Reuters: Science News: Square roots? Scientists say plants are good at math

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Square roots? Scientists say plants are good at math Jun 23rd 2013, 04:09 Tweet Share this Email Print Related Topics Science » Oddly Enough » Lifestyle » Spring buds are silhouetted against the rising full moon in Washington, March 19, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Hyungwon Kang LONDON | Sun Jun 23, 2013 12:09am EDT LONDON (Reuters) - Plants do complex arithmetic calculations to make sure they have enough food to get them through the night, new research published in journal eLife shows. Scientists at Britain's John Innes Centre said plants adjust their rate of starch consumption to prevent starvation during the night when they are unable to feed themselves with energy from the sun. They can even compensate for an unexpected early night. "This is the first concrete example in a fundamental biological process of such a sophisticated arithmetic calculation," mathematical modeler Martin Howard of John Innes Centre (JIC) said. During the night, mechanisms inside the leaf measure the size of the starch store and estimate the length of time until dawn. Information about time comes from an internal clock, similar to the human body clock. "The capacity to perform arithmetic calculation is vital for plant growth and productivity," JIC metabolic biologist Alison Smith said. "Understanding how plants continue to grow in the dark could help unlock new ways to boost crop yield." (Reporting by Nigel Hunt; editing by Keiron Henderson) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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