has been developed using microbubble technology.

The upsurge in droughts is one of the main consequences of climate change, and affects crops in particular. However, a biologist has confirmed that in the case of barley at least, climate change itself is providing it with a self-defense mechanisms to tackle a lack of water.

In August 2010, an entomologist at the University of California, Riverside discovered a tiny fairyfly wasp in upstate New York that had never been seen in the United States until then. Nearly exactly a year later, he discovered the wasp in Irvine, Calif., strongly suggesting that the wasp is well established in the country. Called Gonatocerus ater, the 1-millimeter-long wasp was accidentally introduced in North America. It lays its eggs inside the eggs of leafhoppers.

Scientists have taken us a step closer to breeding hardier crops that can better adapt to different environmental conditions and fight off attack from parasites.

To celebrate the 15th National Environment Day, 4 February, 2012, Al Ain Zoo is organizing a 2km community walk, educational trips for visitors, desert clean-ups and much more as part of a nationwide initiative-

A recent study investigating the molecular structure and function of an essential plant hormone could profoundly change our understanding of a key cell process, and might ultimately lead to the development of new drugs for a variety of diseases.

Greenhouse bedding plant growers can save themselves time, money or possibly both by giving cuttings in propagation more light, according to a new study.

Director Paul Blanchflower provides an update on the progress that has been made in the clean-up operation following the cyclone at Auroville Botanical Garden.

Did you know many natural materials and foods come from the rainforest – including rubber, chocolate, bananas, coffee and vanilla? Want to learn more? Then the new book, Plant Life, is the publication for you and your children!

Sweet corn research shows that higher yield and profitability are possible with greater plant populations of certain hybrids.