http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/mimssbits/27638/
Showing posts with label Video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Video. Show all posts
Monday, 12 March 2012
Monday, 5 March 2012
Links on Bio-Architecture
(ENG) Bio-Architecture Lab
(ITA) Architettura, ritorno al futuro Il nuovo mattone è la biologia
(ITA) Photogallery
(ENG) Sustainable Now Technologies
(ENG) Philips Bio-light
TED Talk of the architect Thomas Heatherwick, who shows five recent projects featuring ingenious bio-inspired designs:
Monday, 13 February 2012
Nectar guides & foraging
‘X’ marks the spot: The possible benefits of nectar guides to bees and plants
Functional Ecology
Volume 25, Issue 6, pages 1293–1301, December 2011
Monday, 12 December 2011
A novel form of myrmecotrophic mutualism
Setting the trap: cleaning behaviour of Camponotus schmitzi ants increases long-term capture efficiency of their pitcher plant host, Nepenthes bicalcarata
There are more than 600 species of plants worldwide known to capture small animals to obtain extra nutrition. One species in the tropical peat swamp forests of Borneo, the fanged pitcher plant, Nepenthes bicalcarata, not only traps insects, but also provides a home for the highly specialised species of carpenter ant, Camponotus schmitzi.
The plant's leaves are specially modified as cup-shaped insect traps. These pitchers produce sweet nectar to lure insects; slippery surfaces on the upper rim of the pitcher cause them to slide and fall into the pitchers where they are held and digested by the fluid within. Amazingly, the resident Camponotus schmitzi ants appear to be completely immune to the traps; they nest inside hollow stems of the plant, feed on the traps' nectar without falling and "steal" prey from the pitchers by swimming and diving in the digestive fluid.
Many "ant-plants" have evolved close relationships with ants, which can provide protection from leaf-feeding insects and fungal attack, in return for nesting space and food rewards. The fanged pitcher plant is the only known insect-eating ant-plant. Despite a number of studies since its discovery in the late 19th century, it has been unclear what, if anything, the plant gains from the association.
We discovered that the Camponotus schmitzi ants thoroughly clean the slippery trapping surface of their host plant. Even when strongly contaminated by cornflour, the ants' cleaning restored the slipperiness of the trap within a few days. By cleaning the slippery trap, the ants ensure it is maintained in good condition and can continue to capture insects for much longer than if the ants are absent. Indeed, the pitchers of Nepenthes bicalcarata can live and remain active three times longer than pitchers from other Nepenthes species in the area. So, by maintaining the traps of the plant, the ants do more than just clean: they help the plant to be well-fed.
Source: http://www.functionalecology.org
There are more than 600 species of plants worldwide known to capture small animals to obtain extra nutrition. One species in the tropical peat swamp forests of Borneo, the fanged pitcher plant, Nepenthes bicalcarata, not only traps insects, but also provides a home for the highly specialised species of carpenter ant, Camponotus schmitzi.
The plant's leaves are specially modified as cup-shaped insect traps. These pitchers produce sweet nectar to lure insects; slippery surfaces on the upper rim of the pitcher cause them to slide and fall into the pitchers where they are held and digested by the fluid within. Amazingly, the resident Camponotus schmitzi ants appear to be completely immune to the traps; they nest inside hollow stems of the plant, feed on the traps' nectar without falling and "steal" prey from the pitchers by swimming and diving in the digestive fluid.
Many "ant-plants" have evolved close relationships with ants, which can provide protection from leaf-feeding insects and fungal attack, in return for nesting space and food rewards. The fanged pitcher plant is the only known insect-eating ant-plant. Despite a number of studies since its discovery in the late 19th century, it has been unclear what, if anything, the plant gains from the association.
We discovered that the Camponotus schmitzi ants thoroughly clean the slippery trapping surface of their host plant. Even when strongly contaminated by cornflour, the ants' cleaning restored the slipperiness of the trap within a few days. By cleaning the slippery trap, the ants ensure it is maintained in good condition and can continue to capture insects for much longer than if the ants are absent. Indeed, the pitchers of Nepenthes bicalcarata can live and remain active three times longer than pitchers from other Nepenthes species in the area. So, by maintaining the traps of the plant, the ants do more than just clean: they help the plant to be well-fed.
