The New York Botanical Garden is a museum of plants, an educational institution, and a scientific research organization. Founded in 1891 & now a National Historic Landmark, it is one of the greatest botanical gardens in the world. http://www.nybg.org/
This is awesome! I have always wondered whether woodpeckers get headaches or brain damage from all their insistent pecking. Turns out, they don’t, and it also turns out that some of my own half-baked reasoning (usually dreamed up while trying to get back to sleep after being awoken by one banging away on the bedroom’s external walls) including bone density and anatomical buttressing, are in fact true.
What does this have to do with the Garden? Well, we have a lot of woodpeckers, including a very rare Pilleated Woodpecker which was spotted recently in the Garden for the first time in 73 years. Want a chance to see him (or her?), come along for one of our free Saturday morning Bird Walks! Bring your binoculars! ~AR
Plant reproduction is fascinating. No, really! It is! In all of its forms, from beautiful flowers that become delicious fruits, to fungi that smell like roadkill, stationary plants have come up with a myriad of ways to ensure their genetic survival into the next generation. Now, a new study has found that this process isn’t just fascinating, it’s also precise and a ” model of logistical efficiency.” To think that some people find science boring? ~AR
At what point does the ethical gourmand’s conscience eschew even vegetables? The question of the “sentience” of plant matter has been tossed around for ages, most notably by 1979’s The Secret Life of Plants (and, to a lesser extent, Maynard James Keenan’s rock album rant concerning “the cries of the carrots”).
But as far off the sane path as the assertion seems, new research hints at a form of conscious life for plants—of stored memories and earnest communication. That’s the case, at least, for the simple pea. —MN
Dutch elm disease has been whittling North American elm populations down to nil for decades now; more than 95% of the population in the U.S. and Canada has disappeared. But there’s hope yet.
Scientists with Ontario’s University of Guelph may be able to revive the population. With disease-resistant clones, no less.
“This research has the potential to bring back the beloved American elm population to North America,” says plant scientist Praveen Saxena. “It may also serve as a model to help propagate and preserve thousands of other endangered plant species at risk of extinction across the globe.”
Majestic elms once again lining our boulevards? Yes, I think so. —MN
Why Thoreau? Many reasons. Thoreau’s “Walden,” had been for many an introduction to environmental movement, and a rallying cry for ecological protection. But another reason is that Thoreau was an early phenologist. Over the course of many years he recorded the earliest bloom times or migratory arrivals of over 300 species in a series of notebooks and charts. These notes now allow scientists like Richard B. Primack, a biology professor at Boston University, Abraham J. Miller-Rushing, of Acadia National Park, and the illustrator Becca Stadtlander to draw some slightly worrying conclusions in the New York Times.
What do you think? Do you think the environment has irrevocably changed? Do you think non-existent winters and hot, dry springs are the new normal? ~AR
Jeanne Baret (sometimes spelled Baré or Barret) (July 27, 1740 – August 5, 1807) was a member of Louis Antoine de Bougainville’s expedition on the ships La Boudeuse and Étoile in 1766–1769. Baret is recognized as the first woman to have completed a voyage of circumnavigation.
Jeanne Baret joined the expedition disguised as a man, calling herself Jean Baret. She enlisted as valet and assistant to the expedition’s naturalist, Philibert Commerçon (anglicized as Commerson), shortly before Bougainville’s ships sailed from France. According to Bougainville’s account, Baret was herself an expert botanist.
Excellent! And it sounds like she was involved in collecting the first samples of the genus of popular, colorful plants, Bougainvillea. We have many specimens of this which are currently in full “bloom” in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Why bloom in quotes? Because the colorful “petals” of the plant are actually bracts, specialized, colored leaves that look like flowers, but are not. The poinsettia is another popular plant with colored bracts. ~AR
Taylor Kubota of Science Online has a terrific Q&A with NYBG’s Dean and Vice President for Science, James S. Miller. He even divulges one of the coolest parts of being a botanist: You get to name plants after your family members!
With the warmth of spring comes new growth. It’s a basic concept. But how plants know to flower as soon as the seasons change hasn’t been as crystal clear until now.
U.K. researchers have come across a plant gene—designated PIF4—that actually activates or deactivates depending on the ambient temperature.
According to the scientists involved, this is just one of two possible ways a plant can determine when the time has come to give up winter dormancy: measuring day-length and measuring the temperature. And for the plants with an “active PIF4” pathway, success in the wild is proving easier to come by. For the other guys—those that rely solely on the length of the day—the game is getting away from them.
“In the past 100 years or so, many plants that have just used day-length have become locally extinct,” says Dr. Philip Wigge, co-author of the study. Meanwhile, the plants with internal thermometers are increasing their range. —MN
The hook-and-loop fastener was invented in 1941 by Swiss engineer, Georges de Mestral who lived in Commugny, Switzerland. The idea came to him one day after returning from a hunting trip with his dog in the Alps. He took a close look at the burrs (seeds) of burdock that kept sticking to his clothes and his dog’s fur. He examined them under a microscope, and noted their hundreds of “hooks” that caught on anything with a loop, such as clothing, animal fur, or hair. He saw the possibility of binding two materials reversibly in a simple fashion if he could figure out how to duplicate the hooks and loops.
Science—sort of! Some of the best things in modern convenience seem to take their design cues from nature. Evolution is good like that. —MN
As those who can ostensibly be called “seaside dwellers,” seeing swaths of New York coastline suddenly swaddled in what looks like heaps of melted circus peanut candy would probably send us running for the hills (not that any of us are swimming in the East River). Last year in Alaska, this became a reality.
