school energy&environment
Plants
Botanists, who are scientists who study plants, have identified and described over 3,500 types of plants, but there are many more! Plants have different shapes and sizes, some are so small they can only be seen with a microscope, while others are so tall that it is hardly possible to identify their foliage; many have very colourful flowers others do not have any.
There is such a large variety of plants because they live in different environments of the Earth: in the water, in thick forests or wide plains, in cold climates or blazing deserts. Since millions of years they have had to and have known how to adapt to their environment. Plants provide much of the oxygen that animals and humans breathe, and a large part of the food they eat.
subjects dealt with in Plants
Plants knowledge
Algae are plant organisms that carry out photosynthesis but which, unlike plants, have a poorly differentiated body, or thallus, and…
Man and Plants
Plants are essential food for all living organisms, including man, to survive. In the Ecosystems section, we saw they are…
Impacts on ecosystems
Farming also means exploitation of forests. There are many reasons for deforestation: timber trade, exploitation of ore deposits, urbanisation and…
GMOs
In the light of the current food crisis, to increase agricultural productivity on a global scale, it’s possible to expand…
Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture was established in response to environmental problems caused by the “green revolution” and other production methods having high…
special reports
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23 July 2018 / Life
Animal architecture, both elegance and precision
Homes, dams, artistic installations. We are often inclined to believe that humans are the only animals able to erect buildings…
22 June 2018 / Life
Who is behind that flower?
From ancient Greek, μιμέομαι meaning “to imitate”, mimicry is a phenomenon whereby some species take on the appearance of another…
18 June 2018 / Life
A turtle's life
Sea turtles are the oldest living reptiles today. They have been inhabiting the oceans for over 150 million years without…
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17 May 2018 / Life
It takes two to tango: dance and love in the animal kingdom
From tango to belly dancing, flamenco to tarantella, from ancient Oriental palaces to discotheques, dance is not only an authentic…
25 April 2018 / Life
Free divers in evening suits
They waddle along in an ungainly and comic way, sliding at speed with their bellies on the ice and swimming…
18 December 2017 / Life
The Christmas Star Tradition
A plant that symbolises the Christmas season, decorating homes and shops and featured prominently by the florists and garden centres…
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30 November 2017 / Life
Superfood: the medicine of the future?
Hippocrates said: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Extraordinary elements that grow naturally are able provide…
7 November 2017 / Life
Beyond speech: the language of animals
Telegraph, telephones, radio, television, cell phones, internet… Communications have played a leading role in the last century and continue to…
17 July 2017 / Life
3D Printing: what can be done with additive manufacturing
If when you hear the word printer you imagine a box that spits out two dimensional sheets of papers, you…
-
23 July 2018 / Life
Animal architecture, both elegance and precision
Homes, dams, artistic installations. We are often inclined to believe that humans are the only animals able to erect buildings…
22 June 2018 / Life
Who is behind that flower?
From ancient Greek, μιμέομαι meaning “to imitate”, mimicry is a phenomenon whereby some species take on the appearance of another…
-
18 June 2018 / Life
A turtle's life
Sea turtles are the oldest living reptiles today. They have been inhabiting the oceans for over 150 million years without…
17 May 2018 / Life
It takes two to tango: dance and love in the animal kingdom
From tango to belly dancing, flamenco to tarantella, from ancient Oriental palaces to discotheques, dance is not only an authentic…
-
25 April 2018 / Life
Free divers in evening suits
They waddle along in an ungainly and comic way, sliding at speed with their bellies on the ice and swimming…
18 December 2017 / Life
The Christmas Star Tradition
A plant that symbolises the Christmas season, decorating homes and shops and featured prominently by the florists and garden centres…
-
30 November 2017 / Life
Superfood: the medicine of the future?
Hippocrates said: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Extraordinary elements that grow naturally are able provide…
7 November 2017 / Life
Beyond speech: the language of animals
Telegraph, telephones, radio, television, cell phones, internet… Communications have played a leading role in the last century and continue to…
-
17 July 2017 / Life
3D Printing: what can be done with additive manufacturing
If when you hear the word printer you imagine a box that spits out two dimensional sheets of papers, you…
-
23 July 2018 / Life
Animal architecture, both elegance and precision
Homes, dams, artistic installations. We are often inclined to believe that humans are the only animals able to erect buildings…
-
22 June 2018 / Life
Who is behind that flower?
From ancient Greek, μιμέομαι meaning “to imitate”, mimicry is a phenomenon whereby some species take on the appearance of another…
-
18 June 2018 / Life
A turtle's life
Sea turtles are the oldest living reptiles today. They have been inhabiting the oceans for over 150 million years without…
-
17 May 2018 / Life
It takes two to tango: dance and love in the animal kingdom
From tango to belly dancing, flamenco to tarantella, from ancient Oriental palaces to discotheques, dance is not only an authentic…
-
25 April 2018 / Life
Free divers in evening suits
They waddle along in an ungainly and comic way, sliding at speed with their bellies on the ice and swimming…
-
18 December 2017 / Life
The Christmas Star Tradition
A plant that symbolises the Christmas season, decorating homes and shops and featured prominently by the florists and garden centres…
-
30 November 2017 / Life
Superfood: the medicine of the future?
Hippocrates said: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Extraordinary elements that grow naturally are able provide…
-
7 November 2017 / Life
Beyond speech: the language of animals
Telegraph, telephones, radio, television, cell phones, internet… Communications have played a leading role in the last century and continue to…
-
17 July 2017 / Life
3D Printing: what can be done with additive manufacturing
If when you hear the word printer you imagine a box that spits out two dimensional sheets of papers, you…
from the Multimedia section
curiosities
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Watch out for aliens!
Italy has some new inhabitants, but that is no cause for celebration: the list of alien species is long. Two…
Plants and bacteria giving new "light" to off grid communities
"Planta lampara", a lamp powered by the energy produced thanks to the combination of plants and bacteria...
-
CO2 “eating” trees
If a tree “eats” CO2 and produces oxygen it is easy to understand the importance it has in reducing the…
-
Watch out for aliens!
Italy has some new inhabitants, but that is no cause for celebration: the list of alien species is long. Two…
Plants and bacteria giving new "light" to off grid communities
"Planta lampara", a lamp powered by the energy produced thanks to the combination of plants and bacteria...
-
CO2 “eating” trees
If a tree “eats” CO2 and produces oxygen it is easy to understand the importance it has in reducing the…
-
Watch out for aliens!
Italy has some new inhabitants, but that is no cause for celebration: the list of alien species is long. Two…
-
Plants and bacteria giving new "light" to off grid communities
"Planta lampara", a lamp powered by the energy produced thanks to the combination of plants and bacteria...
-
CO2 “eating” trees
If a tree “eats” CO2 and produces oxygen it is easy to understand the importance it has in reducing the…