HHMI Investigators Joanne Chory and Peter Walter are among five scientists honored for transformative advances toward understanding living systems and extending human life. International research team unveils new data describing the interaction between genetic and epigenetic variation in Arabidopsis thaliana. HHMI researchers have discovered a molecular mechanism that enables plants to detect when they are in the shade of other plants and adapt by speeding up their growth. A study that examined the activity of one plant species' 22,000 genes over a complete day and night cycle showed that midnight is a special time that plants can actually distinguish. HHMI researchers have found an enzyme involved in the production of the plant hormone auxin.