fundamental laws – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Physicists explore fundamental laws of biological materials

Physicists at the University of Chicago and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, are uncovering the fundamental physical laws that govern the behavior of cellular materials.

“We don’t have any tools or formalism to think about these types of materials, and that’s what we’ve been trying to go after,” said Margaret Gardel, professor in physics at UChicago. Gardel and Jennifer Ross of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, are supported in this work by a four-year, $800,000 INSPIRE grant from the National Science Foundation. (more…)

Can Plants be Altruistic? You Bet, Says New CU-Boulder-led Study

By Guest PostFebruary 4, 2013Natureanimal altruism, arnold arboretum, behavior of embryos, bit of tissue, boulder, chi chih wu, chimps, corn kernels, dogs, dolphins, double fertilization, ecology, embryo, embryo and endosperm, endosperm, endosperm in seeds, evolutionary biology, flowering plants, fundamental laws, harvard university, hetero fertilization, indian corn, injured mates, millennia, Nature, orphaned kittens, pamela diggle, plants are altruistic, pollen grains, rare phenomenon, siblings, university of colorado, william ned friedman

We’ve all heard examples of animal altruism: Dogs caring for orphaned kittens, chimps sharing food or dolphins nudging injured mates to the surface. Now, a study led by the University of Colorado Boulder suggests some plants are altruistic too.

The researchers looked at corn, in which each fertilized seed contained two “siblings” — an embryo and a corresponding bit of tissue known as endosperm that feeds the embryo as the seed grows, said CU-Boulder Professor Pamela Diggle. They compared the growth and behavior of the embryos and endosperm in seeds sharing the same mother and father with the growth and behavior of embryos and endosperm that had genetically different parents. (more…)

Tag Archives: fundamental laws

Physicists explore fundamental laws of biological materials

Can Plants be Altruistic? You Bet, Says New CU-Boulder-led Study