Distinct plant species evolved to produce caffeine as a pesticide

Bees are more likely to remember a flower if its nectar contains caffeine

Plants want pollinators to keep coming back, so the finding suggests that some plants, such as Citrus and Coffea species, have evolved to include caffeine in their nectar. Researchers suggest the findings could help develop methods to reinvigorate pollinator populations.

Coevolution of pollinators and flowering plants diversified both

The first pollinators were beetles, which consumed pollen before flowering plants existed. Over time, plants evolved to attract more insects and improve the uptake of pollen, while insects adapted their biology to enhance the capture of pollen, such as developing specialized mouthparts.

Plants use physical and chemical defenses to protect themselves

Tree bark is difficult to chew and resistant to pathogens, while the waxy cuticle on the surface of leaves deters insects and microbes. Some plants possess thorns, spines, and prickles to discourage predators. Plant cells can also produce antimicrobial toxins or release compounds to alert parasitic wasps to lay eggs in attacking insects.

See examples of hyperaccumulators, the plants that can harvest heavy metals

These ideal species for phytoremediation possess biochemistry that allows them to absorb and store these elements without being poisoned by their accumulation. Pycnandra acuminata, one such plant, has blue-green sap due to an abundance of nickel, which it captures from the nickel-rich soil in which it grows.

Coffee is made by brewing the seeds from the coffeea plant

The cherries from the coffeea plant are milled into coffee beans. After processing, the beans are dried and roasted.

How bitter taste receptors help guard against infection

Receptors for "bitter" tastes evolved to detect potentially harmful plant chemicals, such as nicotine. The receptors also trigger bacteria-fighting responses, including waving hairlike projections to bat away bacteria, ordering the release of bacteria-killing nitric oxide, and calling for antimicrobial protein reinforcements.

Beanless 'coffee' is an eco-friendly alternative

As we consider the role of agriculture in climate change, many people are seeking alternatives to the most resource-hungry crops—coffee included. Are new synthetic alternatives the answer? Startups are exploring beanless “coffee” made in a variety of ways.

Civet coffee is some of the most expensive (and bizarre) coffee in the world

Known colloquially as "cat poo coffee," the style is made from beans that have been consumed and then excreted by the Asian palm civet, a small mammal related to the mongoose. Coffee made from these beans is said to be smooth and complex, with notes of chocolate.

The three categories of photosynthesis, which each help plants survive in different environments

In the vast majority of plants, C3 photosynthesis produces three-carbon intermediate molecules in the Calvin cycle within the cells of leaves. Plants in hot, dry climates use C4 photosynthesis across two types of cells to produce four-carbon molecules before the Calvin cycle. Plants in drought conditions use CAM to store carbon dioxide as an acid at night, minimizing water loss.

As of 2025, scientists at B2 study the heat tolerance of cacao and coffee trees

The research at Biosphere 2 has led to the development of low-cost plant monitors, which can be provided to farmers worldwide to enable more precise monitoring of crops. Geodesic domes built within the ocean biome are used to investigate the best architectural structures for repopulating degraded reefs.

Plant hormones and growth regulators guide growth stages and responses in plants

Plants naturally produce hormones like auxin and gibberellins, while humans apply synthetic or extracted growth regulators to control plant development. These substances influence processes like flowering, root growth, dormancy, and ripening—even in very small doses.

How bedbugs have evolved immunity against pesticides

Bedbugs, once nearly eradicated in the United States due to the use of pesticides like DDT, have made a resurgence, with New York being declared the most bedbug-infested city. The primary reason for the return is the evolution of resistance in...

Cane toads are an example of an intentional species introduction turned invasive

In 1935, Australian scientists imported several hundred cane toads to hunt and eat beetles that were damaging sugar cane fields. However, the toads could not reach the bugs at the top of the plant or the grubs in the soil. Instead, they negatively affected native species populations as their numbers grew to over 2 billion.

CRISPR technology has improved crop resistance to pests and diseases

The gene editing tool is a modern version of the genetic modification that has been done on crops for centuries to create plants with preferred traits. Other applications of CRISPR include creating plants with higher yields and better resistance to climate challenges, as well as foods with improved shelf life and nutrition.

