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PRIMARY Inside This Issue
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Fur-Folk in Fine Hands
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BLACK
50% BLACK
A Gum Glow-Up
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Paws Off the Pyro Hazards!
SECONDARY
Homemade Pup-kin Spice and Oat Sticks
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PMS292 Company Enlists Goats to Reduce Risk of Wildfires PMS5635 PMS1215
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The Surprising Ways Plants Support Each Other
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HOW PLANTS TALK TO EACH OTHER UNDERGROUND Nature’s Hidden Network
You probably don’t think of plants as chatty, but they have a lot going on underground. Scientists have discovered that thin fungus threads in the soil connect many plants — nature’s version of the internet. These threads help plants share nutrients and even send messages to one another. The fungi grow around and between plant roots, building a bridge from one plant to the next. If one plant gets sick or bug-bitten, it can send a warning. Neighboring plants “hear” that signal and might boost their defenses. It’s somewhat like a heads-up before a storm. It’s not just gossip, either. These fungal helpers also help shuffle nutrients around, especially from bigger, well-fed plants to smaller, struggling ones. In return, the fungi get sugars and energy from the plants. It’s a win-win.
This hidden teamwork has real-world effects. Farmers and gardeners who know about these underground networks can change how they treat their soil. If the fungi are wiped out — say, by chemicals or heavy digging — plants lose their lifeline. But if the networks stay intact, crops tend to grow better and fight off threats more easily. This is still a growing field of research, but it’s changing how we see plant life. If you want to dig a little deeper, check out a recent book, “The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth” by Zoë Schlanger. What looks like a quiet patch of greenery might be a neighborhood full of chatter. You just have to know where to look.
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