News

Michigan State University plant biochemist Tom Sharkey and his team discovered that, on a warming planet, plants such as oaks and poplars will emit more of a compound that exacerbates poor air quality, contributing to problematic particulate matter and low-atmosphere ozone. The rub is that the same compound, called isoprene, can also improve the quality of clean air while making plants more resistant to stressors including insects and high temperatures. The findings were recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Join a community of over 200 plant science faculty, embracing collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches to foundational and applied research. Become a part of a renowned legacy, spanning decades of pioneering contributions to plant science research. 

Research conducted by Sue Rhee and Hatem Rouached was given a news spotlight by CBS Detroit meteorologist Karen Carter. Their work seeks to increase plant resilience to phosphorus deficiency—a crucial breakthrough as world phosphorus levels continue to decrease in the face of widespread agricultural uses. 

BMB and MPS graduate student MacKenzie Jacobs writes about her experience in Switzerland in summer 2023, attending Polyploid Summer School at the University of Fribourg.

Over 120 researchers visited MSU's campus for the 62nd annual meeting of the PSNA—a leading gathering of plant chemical diversity community and scholarship.

Five Molecular Plant Science students—including three from BMB—were recently accepted into the Plant Biotechnology for Health and Sustainability (PBHS) Graduate Training Program. 

Current BMB graduate students share a bit about themselves and their research.

MSU science education researchers Kevin Haudek, Melanie Cooper, and Rachel Henderson have received a $700,000 National Science Foundation grant to study the role of Mathematical Sensemaking in Science (MaSS) in undergraduate STEM courses. This collaborative project will develop new assessments to elicit mathematical thinking from biology, chemistry, and physics students. Research results will deepen our understanding of the role of mathematics in undergraduate science education.