How Do Roots Grow in Space

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Space Station Live: How Do Roots Grow in Space

Space Station Live commentator Amiko Kauderer interviews the principal investigator of the CARA experiment, Dr. Anna-Lisa Paul, from the University of Florida. The CARA (Characterizing Arabidopsis Root Attractions) Experiment focuses on the growth and development of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings in the space flight environment, with a specific focus on how a root knows which direction to grow in when gravity is absent.

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia

[Leonardo]

Roots grow in whatever direction the nutrient medium is relative to the plant. It just so happens that, on Earth, that is mainly 'down'.

I would have thought the answer to this quite obvious...

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Roots grow in whatever direction the nutrient medium is relative to the plant. It just so happens that, on Earth, that is mainly 'down'.

I would have thought the answer to this quite obvious...

And you can prove that how?

I could just as easily say that plants detect gravity and so the roots grow down, it just so happens that's where the nutrients are. I could claim that THIS is obvious. It isn't and neither is your assumption.

Science isn't about saying that something is obvious, it needs evidence. For example your assumption assumes that plants have no sense of gravity, something known as geotropism.

If plants are sensing the force of gravity and NOT nutrients (or even a combination of the two) then what happens when you remove the gravity? These experiments will discover the answer.

Or we could just do it your way, make huge assumptions, claim they are obvious and learn nothing at all. I'm going to side with experimental proof myself.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Waspie_Dwarf

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Space Station Study Seeks How Plants Sense 'Up' and 'Down'

On Earth, we take for granted that a plant grows up and its roots grow down. In space, however, this seemingly predictable formula is upended. How do plants sense "up" and "down" where those relative positions don't exist?

The Biotube-MICRO investigation that recently arrived to the International Space Station aims to investigate, and what it finds could have big implications for long-duration human spaceflight.

Read more...