Nature & Environment

Plants capable of complex arithmetic

By T.K. Randall
June 23, 2013 ·  26 comments

Image Credit: sxc.hu The startling revelation relates to the way in which plants carry out calculations each night in order to ration their stores of starch until the Sun comes up. To do this, they divide the amount of starch by the number of hours left until the morning, thus allowing them to avoid starvation. The find is the first known example of such calculations being conducted in nature without the use of brain cells.

"The capacity to perform arithmetic calculation is vital for plant growth and productivity," said biologist Prof Alison Smith. "The calculations are precise so that plants prevent starvation but also make the most efficient use of their food. If the starch store is used too fast, plants will starve and stop growing during the night. If the store is used too slowly, some of it will be wasted."[!gad]The startling revelation relates to the way in which plants carry out calculations each night in order to ration their stores of starch until the Sun comes up. To do this, they divide the amount of starch by the number of hours left until the morning, thus allowing them to avoid starvation. The find is the first known example of such calculations being conducted in nature without the use of brain cells.

"The capacity to perform arithmetic calculation is vital for plant growth and productivity," said biologist Prof Alison Smith. "The calculations are precise so that plants prevent starvation but also make the most efficient use of their food. If the starch store is used too fast, plants will starve and stop growing during the night. If the store is used too slowly, some of it will be wasted."

Source: Telegraph | Comments (26)

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