University of Illinois animal biology professor and department head Ken Paige (right) and doctoral student Daniel Scholes discovered that some plants multiply their chromosomes without undergoing cell division Whatever does not kill a plant may actually make it stronger. After being partially eaten by grazing animals, for example, some plants grow bigger and faster and reproduce more successfully than they otherwise would. In a new study, researchers report that one secret to these plants' post-traumatic triumph lies in their ability to duplicate their chromosomes – again and again – without undergoing cell division.

Proteins are essential components of Arabidopsis parts, such as petals, stalks and flowers. The genetics of these essential proteins were previously identified through studies involving genome sequencing. An international consortium of scientists has produced the first systematic network map of interactions that occur between proteins in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. (Arabidopsis is a mustard plant that has 27,000 proteins and serves as a popular model organism for biological studies of plants, analogous to lab rats that serve as popular model organisms for biological studies of animals.)