NASA plans to start a garden on the Moon next year!

It's a great time to be alive when all of the cliches seen in sci-fi movies time and time again are starting to become a reality.

Men landing on the moon, versatile rovers roam Mars and now we're just a couple years away from starting plant life on our neighboring celestial bodies.

Arabidopsis is a small flowering plant that is closely related to mustard or cabbage, both useful when trying to colonize another planet ecologically. More importantly, it contains one of the model organism that is key for studying plant biology, especially since it's the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced.

NASA, the American space agency, set its sights on Arabidopsis to be part of the first garden on the Moon and Mars. Ambitiously, NASA plans to have it planted on the Moon by 2015, as in next year. Mars isn't that far behind with a target date of 2021.

This very well could be the first step of plans to one day send men and women to live on distant worlds, hopefully with food and water already set up for them.

Discovered underwater forests 50,000 years old

Group of divers found in the Gulf of Mexico unspoiled, old underwater forest more than 50,000 years.

According to the newspaper "The Huffington Post" forest covers about 0.8 square kilometers and is 16 kilometers from the coast states, Alaska, at a depth of 18 meters.

Ancient forest are remarkably preserved cypress swamp, now the habitat of various species of fish, crabs, sea sasa and other marine animals - an underwater paradise.

The leader of the divers Ben Raines was involved in the discovery and other professionals like Grant Hurley, experts for the analysis of tree rings from the University of Southern Mississippi, which is using the carbon isotope found a 52,000 year old forest.

Scientists from Alabama authorities requested permission to conduct more analysis to find out how the forest is managed to survive such a long period.

It is known that wetlands CEPRES can live more than 1,300 years.

Growing Plants On Mars

Real plans to get a one-way solution to Mars are forged. Food will have to be grown with location. Is this a new distant future scenario? Certainly not for Wieger Wamelink, ecologist on Alterra Wageningen THIRD, for whom the longer term will start off on 2 April. He are going to be researching whether you are able to grow plants on the moon.

We've been to your moon more than once. Next period, we may return back for a big period. And concrete plans for the one-way priced to Mars have been forged. Food must be grown on location. Can be this any distant long term scenario? Certainly not for Wieger Wamelink, ecologist in Alterra Wageningen R, for whom the near future will commence on 2 April. He is going to be researching if you are able to grow plants within the moon.

Will probably plants endure in Martian dirt or celestial satellite dust? This question was initially prompted simply by Dutch plans to establish a nest on Mars. Since the plan will not include any return trip, the simple necessities might need to be fulfilled on spot. "Mars continues to be further off, inch says Wieger Wamelink, telling you his options. "But your moon will be closer, so it would be more realistic to establish a nest there. What's more, we have found that the vitamin composition in the soil within the moon, along with of celestial satellite dust. So exactly what I'm aiming to find out now will be whether facilities will develop in celestial satellite substrate, or whether certain vital elements miss. This has never been carried out before. Were gradually discovering more about Mars, which is why the planet have been particularly research. inch

Wamelink's analysis will compare the prerequisites of selected species connected with plants with all the mineral composition in the soil within the moon along with Mars. Alterra features a database which could analyse twenty-five abiotic preconditions for each species along with calculate whether a grow species can survive or perhaps not. The databases also stores information about heavy mining harvests and mineral deposits, although established, there are no preset preconditions regarding these elements. Using that data, he are able to determine which in turn plant types would theoretically allow you to growing inside moon airborne dirt and dust or Martian dirt.

Wieger Wamelink: "We will allow selected species connected with wild facilities and gardening crops to help germinate inside pots connected with artificial celestial satellite and Martian soil furnished by NASA. The growth these plants is going to be compared with that of exactly the same species inside ordinary soil from the Earth. Preconditions relating to heavy mining harvests and minerals is going to be derived from our findings. Our research will depend on the premise that an atmosphere is going to be available towards the colony, most likely in domes or perhaps buildings. Were also supposing the profile of normal water, either from the moon or perhaps Mars or perhaps transported from Earth. The facilities would make oxygen along with recycle co2, ultimately creating a form of ecosystem. inch

At any later phase, Wamelink also desires to research the food security of gardening crops produced in human-made conditions within the moon inside moon dirt. The initial trial crops is going to be planted inside greenhouses on 2 The spring.

Israeli growers perform a new type of fruit

Scientists are already twenty years of struggling with the task to create such a variety of food, which would be not only beautiful but also delicious. Tropitaja, name discovery Mizrahija Professor Yossi Ben-Gurion University of Agriculture and Josi Cafrira from the settlement Bill, I exceeded all expectations.

She has a wonderful sweet-sour taste of tropical, violet-purple and fleshy mass, similar to the kiwi.

Tropitaja is now considered one of the most useful products that can be found in nature.

The planet is rapidly deprived of flora and fauna

More animals into the category of endangered species. List of endangered plants and animals are joined by another 400 new species. The Red List now contains 20,212 species, of which a quarter of mammals, 13% birds, 41% of amphibians and 33% of coral. In the next 50 years will be gone about a third of all species of animals and plants. In an attempt to compensate for the damage caused to nature by 2020. The international community will, according to experts, to spend about 440 billion dollars.

Discovered a plant that buries its own seed

In the Atlantic rain forest in the Brazilian state of Bahia, in northeast of the country, found a new plant-specific in that it "bends" to bury their seeds.

As reported by the BBC, this new species, named spigelia genuflexa, after the formation of the fruit tends toward the ground, laying the seeds with the shells on the ground, sometimes burying them in a soft blanket of moss.

Spiegel, in which he first pointed his friend described Alex Popovkin, an amateur botanist who cataloger and photographed more than 800 species that grow on his property in Bahia.

Lena Struve botanist with Rutgers University in New Jersey says the plant has developed his unusual abilities for a number of reasons.

"Since the short-lived and that he is able only to a limited area, the plant survives only if it passes close to the seed itself. Since the case of a seasonal plant, a young man does not pose a threat since it will not have to compete for space with them," explained she said.