Biodiversity Blog

Monday, 06 November 2023

Meet Stengl-Wyer Fellow: Xinyi Yan

Tell us where you came from before UT, and what you studied then? I was born and raised in the Yangtze Delta region in China, where the lush nature started my interests in botany. In my undergrad, I studied Biology and Applied Math at UCLA, and did research with Gaurav Kandlikar in Nathan Kraft’s lab group. I integrated my training in math and ecol...

Friday, 28 October 2022

The Power of the Unseen Majority – How Soil Microbes Shape the Nature We See

 Indeterminate nodules growing on the roots of Medicago italica (Photo: Ningatacoshell) Do you like mushrooms or beans? Have you heard of companion planting or intercropping? The common theme uniting these two seemingly unrelated questions is soil microbes. You have (likely) not seen them, but they are everywhere and play a crucial role in ...