Dr. Melanie Body and Dr. Patrick Edger‘s Discretionary Funding Initiative (DFI) application was selected for funding in the amount of $50,000. Through the generosity of the Michigan State University Foundation, the Office of Research & Innovation supports faculty research efforts by providing bridge funds for additional studies needed for resubmission of an unsuccessful, but nearly … More DFI Award Recipient
Dr. Melanie Body accepted a new position as researcher with Dr. Patrick Edger at Michigan State University, (East Lansing, Michigan, USA). Her project is titled “Deciphering the underlying mechanism of insect-induced gall formation”. Starting date: August 30, 2021.
March 31, 2020 March 31, 2020 Dr. Heidi Appel was interviewed by Brains On about our research on plant perception of insect feeding vibrations. The podcast “Do plants have feelings?” is available here. “There’s more to plants than meets the eye. They detect sounds, they defend themselves against insect attacks and they can even send … More Our research in the News! “Do plants have feelings?”
March 2, 2020 Dr. Melanie Body was invited by Dr. Chloé Lahondère to give an invited talk about “Endophytophagous insects: Plant master manipulators” at the Department of Biochemistry, in the Fralin Life Science Institute of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg, Virginia), at 4:00pm.
January 30, 2020 All galls were harvested by Dr. Melanie Body, except for the blueberry galls and wasps that were harvested by Dr. Patrick Edger, and the first Phylloxera galls that were harvested by Dr. Dan Chitwood. Galls were scanned by Dr. Michelle Quigley and Dr. Dan Chitwood. Phylloxera galls on the imaged leaf. Vitis … More Amazing X-Ray CT images of galls
December 21, 2019 Our research on plant perception of insect feeding vibrations was featured in SFR (Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen — Swiss radio and television) Smart green stuff. Read the article “Plants recognize caterpillars by their chewing noises” here. The original article in Frontiers in Plant Science: here.
December 5, 2019 Dr. Heidi Appel was interviewed by Deutschlandfunk Kultur (German radio) about our research on plant perception of insect feeding vibrations. The article “Pflanzen reagieren auf Knabbergeräusche” and podcast are available here. The original article in Frontiers in Plant Science: here.
September 12, 2019 Our new research about phylloxera galls on grape was featured in Plants and Pipettes: “A house that plants built“. Read the article here.
August 6, 2019 Dr. Jack Schultz, Dr. Heidi Appel and Dr. Melanie Body studied resistance of poplar trees to galling insects. Here is the press release on APS and EurekAlert and press coverage: Science Daily, Science X Network, and Itzagoal365.
August 5, 2019 Our new research about plant perception of insect feeding vibrations was featured in Plants and Pipettes: “One hungry caterpillar, and the communication of vibrations“. Read the article here. The original article in Frontiers in Plant Science: here.
Melanie Body, Ph.D. 
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