Monday, December 28, 2015
That's where the streetlight is
This article pointed by RealClearScience caught my attention. It's a close look at the gene mechanisms that plants use when trying to seek maximum light. Plants can distinguish between permanent shade (from trees or buildings) versus a cloudy day. They don't bother to grow in new directions when the shade is temporary. This basic fact should lead to more exploration of intelligence and memory. Judging temporariness requires a considerable amount of pattern-recognition and sorting ability.
Unfortunately the study didn't go there, didn't seem to find anything new. Except at the end, where the researchers exhibited their own light-seeking behavior in a competitive environment.
This revelation could help researchers learn how to modify plant genes to optimize growth to, for example, coerce soy or tomato crops (which are notoriously fickle) grow more aggressively and give a greater yield even in a crowded, shady field. “Shade avoidance and the response of plants to increases in temperature look similar and in fact share many common molecular components. Therefore, studying shade avoidance will not only lead to increases in yield in shaded environments, but may explain how to increase yield in a warming climate.”Got GMO? Check. Got Global Warming? Check. That's where the streetlight is. ¶ 2:24 AM
