If you think plants are just here to keep itself steady and grow, think again. New studies show that plants, just like humans, can also judge risk and make good decisions even though happen to have a few handicaps.
Though we already know that plants are smarter than we think, especially when it comes to survival, researchers found a way to manipulate their behavior which proves these greens to decide on their own, even without brains.
The new study was published in this weeks's Current Biology.
Researchers divide the roots of pea plants into two different pots. Both pots had equal amounts of nutrients on average, but one pot always had the same amount, while the other pot sometimes had a lot of nutrients and sometimes a lot less.
In result, the plants turned out to be surprisingly good at picking the best pot. When there were lots of nutrients overall, plants chose the consistent pot. When the nutrients were low, they chose the unpredictable pot. In this study, the plant acts more like a game show finalist that is deciding to choose on whether it will go home with the enough cash prize or go further for the jackpot. This behavior is consistent with "risk sensitivity theory" which applies both to humans and plants -- which says it's smart to take a risk and hope for the best when conditions are bad anyway.
Though this behavior can also be triggered by the strive for survival, or instinct, plants still make logical decisions.
Now, does this mean that plants are way smarter than us? According to Hagai Shamesh of Tel-Hei College in Israel, the experiment "raises a question, not about plants, but about animals and humans" and just how dumb we might be. After all, he added, "We have a very fancy brain, but maybe most of the we're not using it."
Maybe it's time to have one of those wise conversations with these trees and hopefully learn something.
Source: GIZMODO Current Biology New York Times
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