How flowering plants took over the world

Flowering plants are relatively young in the evolutionary scheme of things, only arriving after the dinosaurs had already been wiped out. Their evolution has long puzzled scientists, but recent research indicates their success is due to smaller,...

The ancient crops we've forgotten how to grow

Roughly half of all world calories today stem from maize, wheat, and rice. But for most of history, plants were domesticated in highly local places. This video dives into the scientists learning about crops no longer highly in use that once fueled entire civilizations in North America. Some forgotten crops include pitseed goosefoot, maygrass, and sumpweed.

Synthetic pheromones may protect coral reefs by attracting their predators

Researchers in Australia and Japan have developed these nontoxic chemicals to attract crown-of-thorns starfish, which consume corals that make up the Great Barrier Reef. As of 2026, synthetic pheromones have been shown to be effective in lab trials, and future field trials will attempt to lure starfish into areas for mass removal.

Watch Cordyceps, a parasitic fungus, turn an ant into a ‘zombie’

This National Geographic TV clip shows how a parasitic Cordyceps species—sometimes colloquially called the “zombie ant fungus”—controls an ant’s behavior and kills its host. The fungus can rapidly wipe out entire insect colonies.

Rome's herbal panacea may not be as extinct as we thought

Silphion: cure-all, aphrodisiac, birth control, tasty seasoning. Nero allegedly ate the last of this miracle plant. This article details how a researcher may have found more. Seven centuries after the yellow-flowered plant was first documented growing in what's now Libya, it vanished. Historians proposed that the loss of Silphion may have been the first recorded extinction of any species.

Cats have a mutation preventing them from tasting sugar

When certain tastes (sweet, umami, bitter) become irrelevant due to a species' diet or lifestyle, the genes for those tastes degrade. In felines, scientists believe a shift to a protein-heavy diet put evolutionary pressure on the genes responsible for tasting sweetness. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Scientists testing how climate change affects plants found, in a years-long simulation study, that poison ivy grew 70% faster with the resulting extra carbon dioxide.

What do psychedelic plants look like?

Far from the drippy aesthetic often associated with psychedelics, the plants powering naturally occurring psychoactive experiences may not stand out as anything special. This database offers a visual guide to psychoactive plants and fungi. Clicking on the title of a particular plant, such as yerba mate, will bring up a secondary screen with various hyperlinked images, such as the plant itself, related botanical drawings, and molecular structures.

A caffeine calculator

This simple calculator takes your preferred caffeinated drink and your body weight to determine how much is the right amount, and how much might kill you. In case you've ever had the morbid curiosity about just how much of that tea you'd have to drink to doze off forever. Find out your moderate and lethal doses here, as well as some extra info on caffeine consumption.

Stevia is a plant-derived sweetener but the plant isn't approved for eating

Steviol glycosides, the sweet-tasting stuff in the plant leaves, are purified and highly processed before they end up in the food or drinks sold in stores. The US Food and Drug Administration does not allow the use of stevia leaf or crude stevia extracts in food, and the agency also bars them from being imported into the US for use as sweeteners.

The mystery of the cucumber, from coiling tendrils to its bitter, mature fruit

Cucumus sativus was first cultivated 3,000 years ago in the Himalaya of India, appearing in ancient Sanskrit hymns in the Hindu tradition. They are typically harvested well before maturation, as their yellow, final fruit is bitter. Their coiling tendrils were so distinct they prompted famed naturalist Charles Darwin to publish one of his lesser-known works, "On the Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants." Its refreshing coolness inspired cucumber-derived body washes and sprays over millennia.

The pharmaceutical industry evolved, in part, from the discovery of synthetic dyes

In 1856, a chemist accidentally discovered mauveine, the world’s first synthetic dye, while trying to make quinine to treat malaria. The synthetic dyes that followed helped reveal germs under microscopes, paving the way for modern imaging techniques and breakthrough treatments, such as antibiotics.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

See these 16 pieces of art evoking phobias of snakes, flying, spiders, and more. 

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings are often assumed to be sexual, though the artist claimed she was simply interested in highlighting the beauty of flowers that most people neglect

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

US intelligence allegedly pursued more than 600 schemes to assassinate Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.