The “orange goo” was a mystery—no one knew what it was, nor where it had come from. It didn’t test for any form of toxicity and fishermen weren’t mutating into humanoid cannibals overnight. So what, then, was the orange goo? Why was there so much of it?
An initial declaration of “crustacean eggs!” has since been overturned by the scientific community, who now blame a unique type of conifer forest fungi known as “rust.” Name it like you see it, I guess. Unfortunately, scientists aren’t sure why so much of it was washing up on Alaskan shores, or why it was floating around in the sea to begin with. But that’s still better news than finding out your community is being spored by oceanic pod people. —MN
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Edit: Seems the provenance of the “rust” is of a broader scope than at first thought. After being found growing on the playing fields of Le Roy, NY (and at the time unidentified), locals worried that this orange goo was the cause behind a recent outbreak of tics, twitches, and seizures among more than twelve high school-aged girls in the area.
Experts have since identified the fungus, labeling it harmless and a common growth on Kentucky bluegrass. For the time being, the diagnosis of the girls’ affliction now leans toward a “psychogenic illness,” or mass hysteria.
Passing through customs on your way to the very bottom of the world generally goes beyond the simple “anything to declare?” inquiry. There’s actually an international treaty that precludes you from bringing anything foreign to the continent, for fear of invasive colonization by bugs, plants, and other critters that shouldn’t be traipsing around down there.
But what about the things visitors don’t know they’re carrying?
With sub-arctic species beginning to intrude in Antarctica, scientists decided it was time to figure out just where these invaders were coming from. And it took a vacuum cleaner, nearly a thousand volunteers, and endless pairs of pants, backpacks, and shoes.
“Often [the volunteers] were amazed at what they had left in their pockets and had missed for some time.”
At the end of the day, over 2,800 individual plant seeds were found, averaging about 9.5 per tourist and far more for scientists among the group that “tested positive” for vegetative hitchhikers.
My advice is to bring a dust buster if you plan on hauling yourself to the southern pole. —MN
It seems not only the leafy things they love, but the botanists themselves are being threatened by today’s climate. Or at least its scientific climate.
The Natural Areas Association has come to the conclusion that the U.S. will lose more than half of its working botanical experts within the next ten years, leaving a dearth of specialists to look after our natural resources and environment on the whole.
The inimitable Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson answered a question recently on the plight of science as it’s progressing today. It seems apt right about now:
“All the adults are saying, ‘We need to improve science in the world. Let’s train the kids.’ I’ve never heard an adult say, ‘We need more science in the world. Train me.’”
Looking for a new career? I might suggest taking a few courses in botany. We certainly offer more than enough ways for you to start through our adult education programs. —MN
An experimental theater company in the U.K. is bringing the explorations of the Victorian seed hunters to life through video games and interactive performances at some of England’s most beautiful and historic formal gardens. Makes me want to book a ticket across the pond stat! ~AR
Seems scientists at the University of Cambridge have happened upon a novel idea that may just change the face of renewable energy. But it starts small.
Using what they call “biophotovoltaic” fuel cells, the scientists have put moss to work in devices that harvest the energy produced by photosynthesis. Though the device actually relies on the symbiotic bacteria in the soil of each futuristic pot to produce energy. As the moss engages in photosynthesis, some of the compounds it creates in the process are shed into the soil, feeding the bacteria. The bacteria then break down these compounds, releasing electrons in the process.
For the moment, the resulting energy is just enough to power a digital clock, but according to Carlos Peralta of the Cambridge Institute of Manufacturing, this is an exercise in potential:
“The moss table provides us with a vision of the future. It suggests a world in which self-sustaining organic-synthetic hybrid objects surround us, and supply us with our daily needs in a clean and environmentally friendly manner.”
The designers envision a future full of green devices collecting energy on building rooftops, and enormous, seaborne lily-pads gathering sunlight to power nearby communities. If it sounds like science fiction, click through to read more. Everyone loves sci-fi, right? —MN
Apparently I was not the only person inside the Garden who was as taken with the video of an LP player making music from a tree cookie. Mia D’Avanza, Reference Librarian/Exhibitions Coordinator for the LuEsther T. Mertz Library was curious enough to call in the scientific big guns, in this case, James P. Ascher, Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and “techy smartypants,” who provided the following explanation:
light sensor (Arduino or otherwise) + Max/MSP (or equivalent, Ld or cSound would work too) + the hardware setup you see + clever programming to translate the light and dark of the wood into interesting MIDI signals + a nice MIDI synthesizer to produce the piano sounds = what you see; that’s why it’s in the dark!
What does “Arduino + light sensor” mean? Mr. Ascher was kind enough to include this video clip with his answer.
Some days I love my job so much. Thank you Mia and James! ~ AR
![Little Green ‘Aliens’ Invading Antarctica
Passing through customs on your way to the very bottom of the world generally goes beyond the simple “anything to declare?” inquiry. There’s actually an international treaty that precludes you from bringing anything foreign to the continent, for fear of invasive colonization by bugs, plants, and other critters that shouldn’t be traipsing around down there.
But what about the things visitors don’t know they’re carrying?
With sub-arctic species beginning to intrude in Antarctica, scientists decided it was time to figure out just where these invaders were coming from. And it took a vacuum cleaner, nearly a thousand volunteers, and endless pairs of pants, backpacks, and shoes.
“Often [the volunteers] were amazed at what they had left in their pockets and had missed for some time.”
At the end of the day, over 2,800 individual plant seeds were found, averaging about 9.5 per tourist and far more for scientists among the group that “tested positive” for vegetative hitchhikers.
My advice is to bring a dust buster if you plan on hauling yourself to the southern pole. —MN](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0l30gBfCu1qe7zkco1_1280.jpg)
