CITY PLAN COMMISSION

Mar 27 2026CRIME

Jersey City Takes Action Against Unlicensed Smoke Shops

City officials in Jersey City have taken decisive steps to curb unlicensed smoke shops that are operating without proper permits. Five businesses were shut down after a coordinated effort by the local police and federal partners, which also led to several arrests. The crackdown followed complaints f

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Mar 18 2026ENVIRONMENT

Emergency Ready: How to Pack Your Go‑Bag for a Hot, Stormy World

Planning ahead for extreme weather isn’t just smart—it can save lives. Recent climate research shows that the chance of hitting a disaster has doubled since 1960, and U. S. disasters already cost more than \$100 billion in the first half of 2025. As heat waves, floods and wildfires grow more common,

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Feb 18 2026EDUCATION

Young Inventors Take Flight at Plano Library

Plano Library is set to host an interactive STEM workshop, brought to you by Aurora’s SciTech Museum. This event is all about exploring the science behind flight. Kids will get to design and test their own paper helicopters in a wind tunnel. It's a fun way to see how things fly and how they can be i

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Feb 17 2026CRIME

New Chicago Dungeon Under Scrutiny

City Hall has moved to pause a business that operates as a “sex dungeon” while officials decide how it fits into the city’s rules. The shutdown comes after a past case involving a woman who ran a high‑end brothel that attracted thousands of clients and earned over a million dollars. That woman, know

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Feb 15 2026SCIENCE

The Secret Language of Plant Immunity

Plants have a clever chemical called salicylic acid that acts like an alarm system when attackers arrive. In the common lab plant Arabidopsis, scientists first mapped out how this alarm works: a special route called the isochorismate pathway makes salicylic acid, proteins named NPR bind to it, an

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Feb 15 2026SCIENCE

Plant Stress Defense: How Tiny Proteins Turn Off Key Enzymes

Plants use a tagging system called ubiquitination to control the life span of many proteins. In the case of phenylpropanoid production, which supplies important compounds like lignin and flavonoids, several enzymes are marked for destruction by this system. F‑box proteins act as the taggers. They

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Feb 15 2026SCIENCE

Plants Remember Stress: Why Climate Models Miss the Mark

Plants do not instantly snap back to their normal state after a tough season. They keep biochemical signs of past hardships that change how they act when new challenges appear. This lasting imprint is called biochemical memory. It shows up as shifts in protective molecules, balance of oxidants and a

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Feb 06 2026SCIENCE

Boosting Plant Toughness with a Tiny Molecule

Plants and the microbes that help them survive harsh weather can be made stronger by boosting a natural compound called glycine betaine. This molecule helps cells keep the right balance of water and protects them from heat, salt or drought. Traditionally, betaine comes from plants grown in specific

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Jan 24 2026SCIENCE

Plants' Secret Weapon Against Disease: Gene Fusion

Plants have a clever way to fight off diseases. They can mix and match genes to create new, powerful defenses. This process is called gene fusion. It happens when two separate genes join together to form a new one. Scientists have been studying this in plants, but they're still figuring out how it

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Jan 23 2026SCIENCE

Plants Fight Back: How Arabidopsis Uses Special Chemicals to Stop Bacteria

Plants have clever ways to protect themselves. When bacteria attack, they make special chemicals called hydroxycinnamoyl tyramine conjugates. These chemicals can hurt the bacteria, strengthen the plant's walls, and send signals to prepare for more stress. Scientists wanted to understand how these c

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