Lars Hedin News Today

A new set of equations captures the dynamical interplay of electrons and vibrations in crystals and forms a basis for computational studies.

Princeton ecologist and epidemiologist Bryan Grenfell has won the Kyoto Prize for Basic Sciences for "development of an innovative methodology for integrative analysis of pathogen evolution and epidemics." The prize brings with it 100 million Japanese yen, or about $735,000.

Irelan studied how a Hawaiian shrub allies itself with fungi in the soil to thrive in different environments and climates.  Dalehite studied how the Carolina wren's birdsong duet might strengthen pair bonds. 

Long, thin roots help this South African shrubland commandeer soil nutrients and keep the neighboring forest from encroaching on its territory.

<p>In South Africa's western cape, the shrubby Fynbos biome and the abutting Afrotemperate Forest biome share an underlying geology and are subject to the same climatic patterns, yet exist as alternative stable states. In a new study in <em>PNAS, </em>SFI Omidyar Fellow Mingzhen Lu and colleagues dive deep to understand the role of root systems in maintaining these two biomes. </p>

An international team of researchers led by Princetonians Lars Hedin and Mingzhen Lu discovered that the thinnest roots in the world, part of a South African shrubland, work below ground to create miserable conditions for would-be invasive species.