Imagine if humans could ‘talk’ to plants and warn them of approaching pest attacks or extreme weather.
Imagine if humans could ‘talk’ to plants and warn them of approaching pest attacks or extreme weather.
A team of plant scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU) would like to turn this science fiction into reality using light-based messaging to ‘talk’ to plants.
Early lab experiments with tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) have demonstrated that they can activate the plant's natural defence mechanism (immune response) using light as a stimulus (messenger).
Light serves as a universal means of daily human communication, for example the signalling at traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, or the open-closed status of a shop.
Read more at University of Cambridge
Photo Credit: jimarojfm via Pixabay
