The terms senescence and programmed cell death (PCD) have led to some confusion. Senescence as visibly observed in, for example, leaf yellowing and petal wilting, has often been taken to be synonymous with the programmed death of the constituent cells. PCD also obviously refers to cells, which show a programme leading to their death. Some scientists noted that leaf yellowing, if it has not gone...

Recent reports suggest that expression of an activated c-Ha-ras oncogene is associated with cisplatin resistance in NIH-3T3 fibroblasts. To investigate the generality of these observations, cisplatin cytotoxicity was determined in a series of clonal Rat-1 fibroblast and rat ovarian surface epithelial (ROSE) cell lines carrying a zinc-inducible metallothionein-RAST24 fusion gene, MTRAST24. Cispl...

Rose (Rosa hybrida) flowers produce and emit a diverse array of volatiles, characteristic to their unique scent. One of the most prominent compounds in the floral volatiles of many rose varieties is the methoxylated phenolic derivative 3,5-dimethoxytoluene (orcinol dimethyl ether). Cell-free extracts derived from developing rose petals displayed O-methyltransferase (OMT) activities toward sever...

Nanostructured surface possessing ultrahigh adhesion like "gecko foot" or "rose petal" can offer more opportunities for bionic application. We grow flower-like few-layer graphene on silicon nanocone arrays to form graphene nanoclusters, showing robust adhesion. Their contact angle (CA) is 164° with a hysteresis CA of 155° and adhesive force for a 5 μL water droplet is about 254 μN that is far l...