Junipers are prickly customers

Undoubtedly, hikers have encountered this low-growing shrub while touring rocky areas in the Land Between. This low evergreen shrub sports horizontal branches with sharp needles and often grows in dense mats, thereby creating almost impenetrable thickets.[...]

New tool for cleaning up soils and waterways: Prickly pear

A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist has discovered what may be an effective tool for cleaning up soils and waterways in parts of California's San Joaquin Valley: a drought-tolerant cactus.

City Room: Cute but Tough, With a Nose for the Food in Your Bags

Izzy, a four-legged inspector armed with a keen sense of smell, is trained to sniff out contraband food inside baggage at Kennedy International Airport.

Cute but Tough, With a Nose for the Food in Your Bags

Izzy, a four-legged inspector armed with a keen sense of smell, is trained to sniff out contraband food inside baggage at Kennedy International Airport.

Cactus may offer cure for poisoned Valley cropland

The prickly pear cactus may not sound like a trendy cash crop, but it could become a phenomenon among farmers on the arid west side of the San Joaquin Valley. The cactus can grow in the west-side's salty soils and live just fine in very dry times. But the real attraction: As it grows, the cactus slowly absorbs and cleans up a chemical villain in the soil -- selenium.