Alien Invasions, Plant Memories & Solar Storms

While plants don’t have a nervous system like animals, they can adapt and "remember" past stresses, helping them and future generations to survive challenging conditions. With climate change bringing more frequent and severe droughts and heatwaves, plants are evolving ways to respond effectively. They adapt by altering their physiology and passing advantages to their offspring. One key mechanism involves epigenetic changes—modifying how their DNA functions without changing its sequence. These changes help plants respond better to stress and can be passed down through seeds, strengthening future generations. This natural stress memory is critical for reforestation and new planting efforts. Choosing "mother trees" that have adapted to stress and sourcing seeds from regions where trees have built-in resilience can lead to forests that are better equipped to withstand the environmental challenges of the future.

Imagine being an insect tough enough to survive-and thrive-across some of the coldest, harshest corners of Antarctica. One tiny fly, now an invasive species, is transforming frozen soils, altering nutrient cycles, teaming up with microbes in unexpected ways-and even messing with greenhouse gases. My research explores this unique and fascinating story of how a small invader is making a big impact in one of the planet’s most fragile ecosystems.

What does biodiversity mean and how do we know it’s lost? Zooming in on the Hawaiian Islands, I will show how the communities of these islands have changed as some species went extinct and others got introduced. A change, not only in numbers, but in shape, size and function. Islands are full of weird and wonderful creatures; studying the characteristics of these animals gives us new perspectives on biodiversity, a glimpse of what an island might have looked like before humans, and why the loss in biodiversity can be referred to as a global crisis. 

Breaking News: A solar storm is on the horizon, threatening satellites, GPS, and power grids. But how do we predict these cosmic disruptions? Join us for a special report as we track the forces behind space weather, uncover its impacts on our technology, and explore how scientists are working to forecast these events before disaster strikes.