Support this mission by becoming a sustaining member today. Get smart curated videos delivered to your inbox. Twitter Instagram. Primary Menu. Search for: Search. Exploding plants disperse their seeds with high pressure bursts. In both the toy and the seed pod, the cross-section first has to flatten before the tension is suddenly released by coiling. Unexpectedly, this mechanism relies on the geometry of asymmetric secondary cell wall thickenings in the seed pod.
These stiff cells' walls are shaped like hinges, which can open. This flattens the cross-section of the seed pod wall, causing sudden mechanical failure of the structure and explosive coiling. This study is an example of how HFSP funding of interdisciplinary, collaborative science can lead to a global understanding of the biological and physical mechanisms at play in a complex process.
To build up a comprehensive picture of explosive seed dispersal, this team related observations at the plant scale all the way down to the cellular and genetic scales, and systematically linked each scale. This approach was only made possible by combining state-of-the-art modelling techniques with biophysical measurements and biological experiments.
Morphomechanical innovation drives explosive seed dispersal. Open access article and video at ScienceDirect. Pubmed link. Cell Preview: Actuators Acting without Actin. Max Planck Society Research News. News from the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford. Click here to show mail address. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Youtube. Human Frontier Science Program. According to Hay, their most exciting discovery was the evolutionary novelty of this hinged cell wall.
After working out how the seed pods of popping cress exploded, the scientists realised that this mechanism had evolved via tweaking the shape of already-existing cellular components. This study is an example of the potential of interdisciplinary research. The scientists built up a comprehensive picture of explosive seed dispersal by relating observations at the plant scale all the way down to the cellular and genetic scales, and systematically linking each scale.
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If the case numbers are low, contact restrictions can be relaxed relatively quickly in the course of the vaccination campaign. Using COVID as an example, a machine learning method predicts patients' individual mortality risk. Homepage Newsroom Research News Exploding seed pods. Exploding seed pods A mathematical model explains how popping cress catapults its seeds into the air.
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