WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A Purdue University team of scientists upended a long-held assumption about how plant volatile compounds, the chemicals that are responsible for scent, move to the outside of ...

When plants are in distress or being fed on by insects, they have been known to send out sensory volatile cues that alert organisms in the area — such as birds — that they are in need of help. While ...

The moon has both a South and North Pole, but just how cold are they? For context, Antarctica's coastal temperatures average around 14°F (-10°C), while the interior drops to -76°F (-60°C), making ...

Aphids are a major crop pest, but chemical pesticides lead to the emergence of resistant organisms, and biological control can be hampered by the natural dispersal of many aphid predators. When aphids ...

A study by Natalia Dudareva (clockwise from bottom), John Morgan, Rohit Jaini and Joshua Widhalm could overturn the textbook model for how scent-producing volatiles travel through plant cells to the ...

Volatile mystery The rocky planets Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. (Courtesy: NASA) Planetary scientists in France have reviewed and analysed recent research on the origins of “volatile” elements in ...

(This article forms a part of the Science for All newsletter that takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Subscribe now!) Volatiles are elements or compounds that change from solid or ...

Volatiles can also be used to make perfumes, food additives, preservatives, chemotherapeutics and anesthetics. Volatiles must cross various barriers, an aqueous cell wall and the waxy cuticle or "skin ...