====PARN Project: Human-plant communication - research diary==== Lionel ===Sunday 18/12/2011=== * [[https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=16983 | Król E., Dziubińska H., and Trębacz K. (2010) What do plants need action potentials for?]] (Open Acess)\\ A very nice text on the question, nice to read and very complete. History, roles, pathways of transmissions, measure. 26 p.\\ ===Tuesday 01/11/2011=== * Writing a report ===Fiday 28/10/2011=== * Writing a report ===Friday 14/10/2011=== * Check for the result of the plant root experiment. The root has stopped to grow before entering the channel. Thinking about what to do now. * Reading an article about plant-microbe interaction\\ [[http://www.nature.com/msb/journal/v6/n1/pdf/msb201067.pdf| Goffin et al (2010) Understanding the physiology of Lactobacillus plantarum at zero growth]] (open access). In situations of low substrate availability, //Lactobacillus plantarum// bacteria (which often grows on plants) syhthetize plant hormones to 'tell' the plant to produce certain nutrients they need. Furthermore, //L. plantarum// also adapts its own metabolism to make use of those vegetal nutients.\\ * short research discussion with Nik & Maja ===Tuesday 27/09/2011=== * Making pictures and a libarynth page about the [[plant_roots_experiment|plant root experiment]]. ===Monday 26/09/2011=== * Finding a technical solution to connect the glass pipes to the plexiglas plate, in a watertight way. The experimental device is ready for a first test. A seed of cress is inserted in the 'input'. ===Thursday 22/09/2011=== * Buying some material and testing different systems to ensure the watertightness of the fluidics device for the plant root experiment. * Browsing through the non-scientific web about 'communication with plants'. ===Monday 19/09/2011=== * Reading the //book of abstracts// from the 1st symposium on Plant Neurobiology ([[http://www.plantbehavior.org/files/Symposia_BookofAbstracts.pdf|pdf file]] freely downloadable). An nice collection of scientific stories about plant communication. ===Friday & Saturday 16-17/09/2011=== (Symposium on EEG & Art, iMAL) ===Thursday 15/09/2011=== (arrival Kiran) ===Tuesday 13/09/2011=== * bending of tiny glasspipes with heat, for the plant root experiment ===Friday 09/09/2011=== * Grooving of the plexiglas plate at timelab, Gent ===Thursday 08/09/2011=== * buying transparent polymer plates * .dxf files for the patterns of the 'microfluidics' channels. ===Wednesday 07/09/2011=== * Short research meeting with Maja and Nik\\ * Fist draft for a 'root-on-a-chip' design\\ ===Tuesday 06/09/2011=== * Analyse of the 20 first results a Google search about "communication avec les plantes"\\ ° To see what is associated with that concept in the web-based popular culture.\\ ° Identifying the main ideas that come repeatedly.\\ * Update of the page about [[diy_biology|DIY biology]]\\ ===Friday 02/09/2011=== (Weekly meeting with FoAM's members) ===Thursday 01/09/2011=== * Some information about Arduino\\ * Update of the page about [[plant_neurobiology|plant neurobiology]]\\ ===Wednesday 31/08/2011=== Meeting with Meredith L. Patterson\\ ===Monday 29/08/2011=== * Create a libarynth page with links about [[diy_biology|DIY biology]]\\ ===Friday 26/08/2011=== * Order seeds of Mimosa pudica (on www.graines.be)\\ * Freely downloadable publications about ant-plant mutualism, on the [[http://www.bashanfoundation.org/heil/heilpub.html|webpage of the biologist Martin Heil]]\\ * Wikipedia search: [[w>Myrmecophily]] ===Thursday 25/08/2011=== * Rapid research about interactions beween plants and animals/microbes/plants.\\ * Prospective thoughts about possible (or less possible) experiments.\\ ===Tuesday 23/08/2011=== (Platform Kanal summer lab in FoAM's studio) ===Monday 22/08/2011=== * Visit at the VUB library to identify interesting reference books about plant physiology:\\ ° //Biology of Plants, 7th edition// (2005), P. Raven, R. Evert, S. Eichhorn - W. H. Freeman & co Publishers\\ Very general and pedagogic, lot of pictures. Botany, histology, a bit of molecular biology. Reader-friendly, nice to browse randomly (essays, topics, etc.). But: ugly hardcover, and 7th edition seems to be the last one.\\ ° //Plant physiology, 4th edition// (2006), L. Taiz & E. Zeiger - Sinauer Associates, Inc., Publishers\\ More experiment-oriented. A lot about plant development and metabolic pathways. Graphs, molecular structures. 5th edition released in 2010.\\ ° //Biochemistry & Molecular Biology of Plants// (2009), B. Buchanan, W. Gruissem, R. Jones - American Society of Plant Physiologists\\ Very good and exhaustive reference book. Very molecular-, protein- and biochemistry-oriented. Big: 1367 pages!