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**Fester**

"it picks up quantum fluctuations in the atmosphere"
Lmao

**Spread** · **Spread** More Washboard User ID: 102138 06-18-2012 02:42 AM **Posts: 11,708**

aBiNoRmAl Wrote:

Cool thread....that lady was happy with her toy :)

**LoP Guest** lop guest User ID: 91202 06-18-2012 03:45 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzE-Y0xxBvM

Jptdknpa

Here, there's a Zucker born every minute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiZ35pkxG-k

chuckle

So what is it really?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiFqgaSPGRI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLTcVNyOhUc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKUUScwxb5w

So it's a dumb plant that reacts to touch, or is it?
[b]
Do Plants Think?
[/b]
Scientist Daniel Chamovitz unveils the surprising world of plants that see, feel, smell—and remember

"How aware are plants? This is the central question behind a fascinating new book, “What a Plant Knows,” by Daniel Chamovitz, director of the Manna Center for Plant Biosciences at Tel Aviv University. A plant, he argues, can see, smell and feel. It can mount a defense when under siege, and warn its neighbors of trouble on the way. A plant can even be said to have a memory. But does this mean that plants think — or that one can speak of a “neuroscience” of the flower? Chamovitz answered questions from Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook.

1. How did you first get interested in this topic?
My interest in the parallels between plant and human senses got their start when I was a young postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Xing-Wang Deng at Yale University in the mid 1990s. I was interested in studying a biological process that would be specific to plants, and would not be connected to human biology (probably as a response to the six other “doctors” in my family, all of whom are physicians). So I was drawn to the question of how plants sense light to regulate their development.

It had been known for decades that plants use light not only for photosynthesis, but also as a signal that changes the way plants grow. In my research I discovered a unique group of genes necessary for a plant to determine if it’s in the light or in the dark. When we reported our findings, it appeared these genes were unique to the plant kingdom, which fit well with my desire to avoid any thing touching on human biology. But much to my surprise and against all of my plans, I later discovered that this same group of genes is also part of the human DNA.

This led to the obvious question as to what these seemingly “plant-specific” genes do in people. Many years later, we now know that these same genes are important in animals for the timing of cell division, the axonal growth of neurons, and the proper functioning of the immune system.

But most amazingly, these genes also regulate responses to light in animals! While we don’t change our form in response to light as plants do, we are affected by lab at the level of our internal clock. Our internal circadian clocks keep us on a 24 hour rhythm, which is why when we travel half way around the world we experience jet lag. But this clock can be reset by light. A few years ago I showed, in collaboration with Justin Blau at NYU, that mutant fruit flies that were missing some of these genes lost the ability to respond to light. In other words, if we changed their clocks, they remained in jetlag.

This led me to realize that the genetic difference between plants and animals is not as significant as I had once naively believed. So while not actively researching this field, I began to question the parallels between plant and human biology even as my own research evolved from studying plant responses to light to leukemia in fruit flies."

http://www.scientificamerican.com/articl...-chamovitz

The Trouble with Experts

"As filmmaker Josh Freed’s entertaining new documentary The Trouble with Experts, reminds us, we are all addicted to experts.
They tell us what to eat, how to vote, raise our kids, fix our homes, buy our wines, interpret political events and, until recently, choose the right stocks.
They’re all over the media telling us what to think, because there’s just too much information for us to sort out ourselves. So we often cede our own opinions to them because, well… they’re experts, so they know better than us. Or do they?
In the recent stock meltdown, we discovered that some of our most important experts – our financial gurus – didn’t know much at all.
So what about all the other experts out there? Does having expertise actually mean you make better decisions than regular people? Or are they just part of a new cult of expertise, an ever-growing expert industry that’s become our latest new religion?"

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-troub...h-experts/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW3wQdo3sg4

Why Reading Matters

"Science writer Rita Carter tells the story of how modern neuroscience has revealed that reading, something most of us take for granted, unlocks remarkable powers.
Carter explains how the classic novel Wuthering Heights allows us to step inside other minds and understand the world from different points of view, and she wonders whether the new digital revolution could threaten the values of classic reading.
Reading is an important skill that needs to be developed in children. Not only is it necessary for survival in the world of schools and (later on) universities, but in adult life as well.
The ability to learn about new subjects and find helpful information on anything from health problems and consumer protection to more academic research into science or the arts depends on the ability to read."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL0969...dwFFFBCPzw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl8pkyrYMoI

Heartflowers