Source: http://www.functionalecology.org
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Friday, 18 November 2011
Thursday, 3 November 2011
Resurrection plants
from How Plants Work.com :
One of the main problems for plants when they colonized terrestrial environments on Earth nearly a half billion years ago was how to survive the dryness.
Resurrection plants, however, display the remarkable ability to survive near total desiccation (less than 5% relative water content), which causes them to appear dead. But when rehydrated, these plants can be revived. Hence, they are often referred to as “resurrection plants”.
Probably the most well-known is the species Selaginella lepidophylla
Briefly, the onset of water loss apparently sets into motion a series of cellular events that can be summarized as follows:
Dehydration –> Activation of “desiccation-related” genes –> (1) Alterations in metabolism and (2) Production of “protective” proteins
(1) Alterations in metabolism: (a) accumulation of protective solutes such as sucrose, trehalose, and proline that stabilize proteins and cellular membranes, (b) production of antioxidant compounds (such as galloylquinic acids), and (c) biochemical alterations in membrane and cell wall composition.
(2) Production of “protective” proteins such as “dehydrins” and “expansins” that help preserve the structural integrity of intracellular organelles and the cell walls.
References
1. Moore, J.P., et al. (2006) “Response of the Leaf Cell Wall to Desiccation in the Resurrection Plant Myrothamnus flabellifolius.” Plant Physiology Vol. 141, pp. 651–662.
2. Layton, B.E., et al. (2010) “Dehydration-induced expression of a 31-kDa dehydrin in Polypodium polypodioides (Polypodiaceae) may enable large, reversible deformation of cell walls.” American Journal of Botany Vol. 97, pp. 535-544.
3. Moore, J.P., et al. (2009) “Towards a systems-based understanding of plant desiccation tolerance.” Trends in Plant Science Vol. 14, pp. 110-117.
And this amazing plants are at the basis of a long-term thermostabilization process to preserve vaccines,
here some more details:
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1281/
http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/2/19/19ra12.abstract
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-322568/Vaccine-breakthrough-revolutionise-Third-World-health.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17661683
One of the main problems for plants when they colonized terrestrial environments on Earth nearly a half billion years ago was how to survive the dryness.
Resurrection plants, however, display the remarkable ability to survive near total desiccation (less than 5% relative water content), which causes them to appear dead. But when rehydrated, these plants can be revived. Hence, they are often referred to as “resurrection plants”.
Probably the most well-known is the species Selaginella lepidophylla
Briefly, the onset of water loss apparently sets into motion a series of cellular events that can be summarized as follows:
Dehydration –> Activation of “desiccation-related” genes –> (1) Alterations in metabolism and (2) Production of “protective” proteins
(1) Alterations in metabolism: (a) accumulation of protective solutes such as sucrose, trehalose, and proline that stabilize proteins and cellular membranes, (b) production of antioxidant compounds (such as galloylquinic acids), and (c) biochemical alterations in membrane and cell wall composition.
(2) Production of “protective” proteins such as “dehydrins” and “expansins” that help preserve the structural integrity of intracellular organelles and the cell walls.
References
1. Moore, J.P., et al. (2006) “Response of the Leaf Cell Wall to Desiccation in the Resurrection Plant Myrothamnus flabellifolius.” Plant Physiology Vol. 141, pp. 651–662.
2. Layton, B.E., et al. (2010) “Dehydration-induced expression of a 31-kDa dehydrin in Polypodium polypodioides (Polypodiaceae) may enable large, reversible deformation of cell walls.” American Journal of Botany Vol. 97, pp. 535-544.
3. Moore, J.P., et al. (2009) “Towards a systems-based understanding of plant desiccation tolerance.” Trends in Plant Science Vol. 14, pp. 110-117.
And this amazing plants are at the basis of a long-term thermostabilization process to preserve vaccines,
here some more details:
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1281/
http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/2/19/19ra12.abstract
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-322568/Vaccine-breakthrough-revolutionise-Third-World-health.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17661683
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
L'utopia tranquilla delle piante - The calm utopia of plants
sorry, in Italian only from the
Stefano Mancuso
"Le piante hanno comportamenti sofisticati ed evoluti, una vita sociale meravigliosamente ricca e, in generale, una affascinante complessità che per millenni è rimasta sepolta sotto la loro apparente immobilità.
