Over the past decade, significant advances have been made towards understanding the fate and impact of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in the environment, driven by concerns over their unique nanoscale properties and their increasing abundance in the market [1]. Synchrotron-based X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) has played a key role in these advances, giving insights to the chemical...
Metal homeostasis is essential to normal plant growth and development. The balance is potentially impacted during plant-pathogen interactions as the host and pathogen compete for the same nutrients. Our knowledge of outcome of the interaction in terms of metal homeostasis is still limited. Here, we visualise and analyse the fate of nutrients in wheat leaves infected with a devastating...
Mammal species vary in how much time and energy they invest in growth, reproduction and development throughout their lifetime, summarised collectively as their ‘life history’. Knowledge of such differences among species helps us understand how they trade off these factors of their life history, yet, due to variability between populations, the logistical challenge of multi-year observational...
Sphagnum is an important species of moss in peatland ecosystems and subsequently plays a vital role in carbon sequestration. Understanding its physiology is essential for predicting the possible impacts of a changing climate. In particular, the cell wall tissue of Sphagnum is composed of a high proportion of carboxylated polysaccharides, acting as ion exchangers, and is therefore sensitive...