Sowing Seeds in a Magnetic Field
Scientists hope that an unusual experiment slated for launch on the space shuttle this summer will reveal how plants know up from down. When gardeners poke a seed into the ground, they never worry in which direction it lays. Give it enough water and food and care, and sure enough, its root will grow downward and its stem will sprout upward -- every time! Lay the seed upside-down, and the root and stem would still find their proper positions. |
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Top right: The seeds of flax plants will be sprouted in orbit to help figure out how plants sense gravity. Image courtesy Flax Council of Canada.
How do plants do it? We humans know up from down (even with our eyes closed) because we have a complex organ in our inner ear that senses gravity's pull and signals the brain. But plants have no such organ. It's a puzzle............READ ON....http://weboflife.ksc.nasa.gov/currentResearch/currentResearchFlight/sowingSeeds.htm
Posted by Jay Roberts at 05:05 AM | Permalink