Mitezza contro violenza, fissità contro movimento, autotrofia contro eterotrofia, lentezza contro velocità: piante e animali sono il risultato di scelte evolutive opposte. Praticamente inermi, alla base della catena alimentare, eppure capaci di colonizzare la Terra fino a rappresentarne il 98% della biomassa, nella vita delle piante esiste un’idea utopistica e rivoluzionaria, che ne rende avvincente e imprevedibile il loro studio. Unici organismi viventi realmente "verdi" (in tutti i sensi), hanno evoluto strategie di comportamento così diverse da quelle degli animali da essere per noi una fonte inesauribile di originalissimi insegnamenti. Senza l’aggressività e prepotenza degli animali, senza la pressante necessità di uccidere per sopravvivere, le piante sono la realizzazione terrena del discorso della montagna: sono loro i miti che un giorno erediteranno la terra."
Watch the video here:
http://www.festivalscienzalive.it/site/home/conferenze/utopia-tranquilla-delle-piante.html
Festival della Scienza di Genova
October 28, 2011Stefano Mancuso
"Le piante hanno comportamenti sofisticati ed evoluti, una vita sociale meravigliosamente ricca e, in generale, una affascinante complessità che per millenni è rimasta sepolta sotto la loro apparente immobilità.
Mitezza contro violenza, fissità contro movimento, autotrofia contro eterotrofia, lentezza contro velocità: piante e animali sono il risultato di scelte evolutive opposte. Praticamente inermi, alla base della catena alimentare, eppure capaci di colonizzare la Terra fino a rappresentarne il 98% della biomassa, nella vita delle piante esiste un’idea utopistica e rivoluzionaria, che ne rende avvincente e imprevedibile il loro studio. Unici organismi viventi realmente "verdi" (in tutti i sensi), hanno evoluto strategie di comportamento così diverse da quelle degli animali da essere per noi una fonte inesauribile di originalissimi insegnamenti. Senza l’aggressività e prepotenza degli animali, senza la pressante necessità di uccidere per sopravvivere, le piante sono la realizzazione terrena del discorso della montagna: sono loro i miti che un giorno erediteranno la terra."
Watch the video here:
http://www.festivalscienzalive.it/site/home/conferenze/utopia-tranquilla-delle-piante.html
Intelligenza di sciame e robotica - Swarm intelligence and robotics
sorry, in Italian only from the
Marco Dorigo
Festival della Scienza di Genova
October 28, 2011Marco Dorigo
La swarm intelligence è la disciplina che studia sistemi naturali e artificiali composti da un gran numero di agenti che coordinano le loro attività in modo distribuito e utilizzando esclusivamente informazione locale.
Protagonista dell’incontro è la swarm robotics , disciplina che si occupa del design, della costruzione e del controllo di sistemi robotici che seguono i principi della swarm intelligence. In particolare, il pubblico è qui accompagnato alla scoperta di due importanti progetti europei: Swarm-bots e Swarmanoid.
In Swarm-bots, i robot considerati sono macchine autonome, chiamate s-bot, che si muovono sul terreno e che possono attaccarsi l'uno all'altro per mezzo di una pinza. In questo modo gli s-bot possono aggregarsi in un robot fisicamente più capace e riescono ora a eseguire compiti che vanno al di la delle capacità originariamente pensate per i singoli.
Il progetto Swarmanoid prevede invece che le idee sviluppate in Swarm-bots siano estese al caso di sistemi di robot autonomi eterogenei. Ovvero di automi che possono in questo modo agire nelle tre dimensioni.
(Interessanti filmati di robot Filmati di robot in azione e voci esperte vi accompagnano alla scoperta dell’affascinante mondo dei robot e della swarm intelligence)
watch the video here
http://www.festivalscienzalive.it/site/home/conferenze/conferenza-intelligenza-di-sciame-robotica.html
Protagonista dell’incontro è la swarm robotics , disciplina che si occupa del design, della costruzione e del controllo di sistemi robotici che seguono i principi della swarm intelligence. In particolare, il pubblico è qui accompagnato alla scoperta di due importanti progetti europei: Swarm-bots e Swarmanoid.
In Swarm-bots, i robot considerati sono macchine autonome, chiamate s-bot, che si muovono sul terreno e che possono attaccarsi l'uno all'altro per mezzo di una pinza. In questo modo gli s-bot possono aggregarsi in un robot fisicamente più capace e riescono ora a eseguire compiti che vanno al di la delle capacità originariamente pensate per i singoli.