\\ ===Friday 19/08/2011=== * Web search about the use of plants action potentials in artistic installations: ° [[http://ivanhenriques.wordpress.com/|Ivan Henrique - 'Jurema Action Plant']]\\ ° [[http://www.scenocosme.com/phonofolium.htm|Grégory Lasserre & Anaïs met den Ancxt - 'Phonolium']]\\ * Visit at iMAL ===Thursday 18/08/2011=== * Further reading of previously mentioned articles and books\\ ===Wednesday 17/08/2011=== (General meeting at FoAM) ===Tuesday 16/08/2011=== * Futher investigation about 'plant neurobiology'\\ ° Struik et al (2008) //Plant neurobiology and green plant intelligence: science, metaphors and nonsense//\\ An intelligent, precise and critical reflection about the subject, written by researchers that are not part of the 'Baluska & Mancuso friend's group'.\\ ° Koziolek et al (2003) //Transient knockout of photosynthesis mediated by electrical signals//\\ In this paper, the authors relate an experiment to measure electrical signals and other parameters in //Mimosa pudica//\\ ===Friday 12/08/2011=== * About the measurements of action potentials in plants: [[http://electrochem.cwru.edu/encycl/art-p01-plants.htm|Webpage]] by A.G. Volkov about the electrochemistry of plant life.\\ * There is a journal for [[http://apsjournals.apsnet.org/loi/mpmi|Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions]]. Beyond a one-year embargo, new articles are in Open Access ([[wp>Delayed open access journal]]). ===Thursday 11/08/2011=== * New libarynth page about [[plant_neurobiology|plant neurobiology]] * New libarynth page with a [[open_access_journals|list of some Open Access Journals]] ===Wednesday 10/08/2011=== * Read the article of Peter W. Barlow (2008) * Wikipedia search about: convergent evolution, exaptation, morphogen, metamerism ===Friday 05/08/2011=== * Search in the scientific literature about "plant neurobiology"\\ ° Peter W. Barlow (2008) Reflections on ‘plant neurobiology’ [review article]\\ ° Eric Davies (2004) New functions for electrical signals in plants [commentary] * Short research meeting with Nik & Maja\\ ===Thursday 04/08/2011=== * Libarynth research diary * T. McKenna, Archaic Revival (1991, book), p 219-225\\ ° Central idea: plants as inspirational model for solving global problems. Phytomimicry in industry, politics, personal life.\\ ° According to McKenna, the "lessons" of plants are:\\ - societal/politics: feminization of culture\\ - personal: inwardness, cooperation (symbiosis)\\ - ecology: phytoremediation, biodiversity\\ - industry: recycling, H2-economy, photovoltaic, nanotech\\ ° McKenna hopes a change of paradigm. Idea of the "rebirth of the [vegetal] Goddess". Spiritual or symbolic idea of the mother-earth, Gaia, etc.\\ ° Suggests that the use of psychedelic plants opens channels of direct communication with this Gaia.\\ ° McKenna speaks about "planetary purpose". Intentionality. (link to be made with Naturalism and Intelligent Design)\\ * Wikipedia search about:\\ New Age Gaian, James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis, Noepaganism, Pseudoscience, Falsifiability, Biopunk * Some books found in the library:\\ ° Nature, technology and the sacred, Bronislaw Szerszynski, 2005. About the idea of the "disenchantment of the world", from a philosphy of science point of view.\\ ° Cosmicomics, Italo Calvino, 1965. Short stories. Science-like narratives, universe as a cosmic joke.\\ ° Psychedelic reimagined, Thomas Lyttle, ed., 1999. Collection of articles about psychedelic substances and practices.\\ ===Wednesday 03/08/2011=== * Start meeting with Nik & Maja * Research starting points:\\ ° Reach a broad spectrum going from science < ---- > pseudo-science\\ ° Special attention to //stories//. Stories made to justify some logical shortcuts in speudo-scientific demonstrations, stories on the side of classical research, etc.\\ ° Think of experiment to test some pseudo-scientific claims (plants grow faster if you speak to them). Those experiments are not meant to be realized.\\ ° Make an overview of the research in the field of plant-plant communication. Neurobotany, sensory ecology, chemical communication between plants, etc.\\ ° Speculative science: what do we need to build a //translator// to interfer with those signals?\\ * Literature starting points:\\ ° Experiments of George Lawrence (~1950). Onion attached to a telescope, and other strange experiments.\\ ° HPI paper on the Lybarinth\\ ° Sci-fi writer K. Schröder. Idea of thalience, switched subjectivity. Idea that the value of a model is not only determined by the fact it is true or not, but also by its ability to generate other models and ideas ("heuristicity").\\ ° T. McKenna, Archaic Revival, Chapter about plan/plant/planet. Phytomimicry and techno-gaianism.\\ ° P. Stamets, Mycelium Running, global considerations about mycelium as nature's internet.\\