Celery Rose

After being picked, if given proper care, a rose might last about two weeks before wilting. Petal blight - the reason for wilting - is caused by invading fungal pathogens that produce a sugar alcohol called mannitol, which breaks down the flower's defense system. It turns out that the enzyme mannitol dehydrogenase, found abundantly in celery, improves the life of rose petals when the gene responsible for its production is spliced into the rose genome. North Carolina State's Dr. Dole and Dr. Williamson are leading the research aiming to create a hybrid rose that is more resistant to disease.

The roses won't smell or feel any different, the only thing that should change is their vase life. "This gene is naturally found in many plants, but it's uncertain whether the rose already has it," said Williamson. "If it does, it doesn't produce enough enzyme to help the plant fight against petal blight." The team is also studying the type of sugar-water mixture that would best suit the rose after being harvested.

Ultimately, they are hoping to double the survival time of your generic flower shop rose. This could have a huge impact on the flower industry, especially when you consider that 1.2 billion rose stems are sold within the USA annually.

Insects Trapped In Love

This love story between two invasive pests is set in the southern states, but most notably Texas. The cotton bollworm entered from Mexico around 1916 and within 20 years had spread to over 119 counties within Texas, infuriating farmers along the way. The adult is a small moth, but before reaching maturity it goes through three other stages of development: egg, larva, and pupa. The larvae have been described as being aggressive, occasionally carnivorous and are reported to even cannibalize each other. During the destructive larval stage it eats the maturing seeds within the cotton boll.

In the 1960s and 1970s chemical insecticides, including DDT, were used in an attempt to control their spread. The following decade ushered in a heightened interest in nonchemical pest control. After experimenting with hormone manipulation, the Texas Department of Agriculture came up with a romantic solution. Through the use of insect pheromones, researchers tricked male bollworms into mating with female budworms (another invasive pest). Since the different species had mismatched genitalia, upon mating the insects became locked together and died. Happy Valentine's Day!

Solazyme's Algae Fuel

The United States is on the hunt for a way to lower their dependency on foreign oil. Now they appear to be closer than ever by using genetically modified algae as a new source for domestically produced fuels. The company, Solazyme, has managed to condense the naturally occurring algae-to-oil process down to just three days. They place their bioengineered algae into massive tanks and feed them with sugar cane, switch grass, and other plants. The algae's energy is transformed into a versatile oil that can be refined and used as jet fuel, diesel, cooking oil, and more.

Just how much attention is Solazyme getting for this? Well in September the US Navy ordered more than 150,000 gallons of jet fuel for testing purposes. Furthermore, they received a $21.8 million grant from the US Department of Energy to build a new refinery. The US military hopes to run 50 percent of its fleet on a mixture of renewable fuels and nuclear power by 2020. The US Navy has already tested the fuel on part of its fleet and have released promising results. They plan to test their entire non-nuclear fleet by the end of 2012. Below you can view some of the companies recent news coverage on MSNBC:

How Do Ya Like Them Apples?

It might look like an ordinary apple from the outside, but it's far from it if you ask Swiss fruit grower Markus Kobert. The Redlove Apple is the product of 20 long years of cross-pollinating different apple varieties, including one that was pink fleshed and tasteless. The trees were grown in tunnels to avoid unwanted bee pollination. This natural breeding process involved no genetic modifications.

Needless to say, the cross-breeding experiment has already become quite a lucrative venture. Seed and sapling company Suttons purchased exclusive rights to sell the fruit trees in Britain, and saplings are being scattered all over European orchards to start mass production.

Tom Sharples, spokesman for Suttons, said 'This is the very first red-fleshed, fine-tasting apple in the world. It has a delicious sweet and tangy taste with a hint of berries to it if eaten raw and is also ideal for cooking.'

The apple of your eye doesn't just look pretty either; its antioxidant-rich flesh make it healthier to eat than the average apple. The trees, which let out a mesmerizing deep pink blossom in the spring, can be yours for £24.95 per sapling from Suttons.

Fruits From The Trunk

The Jabuticaba, otherwise known as the Brazilian Grape Tree, is a plant native to South America, including Paraguay, Argentina but mostly Brazil. The grape-like juicy fruit it bares can be plucked and eaten from the tree's trunk. It is often used as an ingredient in jellies or cold drinks. After three days off the tree the fruit begins fermenting, so it's also turned into wine or strong liquor.

The flowers appear twice every year and emerge directly from the trunk and branches. Instead of growing shoots these trees flower directly from the trunk. The fruit that is eventually produced is four to five centimeters in diameter and stores up to four seeds. There have been medical reports suggesting some potential benefits from the fruit. The skin can be dried out and used to treat asthma and diarrhea. It has also been show to alleviate inflammation from swelled regions. Furthermore some potent antioxidant anti-cancer compounds have been isolated from the fruit (PubMed).

The tree likely evolved to fruit from the trunk so that animals that could not climb very high could still reach the fruit, spread the seeds and propagate the species. This theory fits with the tree's name, which is derived from the Tupi word Jabuti (tortoise) and Caba (place), suggesting they were the place where you one could find tortoises feeding. (Images: Filipe Setlik)

Frozen Seeds

The Svalbard Islands, located 1000km north of mainland Norway, are home to the recently officially opened 'doomsday' seed vault, built 130m inside a mountain. This remote location was chosen due to its geological stability, making use of the surrounding permafrost as natural refrigeration to maintain optimal seed storing temperature.

The £5 million vault took 12 months to complete construction. The vault is designed to withstand all natural and human disaster. Eventually it will hold 4.5 million samples from more than 100 countries - an estimated total 2 billion seeds from around the world.

Many countries already have their own collections in national seed banks. If these seeds were lost, lets say due to an earthquake, they would essentially have a backup stash in Svalbard.

"With climate change and other forces threatening the diversity of life that sustains our planet, Norway is proud to be playing a central role in creating a facility capable of protecting what are not just seeds, but the fundamental building blocks of human civilization, " said Norwegian Prime Minister Jen Stoltenberg.