The sticky self-defence of a tomato plant 🍅🌱 Jared Popowski at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands was trying to measure mechanical properties of tomato plants in the lab when a tiny hair on one of them started oozing liquid so quickly that his camera barely caught it. He had triggered a mechanism by which the plant protects itself from pests. Some species of tomato have hairs filled with a viscous liquid that rupture upon contact and make insects too wet to walk and eat the plant.

University of Florida researchers have achieved a significant milestone towards harnessing the natural defence mechanism of healthy Cabbage palm trees (Sabal palmetto) against lethal bronzing disease. The researchers found infected palms emit signals that alert nearby healthy palms, prompting them to activate their own defences. This breakthrough discovery paves the way for developing effective strategies to safeguard palms from disease in the future. The study, published in Plants, explains how