The biggest and heaviest seed in the world is that of the Seychelles coconut. It can weigh as much as 30 kilograms (66 pounds).
Greening the desert
Greening the desert Researchers in Japan have long been working on a
way of helping plants to better survive in desert climates. They
have now developed a technique which neutralises the active oxygen
species that kills plant cells, and hope that this discovery will
make it easier to grow food and fruit in desert areas. The
scientists use an enzyme-producing gene from bacteria which lives
in the human colon. This enzyme is injected into a plant where it
turns the active oxygen into water. This technique has so far been
used only on tobacco plants in the lab and the scientists are now
considering which type of plant would be best for experimentation
in the field. 18 JULY 1998, P. 21
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