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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18 December 2021 / 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…
15 September 2021 / Life
Can you be intelligent without a brain?
Can you be intelligent without a brain? The answer is "in a certain sense, yes" and this is demonstrated by…
26 July 2021 / Life
Japanese beetles and other alien species
There is a beetle that has been invading the Italian countryside and cities for some time now, a small insect…
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16 June 2021 / Life
A turtle's life
World Sea Turtle Day is held on 16 June. First established in 2008, the day is now supported by Sea…
10 June 2021 / Life
The world below
Journey to the Centre of the Earth is a famous science fiction novel written by the great Jules Verne in…
29 April 2021 / Life
Etruscan shrews, ferocity in miniature
Which is the tiniest micromammal, i.e. the smallest mammal on the planet? Up until almost half a century ago, it…
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10 March 2021 / Life
International Year of Fruits and Vegetables 2021
This year has been designated by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) as the International Year of…
8 March 2021 / Life
8 March. We remember Rosalind Franklin, the great female DNA scientist.
DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist in 1869. It was a brilliant, but not complicated operation:…
27 February 2021 / Life
In search of the riders of icebergs
International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…
-
18 December 2021 / 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…
15 September 2021 / Life
Can you be intelligent without a brain?
Can you be intelligent without a brain? The answer is "in a certain sense, yes" and this is demonstrated by…
-
26 July 2021 / Life
Japanese beetles and other alien species
There is a beetle that has been invading the Italian countryside and cities for some time now, a small insect…
16 June 2021 / Life
A turtle's life
World Sea Turtle Day is held on 16 June. First established in 2008, the day is now supported by Sea…
-
10 June 2021 / Life
The world below
Journey to the Centre of the Earth is a famous science fiction novel written by the great Jules Verne in…
29 April 2021 / Life
Etruscan shrews, ferocity in miniature
Which is the tiniest micromammal, i.e. the smallest mammal on the planet? Up until almost half a century ago, it…
-
10 March 2021 / Life
International Year of Fruits and Vegetables 2021
This year has been designated by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) as the International Year of…
8 March 2021 / Life
8 March. We remember Rosalind Franklin, the great female DNA scientist.
DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist in 1869. It was a brilliant, but not complicated operation:…
-
27 February 2021 / Life
In search of the riders of icebergs
International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…
-
18 December 2021 / 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…
-
15 September 2021 / Life
Can you be intelligent without a brain?
Can you be intelligent without a brain? The answer is "in a certain sense, yes" and this is demonstrated by…
-
26 July 2021 / Life
Japanese beetles and other alien species
There is a beetle that has been invading the Italian countryside and cities for some time now, a small insect…
-
16 June 2021 / Life
A turtle's life
World Sea Turtle Day is held on 16 June. First established in 2008, the day is now supported by Sea…
-
10 June 2021 / Life
The world below
Journey to the Centre of the Earth is a famous science fiction novel written by the great Jules Verne in…
-
29 April 2021 / Life
Etruscan shrews, ferocity in miniature
Which is the tiniest micromammal, i.e. the smallest mammal on the planet? Up until almost half a century ago, it…
-
10 March 2021 / Life
International Year of Fruits and Vegetables 2021
This year has been designated by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) as the International Year of…
-
8 March 2021 / Life
8 March. We remember Rosalind Franklin, the great female DNA scientist.
DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist in 1869. It was a brilliant, but not complicated operation:…
-
27 February 2021 / Life
In search of the riders of icebergs
International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…
from the Multimedia section
curiosities
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The thousand uses of lichens
Throughout history, humans have used lichens for a variety of purposes. The oldest evidence of lichen use dates back to…
Unusual vegetables
Distributed at all latitudes, lichens are able to conquer extreme biotopes, adapting to living in places where plants would find…
Watch out for aliens!
Italy has some new inhabitants, but that is no cause for celebration: the list of alien species is long. Two…
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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...
-
The thousand uses of lichens
Throughout history, humans have used lichens for a variety of purposes. The oldest evidence of lichen use dates back to…
Unusual vegetables
Distributed at all latitudes, lichens are able to conquer extreme biotopes, adapting to living in places where plants would find…
-
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...
-
The thousand uses of lichens
Throughout history, humans have used lichens for a variety of purposes. The oldest evidence of lichen use dates back to…
-
Unusual vegetables
Distributed at all latitudes, lichens are able to conquer extreme biotopes, adapting to living in places where plants would find…
-
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...