Il progetto Swarmanoid prevede invece che le idee sviluppate in Swarm-bots siano estese al caso di sistemi di robot autonomi eterogenei. Ovvero di automi che possono in questo modo agire nelle tre dimensioni.
(Interessanti filmati di robot Filmati di robot in azione e voci esperte vi accompagnano alla scoperta dell’affascinante mondo dei robot e della swarm intelligence)
watch the video here
http://www.festivalscienzalive.it/site/home/conferenze/conferenza-intelligenza-di-sciame-robotica.html
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Dutch PlantLab Revolutionizes Farming
Soilless coltivation, LEDs, highly controlled environmental conditions, advanced sensors...they call it agricolture 3.0! In short, they create a high tech paradise for plants...
Will the quality decrease? who knows, but the possibility to grow plants undergroung or at the top of skyscrapers is fascinating! Urban agriculture isn’t new, and people have been talking about vertical farms for decades.What makes PlantLab different is the hardcore scientific and mathematical innovation they are bringing to the table! Could we grow vegetables in space using this amazing facility?!
http://www.plantlab.nl/4.0/
Friday, 2 September 2011
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Friday, 22 July 2011
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Carnivorous bladderworts
Utricularia are carnivorous plants and capture small organisms by means of bladder-like traps.
High-speed cameras give scientists the chance to see carnivorous bladderworts suck in their prey — all in about half a millisecond.
Credit: Interdisciplinary Physics Lab/CNRS and Joseph Fourier University, Plant Biomechanics Group/University of Freiburg
High-speed cameras give scientists the chance to see carnivorous bladderworts suck in their prey — all in about half a millisecond.
Credit: Interdisciplinary Physics Lab/CNRS and Joseph Fourier University, Plant Biomechanics Group/University of Freiburg
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Examining The Hummingbird Tongue
Hummingbirds can extend their tongues great distances — in some cases the length of their heads — to retrieve nectar. Biologist Margaret Rubega, of the University of Connecticut, explains how the structure of the hummingbird tongue traps liquid, and the evolution tales tongues tell.
The hummingbird tongue is a fluid trap, not a capillary tube
Alejandro Rico-Guevara1 and Margaret A. Rubega
PNAS May 2, 2011
Abstract
Hummingbird tongues pick up a liquid, calorie-dense food that cannot be grasped, a physical challenge that has long inspired the study of nectar-transport mechanics. Existing biophysical models predict optimal hummingbird foraging on the basis of equations that assume that fluid rises through the tongue in the same way as through capillary tubes. We demonstrate that the hummingbird tongue does not function like a pair of tiny, static tubes drawing up floral nectar via capillary action. Instead, we show that the tongue tip is a dynamic liquid-trapping device that changes configuration and shape dramatically as it moves in and out of fluids. We also show that the tongue–fluid interactions are identical in both living and dead birds, demonstrating that this mechanism is a function of the tongue structure itself, and therefore highly efficient because no energy expenditure by the bird is required to drive the opening and closing of the trap. Our results rule out previous conclusions from capillarity-based models of nectar feeding and highlight the necessity of developing a new biophysical model for nectar intake in hummingbirds. Our findings have ramifications for the study of feeding mechanics in other nectarivorous birds, and for the understanding of the evolution of nectarivory in general. We propose a conceptual mechanical explanation for this unique fluid-trapping capacity, with far-reaching practical applications (e.g., biomimetics).
Have you ever heard about Biomime?
The Swedish Center for Biomimetic Fiber Engineering (Biomime™) is a multidisciplinary Center of Excellence with cutting edge expertise at every level of the formation, modification and industrial utilization of wood, fibers and their constituent polymers. Their Mission is the understanding of the structure, self-assembly, and properties of complex plant cell walls in order to use the cell wall as a bioinspired model for advanced materials design. Mimicry of the natural self-assembly of cell wall macromolecules has a high potential to contribute to the future development of intelligent nanomaterials.
http://www.biomime.org/
http://www.biomime.org/
Louie Schwartzberg: The hidden beauty of pollination
Pollination: it's vital to life on Earth, but largely unseen by the human eye. Filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg shows us the intricate world of pollen and pollinators with gorgeous high-speed images from his film "Wings of Life," inspired by the vanishing of one of nature's primary pollinators, the honeybee.
Friday, 13 May 2011
The Giant Waterlilly
Giant waterlillies in the Amazon - a beautiful video taken from "The Private Life of Plants" by David Attenborough
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